Chapter 4 Sacrifices and Debates| Class 12 History Notes

In this article, we will look into the topic of “Sacrifices and Debates” from Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 12 History book. These notes are specially curated by an expert team at w3wiki for all the students.

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Around 2500 to 500 years ago, some really important people started thinking deeply about life. People like Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in China, and Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in Greece were among them. In India, there were Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, plus many more. They wanted to figure out big questions like why we exist and how we fit into the world around us. At the same time, new cities and kingdoms were popping up, especially in the Ganga Valley in India, and things were changing a lot socially and economically. These smart thinkers were also trying to understand all these changes happening around them.

The Sacrificial Tradition

Before all these new thinkers came along, there were already some beliefs and practices in place. One of these was the early Vedic tradition, which we know from a sacred text called the Rigveda, put together between about 1500 and 1000 years ago. The Rigveda has lots of hymns praising different gods, like Agni, Indra, and Soma. People used to chant these hymns during rituals where they made sacrifices, asking for things like healthy cows, sons, good health, and a long life.

At first, these rituals were done together as a community. But later, starting around 1000 to 500 years ago, individuals started doing them for their own families’ wellbeing. The bigger and fancier rituals, like the rajasuya and ashvamedha, were done by important leaders and kings. They usually needed special priests, called Brahmanas, to lead the rituals.

New Questions

In the Upanishads, which were written around the sixth century BCE and later, people were really interested in big questions like what life means, whether there’s life after death, and if rebirth happens because of what we did before. These were topics that people debated a lot. Thinkers were also trying to figure out what the ultimate truth of the universe was. Some people, who didn’t follow the Vedic tradition, even wondered if there was one big truth at all. People also started thinking deeply about what all those rituals and sacrifices really meant.

Debates and Discussions

In ancient times, there were lots of lively debates and discussions, as mentioned in Buddhist writings, where they talk about up to 64 different schools of thought. Teachers would travel around, trying to convince others about their ideas and beliefs, both to other teachers and regular people. These debates often happened in places like small huts or groves where travelers stopped.

If a teacher managed to persuade one of their rivals, the followers of the rival would often join their side, so support for different beliefs could change over time. Many of these teachers, like Mahavira and the Buddha, questioned the authority of the Vedas, the sacred texts of Hinduism. They also stressed that individuals have the power to work towards freedom from the challenges of life, which was different from the Brahmanical belief that your caste and gender determined your life.

Here are two verses from the Chhandogya Upanishad, a text composed in Sanskrit c. sixth century BCE:

The Nature of the Self

This self of mine within the heart, is smaller than paddy or barley or mustard or millet or the kernel of a seed of millet. This self of mine within the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the intermediate space, greater than heaven, greater than these worlds.

The True Sacrifice

This one (the wind) that blows, this is surely a sacrifice … While moving, it sanctifies all this; therefore it is indeed a sacrifice.

The Buddha and other teachers didn’t write down their teachings; instead, they spoke and discussed them with people. Men and women, and maybe even kids, would attend these talks and talk about what they heard. During the Buddha’s time, his teachings weren’t written down. After he passed away around the fifth or fourth century BCE, his followers gathered at a council in Vesali to put together his teachings. They organized them into three groups called Tipitaka, which means “three baskets.” These included rules for monks, teachings of the Buddha, and philosophical discussions.

As Buddhism spread to new places like Sri Lanka, other texts were written about its history, including stories about the Buddha’s life. Some of the oldest texts are in a language called Pali, while later ones are in Sanskrit. When Buddhism reached East Asia, travelers like Fa Xian and Xuan Zang went all the way to India to find texts, which they then brought back to their own countries and translated.

Indian Buddhist teachers also traveled far and wide, spreading the Buddha’s teachings and carrying texts with them. These texts were kept safe in monasteries across Asia for many years. Nowadays, scholars translate them into different languages like Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan.

• The first millennium BCE marked a significant shift in history with the rise of influential thinkers like Zarathustra in Iran, Kong zi in China, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautama Buddha in India.
• This period also saw the growth of kingdoms and cities, shaping social and economic life.
• In terms of rituals, the early Vedic traditions recorded in the Rigveda, compiled between approximately 1500 and 1000 BCE, involved hymns praising various deities like Agni, Indra, and Soma.
• Complex rituals like the Ashvamedha and rajasuya were performed by chiefs who relied on Brahman priests to conduct them.
• As people pondered life’s meaning and the possibility of life after death and rebirth, debates arose, especially questioning the significance of rituals.
• Discussions happened in places like huts with pointed roofs or groves where travelers stopped. Teachers like Mahavira stressed individual empowerment, suggesting that both men and women could seek liberation from life’s challenges, a departure from the Brahmanical beliefs.
• The Buddha, along with other teachers, taught orally, and his teachings were compiled by his disciples after his death, forming the Tipitaka at a council in Vesali.
• Other texts like the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa chronicled regional histories of Buddhism, particularly in Sri Lanka.
• Additionally, there were differing viewpoints among people: fatalists believed everything was predetermined, while materialists valued physical possessions over spiritual values.

The period between 2500 to 500 years ago witnessed a transition from communal to individualistic sacrificial practices and the philosophical inquiries into life’s meaning and ultimate truth marked significant intellectual shifts. Debates and discussions, exemplified in the diverse schools of thought and dialogues among teachers, fueled the exploration of new ideas and challenged traditional beliefs, ultimately shaping the diverse philosophical landscape of ancient civilizations.

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What is world according to Buddhist philosophy class 12?

According to Buddhist philosophy, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing; it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.

What is the history of stupas Class 12?

To talk about its structure, the stupa evolved from a basic semi-circular earthen mound known as anda. Inside the stupa, there are small chambers where the relics of Buddha are placed. It developed into a more sophisticated construction that included both round and square forms.

What are the three Tripitakas?

Tripitakas are Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. These are contained teachings of Gautama Buddha.