Ancient History Of India The purpose of this work is to compare and contrast the cultural and societal differences and likenesses in the areas of Northern and Southern India specifically during the period of c.100-1100 C.E. Further, this work will research and state why their cultures were differential in their development and in what ways they remain different from one another today. The historical and ideological relationship between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism will be discussed.

The culture in India is ancient with it's roots in the beginnings of civilization along the Indus River in farming communities in southern India. The history of the sub-continent is stated to be one that is "punctuated by constant integration with migrating peoples and with the diverse cultures that surround India." (Indialife.com Online, 2005) India is located in the center of Asia at what is called the "crossroads of culture from China to Europe."

The natural barrier of mountain ranges that separates northern and southern India is actually the scene of the occurrence of the India continental plate crashing against the Asian continental plate resulting in both pushing the earth upward in to a range of mountains classified as 'forbidding'. The Great Himalayas form the central range of mounts. The southern side of the mountain divide is one with rich soils that receive plenty of rain which maintains a subtropical environment. The flood plains are to the west toward the Indus River. These plains are considered to be some of agricultures richest and most fertile land. India in the southern area is a peninsula that is large and the area is flat land on the eastern coast allowing the opening of interaction among cultures and with foreign individuals. To the west the sea walls the land in making it difficult to reach via land travel. The time period discussed herein as illustrated in the following chart labeled Figure 1.0:

Figure 1.0

Source: Timeline of India

[Online available at...

.askasia.org/image/maps/timeind.htm]
I. Cultural and Societal Characteristics of Northern India

In northern India the Gupta period was from 319 to 606 AD. These people were direct descendents of the great Buddhist Empire that was built by Ashoka, a great Mauryan ruler. This group of Endo-Europeans ruled Northern India for many hundreds of years. The stone and fresco artwork are credited to the Guptas as well as the revival of Hinduism during which time many of the great texts that founded Indian Hinduism were written. These works in writing were the:

(1) Puranas (encyclopedia)

(2) Dharmasastra (law books) and (3) Tantras (religious formularies). (Gelbar, 2004)

This period has been referred to as a time of called a "cultural renaissance." (Boeree, 2004) Furthermore during this time a revival was experienced.

II. Cultural and Societal Characteristics of Southern India

The society in Southern India kept their distance from the troubles in the north and stayed firmly grounded in the tradition of the Hindu religion. The Pallavas and then the Cholas played roles that were important in relation to the spreading of Hinduism into Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. The Dravidian architectural style is credited to the Pallavas. Just to the north were the Chalukyas dominating the area on and off for approximately 600 years until 1190 excepting the time of the Rashtruakutas rule of 753-972 AD. The groups living in Southern India are from the Dravidian ancestry group.

III. Originators and Language of Ancient India:

The language of the Aryans is one that is related although distantly to the western European language originating from Russia. Further the Aryans brought the Vedic religion with them. The Aryans settled in Northern India and set up castes systems were composed at the top to levels almost entirely of Aryans. These two classes were the Kshatryas (warriors) and the Brahmins (priests). The Aryans or…