KEY TERMS
Chandra Gupta: The first leader of India's second empire. After marriage, Chandra Gupta took the title of "Great King of Kings" in A.D 320. He ruled along the Ganges and all of the area north of Magadha. He also had a son named Samudra who became king in A.D. 355.
Asoka: Asoka was Chandragupta Maurya's grandson, who came to power in 301 B.C. He was less brutal than his grandfather, and he adopted the religion of Buddhism. Asoka also built extensive roads so that he could visit all corners of his empire.
Mauryan Empire: The beginning of the Mauryan empire started when Chandragupta Maurya killed the Nanda king and claimed the throne in 321 B.C. The Mauryan empire stretched more than 2,000 miles across northern India. This empire followed a strict bureaucratic government with harsh policies.
Vishnu: The Indian god known for the "preserving of the world". Vishnu displays mercy and goodness to his followers. He is a god who incarnates into a human and comes down to earth to help humans during harsh periods of time. Vishnu is shown as blue in color and holding his conch, discus, mace, and lotus; in his four hands.
Brahma: Brahma, or the creator of the world, is said to have four heads. He is not worshiped commonly among the Hindus anymore, but he is said to have created the four "Vedas", or the four books that Hindus base their principles on.
Shiva: Shiva is the god in which the Hindus pray to as the god of the yogis, or sages. He is known as the destroyer of the world, in both the form of death and destruction, as well as the destruction of ego. Shiva displays the art of meditation, and he is worshiped not by pictures, but through a lingam, or a symbol of stone. He is also known as the Lord of the Cosmic Dance.
Silk Roads: When it was first introduced to the Indians by the central Asian nomads, this vast network of caravan trading routes was called the silk roads. It was called this because traders brought silk from China to western Asia then to Rome using these roads. Many Indians became middlemen who built trading stations along the silk roads.
Asoka: Asoka was Chandragupta Maurya's grandson, who came to power in 301 B.C. He was less brutal than his grandfather, and he adopted the religion of Buddhism. Asoka also built extensive roads so that he could visit all corners of his empire.
Mauryan Empire: The beginning of the Mauryan empire started when Chandragupta Maurya killed the Nanda king and claimed the throne in 321 B.C. The Mauryan empire stretched more than 2,000 miles across northern India. This empire followed a strict bureaucratic government with harsh policies.
Vishnu: The Indian god known for the "preserving of the world". Vishnu displays mercy and goodness to his followers. He is a god who incarnates into a human and comes down to earth to help humans during harsh periods of time. Vishnu is shown as blue in color and holding his conch, discus, mace, and lotus; in his four hands.
Brahma: Brahma, or the creator of the world, is said to have four heads. He is not worshiped commonly among the Hindus anymore, but he is said to have created the four "Vedas", or the four books that Hindus base their principles on.
Shiva: Shiva is the god in which the Hindus pray to as the god of the yogis, or sages. He is known as the destroyer of the world, in both the form of death and destruction, as well as the destruction of ego. Shiva displays the art of meditation, and he is worshiped not by pictures, but through a lingam, or a symbol of stone. He is also known as the Lord of the Cosmic Dance.
Silk Roads: When it was first introduced to the Indians by the central Asian nomads, this vast network of caravan trading routes was called the silk roads. It was called this because traders brought silk from China to western Asia then to Rome using these roads. Many Indians became middlemen who built trading stations along the silk roads.