Crash Course: Ancient India

What was unique about the urban planning of the Indus Valley Civilization?

• They built homes with random-sized bricks.

• Their cities had perpendicular streets and centralized drainage systems.

• They used wooden structures for all buildings.

• Their cities were oriented to avoid wind.

Which text provides the earliest explanation of the caste system in India?

• The Mahabharata

• The Upanishads

• The Vedas

• The Bhagavad Gita

What is the ultimate goal in Hinduism, according to the concept of moksha?

• To achieve eternal happiness in the afterlife.

• To be reborn as a Brahmin.

• To become a warrior in the next life.

• To escape the cycle of rebirth.

What realization led Siddhartha Gautama to renounce his royal life and seek enlightenment?

• The importance of wealth and power.

• The superiority of asceticism over meditation.

• The inevitability of suffering in life.

• The need for political unity.

How did Hinduism respond to the decline of Buddhism in India?

• It rejected Buddhist teachings entirely.

• It adopted Buddhist principles into its own practices.

• It ignored Buddhism and focused on its own growth.

• It declared Buddhism as the state religion.