| A | B |
|---|
| monsoons | winds that mark the seasons in India |
| Harappa and Mohenjo Daro | ancient cities of the Indus River Valley |
| Indo-Aryans | nomadic people who came into northwestern India from the Black and Caspian Sea |
| Vedas | great works of religious literature written by the Indo-Aryan |
| Sanskrit | the Indo-Aryan language |
| Brahmins | special priest of the Indo-Aryans |
| epics | long poems |
| Bhagavad Gita | the most famous Hindu scripture |
| reincarnation | the be belief in the rebirth of souls |
| caste system | a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity |
| polytheistic | based on a belief in more than one god |
| inoculation | the practice of infecting a person with a mild form of a disease so that he or she will not develope a more serious form |
| planned city | a city that is built according to a set design |
| subcontinent | a large landmass that forms a distinct part of a continent |
| yoga | A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one's union with the divine. |
| golden age | period of great cultural achievement |
| sage | a wise person |
| Aryans | immigrants who arrived at the Ganges river valley by the year 1000 BC |
| Brahmanism | early religion of the Aryans |
| Ganges River | Indian river used for spiritual cleansing, funeral rites, and other Hindu rituals. |
| Asoka | grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; Buddhist emperor that wanted peace and stability |
| Chandragupta Maurya | founder of the Mauryan Empire |
| Chandra Gupta I | Founder of the Gupta Empire |
| Chandra Gupta II | Ruled over the Golden Age of the Gupta Dynasty |
| Kalidasa | One of India's greatest writers |
