Asoka was ancient India's greatest ruler.

His grandfather Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha had established the first Indian empire.

When Asoka succeeded to the throne he tried to complete the conquest of the Indian peninsula. In the course of his conquests, however, Asoka became so disgusted by the cruelty of warfare that he renounced it. He adopted the peaceful doctrines of Buddhism and declared that henceforth his conquests should be conquests of religion.

He set up inscriptions all over the land rehearsing the teachings of Buddha, and missionaries were sent to Kashmir, Persia and Ceylon. But soon after Asoka's death the Mauryan empire disintegrated.

Indian Emperor Chandragupta lived from 340-298 BCE and was the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire. He ruled from 322-298 BCE; he was the father of Emperor Bindusara and grandfather of Emperor Ashoka, who was the third Mauryan ruler and under whose reign the Mauryan Empire reached its full power and became the largest empire ever in the Indian subcontinent and one of the world's largest empires at that time.

Before the time of Chandragupta, India was mostly composed of a number of small independent states, with the exception of the Magadha kingdom, a realm that controlled most of Northern India, which was ruled by the Nanda dynasty. Chandragupta began a process that would unify India for the first time in history.

What is Enlightenment and Nirvana / Nibbana?

How did Buddhism begin

What did Buddha teach?

Three Universal Truths

Hindus believe that every living thing has a soul, which comes from the creator, Brahman. They believe that people’s souls live on after death, and that all living things can be reborn. This is called reincarnation.

Hinduism is the traditional religion of India. It is a combination of Aryan, Dravidian and other Indian cultures and traditions. Hinduism has no single founder, but is influenced by the Vedas and other scriptures. The world’s oldest religion, Hinduism is practiced by nearly one billion people, who live almost exclusively on the Indian subcontinent.

Hinduism teaches that there is one universal spirit called Brahman. But Hindus seldom worship Brahman directly. They instead worship Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, three gods that are different forms of Brahman.

The Four Orders of Human Beings
Often misunderstood , misused
or abused and generally known as

The Caste System
(Brahman, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras)

In the Bhagavad Gita, Ch.4, Verse 13
The Lord says:
"The fourfold caste has been created by Me
according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma;"

In the Bhagavad Gita, Ch.18, verse 40
the Lord says:
"There is no being on earth, or again in heaven among the
gods, that is liberated from the three qualities born of Nature."

Gita Ch. 18, V.41:
"Of Brahmanas, Kshtriyas and Vaishyas, as also the Sudras,
O Arjuna, the duties are distributed according to the qualities
born of their own nature."

[Note: The word 'GUNA'  in Vedanta means prakriti (Satwa,
Rajas and Tamas). The principle of caste system is not
confined to any one country. It applies to all human beings of
all races, in all countries. This Sanatan principle is eternal and

is not subject to change. It remains unchanged in the past, in the

wer: The Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the world. Ours is a Vedic culture and we Indians are proud of our Vedas. But the frequently asked questions are, “What are Vedas?” & “What are its forms?”

Meaning:-The Literal meaning of the Vedas is ‘KNOWLEDGE’. Those scriptures from which we can acquire knowledge are called Vedas.

Composer: - There is no one particular person who can be attributed with the composing of the Vedas. These Vedas were given to the Maha Rishis by Bhagwan Himself. Then they were passed on from Guru to disciple.

How it's structured

India's caste system has four main classes (also called varnas) based originally on personality, profession, and birth. In descending order, the classes are as follows:

• Brahmana (now more commonly spelled Brahmin): Consist of those engaged in scriptural education and teaching, essential for the continuation of knowledge.

• Kshatriya: Take on all forms of public service, including administration, maintenance of law and order, and defense.

• Vaishya: Engage in commercial activity as businessmen.

• Shudra: Work as semi-skilled and unskilled laborers.

If a Hindu person were asked to explain the nature of the caste system, he or she might start to tell the story of Brahma — the four-headed, four-handed deity worshipped as the creator of the universe.

According to an ancient text known as the Rigveda, the division of Indian society was based on Brahma's divine manifestation of four groups.

Priests and teachers were cast from his mouth, rulers and warriors from his arms, merchants and traders from his thighs, and workers and peasants from his feet.

Definition

The source of the English word Aryan comes from the Sanskrit word ārya, which is the self-designation used by the Vedic Indic people who migrated into the Indian subcontinent about 1500 BCE. The Sanskrit term has a cognate in the Iranian word arya, which is also a self-designation.

The Aryan Migration

This civilization is said to have come to an abrupt end. The following reasons are put forward for its abrupt end:

The neighboring desert encroached on the fertile area and made it infertile.

Regular floods destroyed the area.

Aryan invaders killed people and destroyed the Indus Valley Civilization. The Harappan people were peace loving. They did not have weapons to attack others or to defend themselves. They had implements for hunting or farming. So they could not defend themselves against the invaders. The destruction of these people by Aryans was a sad event in history. The Aryans lived in villages and knew nothing of urban life. Thus it took hundred of years again for India to have beautiful cities like Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa.

The end was partly caused by changing river patterns. These changes included the drying up of the Hakra River and changes in the course of the Indus River. The river changes disrupted agricultural and economic systems, and many people left the cities of the Indus Valley region.

Earthquakes and Epidemics caused destruction.

By 1700 B.C., the Indus civilization had gradually broken up into smaller cultures, called late Harappan cultures and post-Harappan cultures. However, some aspects of Indus art, agriculture, and possibly social organization continued in the smaller cultures. Some of these aspects became incorporated into a unified urban civilization that began developing throughout the region about 600 B.C

The seals give us useful information about the civilization of Indus valley. Some seals have human or animal figures on them. Most of the seals have the figures of real animals while a few bear the figure of mythical animals. The seals are rectangular, circular or even cylindrical in shape.

2000 in number, made of soapstone, terracotta and copper.

The seals even have an inscription of a sort of pictorial writing. Most of the seals have a knob at the back through which runs a hole. It is said that these seals were used by different associations or merchants for stamping purposes. They were also worn round the neck or the arm

But, how we view something of the past is largely due to our own past and present experiences.

Secondly, but along the same lines as the above explanation, is that the people writing history change as well

The social changes of the 1960s and 1970s brought many women historians into what had largely been a male dominated field and introduced new perspectives and told new stories that had previously been undiscovered (unfortunately, due to lack a of male interest) or ignored (unfortunately, due to a lack of male interest).

science fiction

dystopian

pseudonyms

History can be thought of as our memories, written and unwritten, of what has happened.

Imagine one morning you wake up in your usual bed, at your usual home wearing your usual Spongebob pajamas, but something is different. You don't remember who you are. What is your name? Where do you live? Who are those strange people living in the same house with you? In short, you have lost your memory of everthing that came before. Without your memory of the past, you won't even know what a toothbrush is and why you would need to brush your teeth. Maybe you would take that tiny brush and start cleaning out your belly button.

It is our history of the past that defines us, lets us know who we were, who we are today and who we might become.

But our memories can only be as good as the time we take to accurately record them and reflect upon them (think about them) and pass these memories on to future generations. This is why we study history, to record and think about what has happened and to make every attempt to record our memories accurately. An inaccurate memory can often be more damaging to how we act today than if we had no memory of the event at all.

So, the first reason to study history, or better yet ourstory, we do not want to forget about all the amazing accomplishments of both the women and men from our past, is without an accurate memory of the past, we have no idea how to act appropriately today.