| A | B |
|---|
| Subcontinent | part of the larger, Asian continent |
| Himalaya Mountains | The highest mountains in the world, separates the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. |
| Ganges River | flows from the Himalaya Mountains into the Bay of Bengal, in the northeast of India |
| Indus River | flows from the Himalaya Mountains into the Arabian Sea, in the northwest of India |
| Monsoons | seasonal winds that bring seasonal rains |
| Harappa | one of the two earliest Indian culture civilizations; a large city of about 35,000 inhabitants near the Indus River. |
| Mohenjo-Daro | one of the two earliest Indian culture civilizations; a large city of about 35,000 inhabitants near the Indus River. |
| Sanskrit | the written language of the Aryans |
| Raja | a prince of the Aryans; an Aryan leader |
| Caste | a social class that a person is born into and cannot change. |
| Brahmans | the top social class of the caste system |
| Guru | teacher |
| Hinduism | originally an Aryan religion; polytheistic; gods and goddesses controlled all forces of nature |
| Brahman | the universal spirit of Hinduism |
| Reincarnation | the idea that life continues beyond death through being re-born into another physical being |
| Dharma | the Hindu divine law and belief of duty to live in accordance with duties of the caste |
| Karma | the consequences of how a person lives. A person who lives a good life, honoring the dharma, a person may move closer to the Brahman in their next life. |
| Buddhism | the belief that the only way to find truth about the world was to give up desires |
| Siddhartha Gautama | the original Buddha and founder of Buddhism |
| Nepal | the region / kingdom where Buddhism was established, in the Himalayan Mountains |
| Nirvana | a state of wisdom, giving up all desires |
| Tibet | a Mahayana Buddhist, theocratic kingdom in the Himalayan Mountains; the Dali Lama was the head of the government and the head of the religion; now a region of China. |
| Theocracy | when religion leaders are the head of the government, as well. |
| Dali Lama | the head of the Tibetan government and a spiritual leader; the Panchen Lama was the head of the religious aspects of Tibetan Buddhism |
| Chandragupta Mauya | Indian prince who conquered a large area in the Ganges River valley |
| Dynasty | A series of rulers from the same family |
| Pataliputra | The capital of the Mauryan Empire |
| Asoka | Thought to be the greatest of the Mauryan rulers; the grandson of Chandragupa Mauya |
| Stupas | Buddhist shrines that have the shape of a dome or mound. |
| Pilgrims | people who travel to a religious shrine. These people often use trade routes for their journey |
| Kalidasa | one of India’s best known authors; wrote love stories, plays, poems, comedies; lived in Gupta dynasty |
