KEY
Chapter 5: Ancient India
Section 5: Indian Achievements
Big Idea The people of ancient India made great contributions to the arts and
sciences.
Religious Art
Many paintings and sculptures illustrated Hindu and Buddhist teachings.
Hindu and Buddhist temples were built all across India.
Temples
Early Hindu temples were small stone structures with flat roofs and only one or two rooms.
Hindu temple architecture became more complex during the Gupta period. The temples were
topped by huge towers and covered with carvings of the god being worshipped inside the
temple.
Buddhist temples were also impressive. Some
were carved out of mountainsides. One such
temple is Ajanta (pictured here.)
The caves were filled with beautiful wall
paintings and sculptures.
Another type of Buddhist temple is a stupa, which has a domed
roof.
Paintings and Sculpture
There were many skilled artists during the Gupta period. They were paid by rich and powerful
members of Gupta society to create their works.
Most paintings from this period are clear and colorful. Some paintings show Indian people
wearing jewelry and stylish clothes.
Painters also worked in Hindu and Buddhist temples. Hindu artists painted hundreds of gods on
temple walls, while Buddhist artists painted scenes from the life of the Buddha.
Sculptors carved statues for Buddhist cave temples. They also carved statues of Hindu gods.
Sanskrit Literature
Sanskrit was the main language of the ancient Aryans. During the Mauryan and Gupta periods,
many works of Sanskrit literature were created.
Religious Epics
Two of the most famous religious epics (long poems) are:
 Mahabharata
 Ramayana
The Mahabharata is one of the world’s longest literary works. It is a story about a struggle
between two families for control of a kingdom. One passage in the Mahabharata is about Hindu
beliefs, and is called the Bhagavad Gita.
The Ramayana tells about a prince named Rama, who is actually the god Vishnu in human
form. The god becomes human so that he can rid the world of demons and rescue his wife, Sita.
Other Works
Writers in the Gupta period created plays, poetry, and other types of literature.
A famous writer named Kalidasa was hired by Candra Gupta II to write plays for the royal
court.
Sometime around 500, Indian writers also produced a book of stories called the Panchatantra.
These stories taught a lesson (sort of like fables.)
Scientific Advances
Vocabulary
1) metallurgy – the science of working with metals
2) alloys – mixtures of two or more metals
3) Hindu-Arabic numerals – the number system we use today
4) inoculation – injecting a person with a small dose of a virus to help him or her build up
defenses to a disease
5) astronomy – the study of stars and planets
Metalworking
The ancient Indians were some of the first
people to work with metals (known as
metallurgy.)
They were able to create high quality tools
and weapons.
They could also mix metals to create alloys,
which are sometimes stronger and easier to
work with than pure metals.
Metalworkers made their strongest products
out of iron. Indian iron was very hard and
pure, making it a valuable trade item.
The famous Iron Pillar was built during the
Gupta dynasty. It is resistant to rust, unlike
most iron.
Mathematics and Other Sciences
Ancient Indian mathematicians were among the most advanced of their day. They invented the
numeral system that we use today.
They were also the first people to create the zero, which makes modern math possible.
Indian doctors began writing their knowledge down in textbooks as early as the 100s. They
knew about making medicines from plants and minerals.
Indian doctors knew how to protect people against disease. They provided inoculation against
diseases (vaccines.)
Indians also performed surgery. They:
 repaired broken bones
 treated wounds
 removed infected tonsils
 reconstructed broken noses
 reattached torn earlobes
Indian astronomers knew of seven of the planets in our solar system (there are actually eight.)
They knew the sun was a star, and that planets revolved around it (remember, 500 years later
Europeans insisted that the Earth was at the center of the universe.)
They knew that the earth was a sphere and that it rotated on its axis. They could also predict
solar and lunar eclipses.