South and Southeast Asia (1200-1450): Hinduism

Full image description in lesson — The warrior Arjuna from the Bhagavad Gita rides in a chariot driven by Krishna. They are surrounded by a throng of people in battle against Kama.

The beginnings of Hinduism are difficult to trace, but the religion originated with the polytheistic beliefs that the Aryans brought as they began invading the Indian subcontinent sometime after 2000 BCE. Aryan priests recited hymns that told stories and taught values and were eventually written down in the Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism.

One famous story is the Ramayana, which tells about the life and love of Prince Rama and his wife Sita. Another epic story is the Mahabharata, which focuses on a war between cousins. Its most famous part is called the Bhagavad Gita, which tells how one cousin, Arjuna, overcomes his hesitations to fight his own kin. The stories embody important Hindu values that still guide modern day India.

Basic Tenets of Hinduism

Hinduism assumes the eternal existence of a universal spirit that guides all life on earth. A piece of the spirit called the atman is trapped inside humans and other living creatures. The most important desire of the atman is to be reunited with the universal spirit, and every aspect of an individual's life is governed by it. When someone dies, their atman may be reunited, but most usually is reborn in a new body. A person's caste membership is a clear indication of how close he or she is to the desired reunion.

Some basic tenets of Hinduism are:

Reincarnation- Atman spirits are reborn in different people after one body dies. This rebirth has no beginning and no end, and is part of the larger universal spirit that pervades all of life.
Karma- This widely used word actually refers to the pattern of cause and effect that transcends individual human lives. Whether or not an individual fulfills his/her duties in one life determines what happens in the next.
Dharma - Duties called dharma are attached to each caste position. For example, a warrior's dharma is to fight honorably, and a wife's duty is to serve her husband faithfully. Even the lowliest caste has dharma attached to it. If one fulfills this dharma, the reward is for the atman to be reborn into a higher caste and eventually break the endless cycle of reincarnation, known as Samsara. Only the atman of a member of the highest caste (originally the priests) can be reunited with the universal spirit.

The universal spirit is represented by Brahman, a god that takes many different shapes. Two of Brahman's forms are Vishnu, the Creator, and Shiva, the Destroyer. Hinduism is very difficult to categorize as either polytheistic or monotheistic because of the central belief in the universal spirit.

The Spread and Impact of Hinduism

One attraction of Hinduism was that people did not have to give up their traditional gods to practice it. As an inclusive religion, Hinduism readily absorbs the gods and practices of other belief systems. It is a belief system about all belief systems. Interestingly, there is no term for the process of conversion in the religion of Hinduism.

Across the period 1200 to 1450, Hinduism remained a powerful foundation in South Asia. Its belief in dharma, karma, and the caste system reinforced social hierarchies and guided daily life. Hindu kingdoms sponsored grand temples and rituals, demonstrating how religion was intertwined with political authority and artistic expression.

Video Lesson: Hinduism

Watch the following video presentation on Hinduism and take careful notes.

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