The primary sector involves activities that:

produce goods directly from nature

Which of these belongs to the secondary sector?

Manufacturing cloth from cotton in a factory

What are the four Vedas?

The Ṛig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Atharva Veda — India's most ancient texts.

How were the Vedas passed down?

They were composed and recited orally, memorised through rigorous training and handed on for thousands of years with hardly any change.

What are brahman and ātman in the Upaniṣhads?

Brahman is the one divine essence of everything, and ātman is the divine Self in every being, ultimately one with brahman.

Who was the Buddha and what did he realise?

Siddhārtha Gautama became the Buddha (‘awakened one’) after enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, realising that ignorance and attachment are the source of suffering.

Ahimsa means non-violence or non-hurting, including refraining from violence in thought, not just in action.

Prince Vardhamāna, who after twelve years of ascetic discipline gained supreme wisdom and became Mahāvīra, spreading Jainism.

Name the three central Jain teachings.

Ahimsa (non-violence), anekāntavāda (truth has many aspects) and aparigraha (non-possession).

What concepts did the Vedic, Buddhist and Jain schools share?

They shared concepts such as dharma, karma, rebirth, and the search to end suffering and ignorance.

What is a tribe, as defined today?

A close-knit community of families or clans sharing common descent, a culture and a language, living under a chief and holding no private property.

How have tribal and Hindu traditions interacted?

They have exchanged deities, legends and rituals for millenniums, enriching each other; both regard nature as sacred and often hold a concept of a supreme being.

India's Cultural Roots

Class 6 Social Science · Exploring Society: India and Beyond · Chapter 7

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14 chapters: maps to economic sectors

Marks booster + cheatsheet: key concepts in 2 lines each
Latitude and time zones, Ch 1
Timelines and sources of history, Ch 4
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Vedas to Mahāvīra, Ch 7
3 tiers of government, Ch 10–12

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Summary

Indian culture is several millenniums old, like an ancient tree with many roots and branches that share a common trunk of values. Among its earliest roots are the Vedas — the Ṛig, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva Vedas — thousands of hymns composed by rishis and rishikas in early Sanskrit and passed down orally with great accuracy (UNESCO recognised Vedic chanting in 2008). Vedic society was organised in janas (clans). The Upaniṣhads introduced ideas such as rebirth, karma, ātman (the Self) and brahman (the one divine essence), forming the Vedanta and Yoga schools, the foundations of Hinduism. Other schools rejected the authority of the Vedas: Buddhism, founded by Siddhārtha Gautama (the Buddha), taught that ignorance and attachment cause suffering and stressed ahimsa and inner discipline; Jainism, taught by Mahāvīra, stressed ahimsa, anekāntavāda (many-sidedness of truth) and aparigraha (non-possession). Though different, these schools shared concepts like dharma, karma and rebirth. India also has rich folk and tribal traditions, transmitted orally, which have interacted with the major schools for millenniums, exchanging deities, legends and rituals, and regarding nature as sacred while often holding a concept of a supreme being.

The Vedas and Vedic cultureThe Upaniṣhads, brahman and ātmanBuddhism and the BuddhaJainism and MahāvīraFolk and tribal roots of Indian culture

Key terms

Veda

India's most ancient texts — four collections of hymns (Ṛig, Yajur, Sāma, Atharva) passed down orally.

Upaniṣhad

A group of texts that built on Vedic ideas and introduced concepts like rebirth, karma, ātman and brahman.

Ahimsa

Non-violence or ‘non-hurting’; a central value in Buddhism, Jainism and Indian culture, including in thought.

Buddha

The title (‘the awakened one’) of Siddhārtha Gautama, founder of Buddhism, who taught the end of suffering.

Mahāvīra

The title (‘great hero’) of Prince Vardhamāna, the teacher who spread Jainism.

Tribe

A close-knit community of families sharing common descent, culture and language, often holding no private property.

India's Cultural Roots

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