Mod 5 - Vedic Society

What is Sanskrit?

• a language spoken by early Aryans

• a collection of stories that has cultural value

• a community made up of many family members

• a group of people who migrated from Central Asia

Unlike the Harappans, the Aryans did NOT build _______________.

• cities

• bathrooms

• barns

• ships

The early Aryans had a rich and expressive language, but they did not write. How did they preserve their poems and their history without writing?

• stories were recorded by alien civilizations

• Sanskrit

• painting

• word of mouth

The religion practiced by the Aryan priests became known as _____________________________.

• Sanskrit

• Brahmanism

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

The Vedic texts contained ancient sacred _________________________.

• scripture

• songs

• hymns and poems

• death rituals

Aryan society was divided into four main social classes called ___________.

• varnas

• brahmas

• rajas

• vedics

The lowest social class in Aryan society was the _________________.

• farmers, craftspeople, and traders called Vaisyas

• rulers and warriors called Kshatriyas

• laborers and non-Aryans called Sudras

• priests called Brahmins

A division of Indian Society into groups based on a person's birth, wealth, or occupation.

• Caste system

• Brahmanism

• Socioeconomic status

• Poverty gap

In ancient India, how was a person's caste determined?

• the Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors) determined one's place

• as it was written in the Vedas

• by scores on achievement tests

• by birth, wealth, or occupation

To keep the social classes distinct, the Aryans wrote guides called _____________ that listed all the rules for the caste system.

• sutras

• karmas

• brahmas

• vedas