Alexander the Great & The Mauryan Empire
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 2.2.23
Alexander the Great and the Mauryan Empire
Alexander the Great was a Greek king who lived from 356 – 323 BCE. He was one of the most successful military leaders in history. His empire eventually reached northern India. This is where Alexander came into contact with Hinduism.
Alexander the Great
- Alexander’s conquests, and his attempt to create a vast empire, were met with resistance.
- This included opposition to him taking over northern India.
- As Alexander’s power began to weaken, a new Mauryan empire began to develop.
- Its first king, Chandragupta Maurya took control of areas once ruled by Alexander.
Chandragupta Maurya
- Chandragupta Maurya then extended his power to control an empire that would be described as pan-Indian.
- This means that it stretched out of northern India and included most of what is now the Indian region.
- This led to the spread of religious ideas throughout India.
Other Indian Religions
- Some people at that time thought that the beliefs of Brahmanism were unclear.
- They thought there were few distinctive Hindu beliefs.
- So, many began to turn to other religious traditions.
- Chandragupta, for example, became a follower of Jainism.
- Jainism is also an Indian religion. It teaches the value of non-violence and asceticism.
- Others, such as a later Mauryan king, Ashoka, were drawn to the peaceful ideas found in Buddhism.
Personal Deities
- Both Jainism and Buddhism grew at this time, at the expense of Brahmanism.
- This brought about changes in Brahmanism. It developed many of the beliefs and practices of modern-day Hinduism.
- One of the important beliefs in Hinduism that emerged at this time was personal deities.
- These are gods that each has very different personalities. But, they all represent different qualities of Brahman.
- Some of these gods take on avatars - they assume a material form and come to earth.
Vishnu
- There are many stories about the actions of these personal deities.
- Some Hindus worship one in particular, to the exclusion of the others.
- For example, Vishnu is understood as the god who protects the universe.
- He comes to earth in troubled times. Two of his avatars were Rama and Krishna.
- Stories of Rama and Krishna tell of their heroic battles against evil forces.
Shiva
- Another example of one of the personal deities is Shiva.
- Shiva is the destroyer and re-creator of the universe.
- The destruction takes place to rid the world of its imperfections, and then it returns in a better form.
- Images of Shiva show him with a third eye that represents his wisdom.
Test yourself on Alexander the Great & The Mauryan Empire
What major change in Brahmanism happened in the Mauryan Empire?
Who are two of Vishnu's avatars?
Which Hindu deity is known as the destroyer and recreator of the universe?