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| 16531711 | ALEXANDER THE GREAT | Successor of Philip II; successfully conquered Persian Empire prior to his death in 323 B.C.E.; attempted to combine Greek and Persian cultures. | 0 | |
| 16531712 | HIMALAYAS | Mountain region marking the northern border of the Indian subcontinent; site of the Aryan settlements that formed small kingdoms or warrior republics. | 1 | |
| 16531713 | MONSOONS | Seasonal winds crossing Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia; during summer bring rains. | 2 | |
| 16531714 | ARYANS | Indo-European nomadic pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization; militarized society. | 3 | |
| 16531715 | SANSKRIT | The sacred and classical Indian language. | 4 | |
| 16531729 | VEDAS | Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E. | 5 | |
| 16531730 | MAHABHARATA | Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries B.C.E.; previously handed down in oral form. | 6 | |
| 16531731 | RAMAYANA | One of the greatest epic tales from classical India; traces adventures of King Rama and his wife. | 7 | |
| 16531732 | UPANISHADS | Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority. | 8 | |
| 16543436 | VARNAS | Clusters of caste groups in Aryan society; four social castes- Brahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, and peasants; beneath four Aryan castes was groupof socially untouchable Dasas. | 9 | |
| 20460778 | UNTOUCHABLES | Lowest caste in Indian society; performed tasks that were considered polluting- street sweeping, removal of human waste, and tanning. | 10 | |
| 20462704 | INDRA | Chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking warrior. | 11 | |
| 20462705 | CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA | Founder of Maurya dynasty; established first empire in Indian subcontinent; first centralized government since Harappan civilization. | 12 | |
| 20462706 | MAURYAN | Dynasty established in Indian subcontinent in 4th century B.C.E. following invasion by Alexander the Great. | 13 | |
| 20462707 | ASHOKA | Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; completed conquests of Indian subcontinent; converted to Buddhism and sponsored spread of new religion throughout his empire. | 14 | |
| 20462708 | DHARMA | The caste position and career determined by a person's birth; Hindu culture required that one accept one's social position and perform occupation to the best of one's ability in order to have a better situation in the next life. | 15 | |
| 20462709 | KUSHANS | Dynasty that succeeded the Mauryas in northwestern India; sponsors of Buddhism; empire did not extend to Ganges River valley. | 16 | |
| 20462710 | GUPTAS | Dynasty that succeeded the Kushans in the 3rd century C.E.; built empire that extended to all but the southern regions of Indian subcontinent; less centralized than Mauryan Empire. | 17 | |
| 20463645 | KAUTILYA | Political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; one of the authors of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare. | 18 | |
| 20463646 | GURUS | Brahmans who served as teachers for the princes of the imperial court of the Guptas. | 19 | |
| 20760803 | VISHNU | The Brahman, later Hindu, god of sacrifice; widely worshipped. | 20 | |
| 20760804 | SHIVA | The Brahman, later Hindu, god of destruction and reproduction; worshipped as the personification of cosmic forces of change. | 21 | |
| 20760805 | REINCARNATION | The successive attachment of the soul to some animate form according to merits earned in previous lives. | 22 | |
| 20760806 | BUDDHA | Creator of major Indian and Asian religion; born in 6th century B.C.E. as son of local ruler among Aryan tribes located near Himalayas; became an ascetic; found enlightenment under bo tree; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for all earthly things. | 23 | |
| 20760807 | NIRVANA | The Buddhist state of enlightenment, a state of tranquility. | 24 | |
| 20760808 | KAMASUTRA | Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered instructions on all aspects of life for higher caste males, including grooming, etiquette, selection of wives, and instruction on lovemaking. | 25 | |
| 20760809 | STUPAS | Stone shrines built to house pieces of bone and personal possessions said to be relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist architectural forms. | 26 | |
| 20760810 | SCHOLAR-GENTRY | Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China. | 27 |
