CBSE Class 6 History Notes Chapter 6 New Questions and Ideas

Class 6 Notes Social Science History Chapter 6 New Questions and Ideas help you in quick revision of the chapter. Reading these notes will help you to understand the lesson more easily. Once you have understood the chapter, you can easily write the answers of the questions that may come to your exams. Ultimately, our Class 6 NCERT Notes History Chapter 6 will help you to score good marks in the exam.

New Questions and Ideas Class 6 Notes Social Science History Chapter 6

• By the sixth century BC, religious worship in India became ritualistic and rigid, bound by caste rules.
• It forced many thinkers to give up worldly life and meditate in search of peace and enlightenmet.
• Such thinkers spread their teachings through the Upanishads and two new religons:
• Buddhism and Jainism popularized by Gautam Buddha and Lord Mahavira respectively.

The story of Buddha

About 2500 years ago, Siddhartha the founder of Buddhism was born. He was also known as Gautama Buddha. The Buddha 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 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.

Buddha’s Teaching

The Buddha taught that life is full of suffering and unhappiness. Even if we get what we want, we are not satisfied and want even more. The Buddha described this as thirst or tanha. He taught that this constant craving could be removed by following moderation in everything. He also taught people to be kind, and to respect the lives of others, including animals. He believed that the results of our actions (called karma), whether good or bad, affect us both in this life and the next.

The Upnishads:  

(i) With expansion of trade around 600 BC, people had less time for performance of rituals and focused on right belief.  

ii) Scholars criticized all rituals and focused on right belief.  

iii) Literally ‘Upnishad’ means approaching and sitting near the teacher.  

iv) It became an important elaboration of Vedas. Thus its illustrations and conclusions were called Vendata.  

v) The Upnishads stressed on the need to create a desire for knowledge to achieve Moksha.

vi) The Upnishads focused on the fact the knowledge of Atman (self) should be acquired  

and related with Parmatman (ultimate reality).  

vii) This philosophy was given by scholars like Yajnavalkya, Maitreyi, Gargi, Aaitareya, etc.

Message of Lord Mahavira:  

i) Lord Mahavira is usually regarded as the founder of Jainism.  

ii) He left his palace and meditated for many years.  

iii) He gained supreme knowledge in the thirteenth year.  

iv) He was able to control and conquer the indriyas (senses). He was thus called Jina and his disciples were called Jains.

Mahavira Spreads his Religion:  

i) Mahavira travelled widely in the country preaching Jainism for thirty years.  

ii) He also received royal support.  

iii) King Bimbisara of Magadha, Pradyote ofo Avanti, helped him to spread the religion.  

iv) Some of his famous disciples were Ananda, Surdev, etc.

Doctines of Jainism  

(i) Mahavira gave five doctrines

(ii) These include not to injure life, not to speak lie, not to steal, not to possess property, and to vow chasity.

(iii) This could be achieved through righ faith, right knowledge and right action.

The Jain Sangha and the Division in Jainism:  

(i) At Pawanagar, Mahavira entered into a debate with Brahmanas and was able to impress them.

(ii) With their help he laid the foundation of the Jain Sangha.

(iii) The members of the Jain Sangha were divided into four categories: Bhikkus, Bhikkhunis, Shraveks and Shravikas. The first two were ascetics while the other two were householders.  

(iv) The great igration of Jain under Bhdrbahu to south India divided the religion into two cults.

(v) The orthodox followers of Mahavira who hold Bhadrabahu in high esteem go completely nake. They are called Digambaras.

(vi) The other sect followers of Parsvanath wear white clothes. They are called Shvetambaras.

The sangha

Sangha was an association of those people who left their homes. The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called the Vinaya Pitaka. 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 (the Prakrit word for renouncer – beggar) and bhikkhunis. Those who joined the sangha included brahmins, kshatriyas, merchants, labourers, barbers, courtesans and slaves.

Monasteries

Both Jaina and Buddhist monks went from place to place throughout the year, teaching people. The only time they stayed in one place was during the rainy season, when it was very difficult to travel. Then, their supporters built temporary shelters for them in gardens, or they lived in natural caves in hilly areas. The permanent shelters, which monasteries were built were known as viharas. The earliest viharas were made of wood, and then of brick. Some were even in caves, especially in western India. Over the centuries, Buddhism spread to many parts of the subcontinent and beyond. You will learn more about this in Chapter 9 of History.