NCERT solutions for थीम्स इन इंडियन हिस्ट्री पार्ट I, II, एण्ड III [अंग्रेजी] कक्षा १२ chapter 4 - Thinkers, Beliefs And Buildings: Cultural Developments [Latest edition]

Here are two verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni, the god of fire, often identified with the sacrificial fire, into which offerings were made so as to reach the other deities:

Bring, O strong one, this sacrifice of ours to the gods, O wise one, as a liberal giver. Bestow on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, by sacrificing, mighty wealth for us.

Procure, O Agni, for ever to him who prays to you (the gift of) nourishment, the wonderful cow. May a son be ours, offspring that continues our line …

Verses such as these were composed in a special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were taught orally to men belonging to priestly families.

Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, describing a conversation between King Ajatasattu, the ruler of Magadha, and the Buddha:

On one occasion, King Ajatasattu visited the Buddha and described what another teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, had told him:

“Though the wise should hope, by this virtue … by this penance I will gain karma … and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased … just as a ball of string will, when thrown, unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make an end of sorrow.”

And this is what a philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin taught:

“There is no such thing, O king, as alms or sacrifice, or offerings … there is no such thing as this world or the next …

A human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies, the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the windy to air, and his senses pass into space …

The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools, an empty lie … fools and wise alike are cut off and perish. They do not survive after death.”

The first teacher belonged to the tradition of the Ajivikas. They have often been described as fatalists: those who believe that everything is predetermined. The second teacher belonged to the tradition of the Lokayatas, usually described as materialists. Texts from these traditions have not survived, so we know about them only from the works of other traditions.

Just as the Buddha’s teachings were compiled by his followers, the teachings of Mahavira were also recorded by his disciples. These were often in the form of stories, which could appeal to ordinary people. Here is one example, from a Prakrit text known as the Uttaradhyayana Sutta, describing how a queen named Kamalavati tried to persuade her husband to renounce the world:

If the whole world and all its treasures were yours, you would not be satisfied, nor would all this be able to save you. When you die, O king, and leave all things behind, dhamma alone, and nothing else, will save you. As a bird dislikes the cage, so do I dislike (the world). I shall live as a nun without offspring, without desire, without the love of gain, and without hatred …

Those who have enjoyed pleasures and renounced them move about like the wind, and go wherever they please, unchecked like birds in their flight …

Leave your large kingdom … abandon what pleases the senses, be without attachment and property, then practise severe penance, being firm of energy …

This is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka and contains the advice given by the Buddha to a wealthy householder named Sigala:

In five ways should a master look after his servants and employees … by assigning them work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times …

In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of samanas (those who have renounced the world) and Brahmanas: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs.

There are similar instructions to Sigala about how to behave with his parents, teacher and wife.

This unique Buddhist text, part of the Sutta Pitaka, is a collection of verses composed by bhikkhunis. It provides an insight into women’s social and spiritual experiences. Punna, a dasi or slave woman, went to the river each morning to fetch water for her master’s household. There she would daily see a Brahmana performing bathing rituals. One morning she spoke to him. The following are verses composed by Punna, recording her conversation with the Brahmana:

I am a water carrier:
Even in the cold
I have always gone down to the water
frightened of punishment
Or the angry words of high-class women.
So what are you afraid of, Brahmana, that makes you go down to the water
(Though) your limbs shake with the bitter cold?

The Brahmana replied:
I am doing good to prevent evil;
anyone young or old
who has done something bad
is freed by washing in water.

Punna said:
Whoever told you
You are freed from evil by washing in the water?…
In that case all the frogs and turtles
Would go to heaven, and so would the water snakes and crocodiles!
(Instead) Don’t do that thing, the fear of which
leads you to the water.
Stop now, Brahmana!
Save your skin from the cold …

These are some of the rules laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka:

When a new felt (blanket/rug) has been made by a bhikkhu, it is to be kept for (at least) six years. If after less than six years he should have another new felt (blanket/rug) made, regardless of whether or not he has disposed of the first, then – unless he has been authorised by the bhikkhus – it is to be forfeited and confessed.

In case a bhikkhu arriving at a family residence is presented with cakes or cooked grain-meal, he may accept two or three bowlfuls if he so desires. If he should accept more than that, it is to be confessed. Having accepted the two or three bowlfuls and having taken them from there, he is to share them among the bhikkhus. This is the proper course here.

Should any bhikkhu, having set out bedding in a lodging belonging to the sangha – or having had it set out – and then on departing neither put it away nor have it put away, or should he go without taking leave, it is to be confessed.

This is an excerpt from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, part of the Sutta Pitaka:

As the Buddha lay dying, Ananda asked him:

“What are we to do, Lord, with the remains of the Tathagata (another name for the Buddha)?”

The Buddha replied: “Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of the Tathagata. Be zealous, be intent on your own good.”

But when pressed further, the Buddha said:

“At the four crossroads they should erect a thupa (Pali for stupa) to the Tathagata. And whosoever shall there place garlands or perfume … or make a salutation there, or become in its presence calm of heart, that shall long be to them for a profit and joy.”