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Hindu Lit > Mid-Term > Flashcards

Mid-Term Flashcards

1
Q

four asrama

A
  1. Student
  2. Householder
  3. Forest Dweller
  4. Renouncer

(Only ‘twice-born’ males undertook the four ashramas)

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2
Q

Student

A
  • Boys
  • No sex
  • Devote time to teacher
  • For certain age range (dependent upon caste)
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3
Q

Householder

A
  • Once you get married
  • Have to have male son to take over responsibilities
  • Means standing in the house
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4
Q

Forest Dweller

A
  • Optional stage
  • Mainly for brahmins
  • Go to live in the forest (like Rama when he was banned to the forest)
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5
Q

Renounce

A
  • Renounce responsibilities, leave job
  • Path to moksha/liberation
  • Have a funeral for past self (change name)
  • A way of self-sacrifice
  • Reject entire system
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6
Q

asrama for women

A
  1. Before marriage - Duty to father
  2. Post marriage - Duty to husband
    = think sita going into forest with rama
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7
Q

Varna

A

4 classes/castes

  1. Brahmins
  2. Ksatriya
  3. Vaishyas
  4. Shudras

Described in rig veda as part of body
Mouth, Arms, Thighs, Feet

Dalits - untouchables, bums, outside of original 4

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8
Q

Twice born

A

you are a Brahmin, Ksatriya, or Vaishya

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9
Q

Shudras

A

4th varna

Servants - have one job = to serve others

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10
Q

Vaishyas

A

3rd Varna

commoners/farmers/craftsmen (protect livestock, trading, lending money)

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11
Q

Ksatriya

A

2nd Varna

Rulers/warriors (protects his subjects)

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12
Q

Brahmin

A

1st Varna

  • priests - constantly studying
  • trained in running rituals and sacrifices
  • proper pronounciation passed down generation
  • from generation (could be literally the exact same for thousands of years)
  • always learning and or teaching
  • wear sacred thread after certain age (8-13)
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13
Q

Jati

A
  • kind/species you’re born into a family lineage
  • “ritual job of sorts”
  • could be a barber jati, and give first haircut as a ritual, but then still be a shoe-smith
  • Various communities built around diverse groups of jatis
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14
Q

Agni

A
  • God of Fire (fire wasn’t symbolic, he literally was the fire)
  • Messenger = communicated between humanity and other gods
  • Carried up sacrifices
  • He can perform and greatly understands Yajna
  • Part of every sacrifice
  • Brahmins (messenger of sorts) carry the God, but not as symbolic
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15
Q

Fire Sacrifice

A
  • Yajna
  • Higher castes sponsor rituals that Brahmins carry out with and through agni
  • Literally offering and giving sacrifice up to gods as agni carries it up
  • Transactional in nature (we sacrifice animal, get male son, “wealth”/cattle,
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16
Q

Things sacrificed in Yajna

A
  • Animals
  • Butter/Ghee
  • Milk/Curds
  • Brains
  • Soma = hallucinogenic plant, or so we think (got them trippy)
17
Q

Human Role in Yajna

A
  • Participation not optional
  • Different responsibilities for different people (once again, no universal truths — moral relativists would be proud)
  • Cosmic responsibilities — you could upset the order of everything (think present tense butterfly effect)
18
Q

4 Vedas

A
  1. Samhita
  2. Brahmanas
  3. Aranyakas
  4. Upanisads
  • Timeless and not of human agency – passed down from eternity and gods
  • Those which are revealed, not remembered
  • Most Hindus accept status/authority, but very few have read it
  • many new “sects” try to claim they have the 5th veda
  • Vedas derived from sanskrit word for Knowledge
19
Q

Samhita

A

1st Veda

  • Rigveda – supposedly oldest written (as early as 1200 BCE)
  • Mostly hymns/liturgy
20
Q

Brahamanas

A

2nd Veda

  • Why fire works? Why it’s called Agni (first)?
  • Why you need to chant things?
  • Why things need to pure?
  • Commentaries on the Samhita Veda
  • Internally contradictory – conflicting myths and different gods doing the same thing
21
Q

Aranyakas

A

3rd Veda

  • Overlaps with Upanisads
  • Further commentary on Samhita and Brahamanas
22
Q

Upanisads

A

4th Veda

- Philisophical speculation

23
Q

Rig Veda

A
  • Earliest veda text
  • Part of Samhita veda
  • Explains purpose and story of Agni
  • Famous verse compares varnas classes to human body
24
Q

2 main epics

A

Mahabharta - 18books

Ramanyana

25
Q

Sruti

A
  • Means what was heard by the seers and/or revealed
  • Manifestaion of the divine in the world
  • Example = Vedas
26
Q

Smriti

A
  • Which is remembered or handed down
  • Human composition based upon revealed truth (didn’t come from gods)
  • Ex Ramayana
  • Valmiki was the first poet (wrote ramayana)
27
Q

Karma

A
  • Means action
  • Cause and effect
  • If you fulfill dharmic responsibilities, you can have rebirth as a higher level (human/animal/divine being)
28
Q

“Foundational” status of Ramayana

A
  • Exists in possibly thousands of versions
  • Kavya - sanskrit high literature
  • Have enormous influence
  • No one hindu ever hears the story for the first time
  • Epitomizes dharma — Rama is infallible
29
Q

Rama (and his duties and decisions)

A
  • Followed fathers orders over taking the throne he was supposed to have without question
  • Even after Bharata tried to convince
  • Rightfully and honorably took the throne back after 14 years
  • States to his stepmother “I would go even if you ordered it”
  • Although Sita’s purity was proven, there were rumors that Sita was not. In order to serve a point, he had to banish Sita. (Duty to kingdom is greater than duty to wife)
30
Q

Sita (duties/decisions)

A
  • Although Rama first told Sita to wait for him, she states she is coming to the forest with him.
  • Listened to his banishment when se was found impure
31
Q

King Daśaratha (duties/decisions)

A
  • As king he had to keep his word to his wife and ordered Rama’s banishment
  • Dharma — keeping word
32
Q

Kalidasa

A
  • Wrote Sakuntula
  • Highly respected poet
  • Dove into relationship between love and desire

Hindu Lit (2 decks)

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