【院生ゼミ】10月12日
【大学院】
This week we started exploring the development of Buddhism and Hinduism. Topics we covered include:
- The Indus Valley civilization (2600-1900 BCE)
- Aryan migration, Indo-European language family
- Veda texts (1500-1000 BCE) in Sanskrit
- Rituals performed by Brahmins for gods: Indra, Agni, Rudra, and other gods of natural phenomena
- Concept of reincarnation: atman and karma
A Brahmin is a priest. Since Brahmins created all the ancient texts, the world view described in the texts is naturally Brahmin-centered. They commanded respect from other classes because only Brahmins knew the gods' language and could communicate with them.
Please note that there is a lot of discussion regarding the Aryan migration theory.