Ancient India Vocabulary

What is a Subcontinent?

• A small section of a country

• A large part of a continent

• A region surrounded by water on three sides

• A mountain range separating two areas

What is a Monsoon?

• A series of violent storms

• A wind pattern that influences the climate and leads to wet and dry seasons

• A natural disaster causing floods

• A specific type of ocean current

What is Mohenjo-Daro?

• The capital city of the Gupta Empire

• The birthplace of Hinduism

• One of the largest Harappan cities

• A famous religious temple

What is Harappa?

• An ancient Indian dynasty

• India’s first civilization, located along the Indus River

• A region in the Himalayas

• A city known for its temples

What is the Vedas?

• A sacred book of Buddhism

• A collection of religious poems, myths, and hymns that influenced Hinduism

• A set of laws used in the Mauryan Empire

• An epic poem about Indian gods

Who were the Aryans?

• Nomads who established the Gupta Empire

• A group from Central Asia who moved into India and established Vedic society

• Warriors who destroyed Harappa

• A religious sect of Jainism

What is Sanskrit?

• A type of metal used in ancient India

• An important language of Ancient India

• A script used in Islamic texts

• A mathematical system

What is the Caste System?

• A set of religious laws

• A hierarchy based on wealth and power

• A social order that has determined one’s place in Indian society

• A system of political organization

What is Hinduism?

• A religion that originated in China

• A major world religion that developed in India from the Vedas

• A philosophy of nonviolence

• A branch of Buddhism

What is Reincarnation?

• The rebirth of one’s soul

• The process of achieving peace

• The study of karma

• A ritual to honor ancestors