RELS 131 Chapter Notes - Chapter Week 1: Indus Valley Civilisation, Upanishads, Vedas

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELS 131
• Professor: Aditi Sen- Chowdhury

Document Summary

Vedas four collections of hymns and texts: revealed to rishis (visionaries, shruti are that which is heard, words. Fusion of the indigenous religion of indus valley, faith of aryans, and indo-european people. Harappa culture: extends beyond indus basin through communication and travel, impressive builders who lived in planned cities, women not held in high standards, seven gods or goddesses became of importance in later hindu beliefs. The indo europeans: sanskrit: earliest hindu compositions, home was possibly indian subcontinent, composed poems and committed them to memory. The vedas: regarded as revealed scripture, rig, sama, yajur, atharva. Consists of: hymns, directions for performance of sacred rituals. Brahmanas, compositions for the forest, philosophical works called. Upanishads: upanishads: most recent sections of each collection, most sacred text ritual texts, brahmins highest regarded class in hindu society, considered faultless, perfect and supreme source of knowledge. Manuals for ritual: mahabharata: one of the two great hindu epics.