Notes of Chapter 6 New Questions and Ideas Class 6th History
The story of the Buddha• Siddhartha, also known as Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born about 2500 years ago.
• He belonged to a small gana known as the Sakya gana, and was a kshatriya.
• When he was a young man, he left the comforts of his home in search of knowledge.
• He wandered for several years and meditated for days on end under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, where he attained enlightenment.
→ After that, he was known as the Buddha or the Wise One.
• He then went to Sarnath, near Varanasi, where he taught for the first time.
• He spent the rest of his life travelling on foot, going from place to place, teaching people,
till he passed away at Kusinara.
• The Buddha taught that life is full of suffering and unhappiness which is caused because we have
cravings and desires.
• The Buddha taught in the language of the ordinary people, Prakrit, so that everybody could understand his message.
Upanishads
• These were part of the later Vedic texts.
• Upanishad literally means ‘approaching and sitting near’.
• They described the atman or the individual soul and the brahman or the universal soul that ultimately, were one.
• Most Upanishadic thinkers were men, especially brahmins and rajas.
→ There were also few women thinkers such as Gargi, who was famous for her learning, and participated in debates held in royal courts.
Jainism
• The last and 24th tirthankara of the Jainas, Vardhamana Mahavira was the most famous among all thinkers.
• He was a kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha.
• Followers of Mahavira, who were known as Jainas, had to lead very simple lives, begging for food.
• They had to be absolutely honest, and were especially asked not to steal.
• Jainism was supported mainly by traders.
• Over hundreds of years, Jainism spread to different parts of north India, and to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• The teachings of Mahavira and his followers were transmitted orally for several centuries.
→ They were written down in the form in which they are presently available at a place called Valabhi, in Gujarat, about 1500 years ago
The sangha
• Both the Mahavira and the Buddha felt that only those who left their homes could gain true knowledge.
• They arranged for them to stay together in the sangha, an association of those who left their homes.
• Men and women who joined the sangha led simple lives.
→ They meditated for most of the time and went to cities and villages to beg for food during fixed hours.
→ That is why they were known as bhikkhus and bhikkhunis.
Monasteries
• Both Jaina and Buddhist monks went from place to place throughout the year, teaching people.
→ These were known as viharas.
• The land on which the vihara was built was donated by a rich merchant or a landowner, or the king.
• The local people came with gifts of food, clothing and medicines for the monks and nuns.