Ancient India is a land of fairy tales and amazing wonders. Ancient India - a land of fairy tales and amazing wonders - Presentation of tales about animals of ancient India
Business card Country area: 3 million 288 thousand km 2 Population: 1 billion 10 million people Capital: Delhi Form of government: republic ATU: federation India is one of the oldest states in the world. In the past it was a colony of Great Britain, after the Second World War it achieved independence.
Economic-geographical position It is separated from China by the mountainous country of the Himalayas. Along the foothills of the Himalayas, the great river Ganges flows through the lowlands. It is considered the sacred river of India. With the discovery of sea routes to India by Europeans, the era of great geographical discoveries began. India passes through the world's maritime trade routes from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, and is also located halfway between the Middle and Far East.
Population India ranks second in population in the world, after China. Scientists count about 1.6 thousand dialects here. The official language is Hindi (the language of Hindustani, the largest Indian nation) and English. Bilingualism is widespread. The distribution of India's population is uneven.
Population The most densely populated areas are the fertile lowlands, plains in valleys and river deltas, and the sea coast. The level of urbanization (urban growth) in India is relatively low (30 – 40%). Major cities in India: Delhi, Kolkata, Bompey, Chennai. The majority of the population lives in villages (there are more than 600 thousand), large and crowded. Almost ¼ of Indians live below the official poverty level.
Religion Hindus, Muslims 80% of the population are Hindus, Muslims constitute the largest religious minority - 11%, Sikhs - Buddhists 2.2% - Sikhs, Buddhists only 0.7%, most of whom converted to Buddhism quite recently. India is a secular state and any discrimination on religious grounds is punishable by law.
Industry The chemical industry focuses on the production of mineral fertilizers. Pharmaceuticals are developing. India is the world's chromium exporter. It occupies a leading place in reserves of graphite, beryl, thorium, zirconium, and second place in the world in titanium mining. Light industry is a traditional sector of the Indian economy, especially cotton and jute. The food industry produces goods for both domestic consumption and export. India ranks first in the world in tea exports.
Agriculture of India The leading branch of agriculture in India is crop production. In India they grow: grain crops: rice, wheat, corn, millet. The main industrial crops are cotton, jute, tea, sugar cane, tobacco, oilseeds (peanuts, rapeseed, etc.). Coconut palms, bananas, pineapples, mangoes, citrus fruits, herbs and spices are also grown.
Livestock Livestock farming is the second most important agricultural sector in India, far behind crop production. India ranks first in the world in the number of cattle and one of the last in the consumption of meat products, since the religious views of Hinduism support vegetarianism and prohibit eating beef and killing cows (in ancient India they were a symbol of fertility and prosperity). In coastal areas, fishing is of great importance.
Aviation, road, sea and river transport are also developed. Indian car "Tata Nano" An-32. Indian Air Force Indian warship "Tabar"
Indian cuisine is characterized by a wide variety of regional styles and sophisticated use of kitchen roots, herbs and seasonings. The main food products in the regions are rice and wheat. The most famous seasoning, originally originating from the Indian subcontinent and now consumed throughout the world, is black pepper.
Panchatantra (Sanskrit - “five books”, or according to another interpretation “five tricks”, more precisely - “the science of management called Panchatantra”) is a famous collection of fables and parables that arose in India around the 3rd century. n. e. and through the mediation of the Persians (Pahlavi translation of the 6th century) and Arabs (translation from the Pahlavi Ibn Moqaffa of the 8th century) became the property of world literature.
Like almost all the epic works of ancient India, the Panchatantra is built on the principle of framing in the form of five prose stories (“Separation of Friends”, “Gain of Friends”, “War of Crows and Owls”, “Loss of Gain” and “Reckless Deeds”, the heroes of the first story are jackal-ministers Karataka and Damanaka, after whom the collection in Arabic translation was named); These stories, in turn, are united by an introductory story about the sage Vishnusharman, who wrote the Panchatantra as an instruction for the royal sons, and are the frame for many inserted parables, fables and poetic sayings. In addition to independent versions of the Panchatantra, both in its entirety and in fragments, it is included in a number of other epic works of ancient India: in large poetic collections of tales of Somadeva and Kshemendra, in prose framed collections “Hitopadesha”, “Seventy Tales of a Parrot”, etc.
The content of the Panchatantra is a discussion in narrative form of difficult incidents presented to the ruler; its goal is to teach diplomacy and good Sanskrit to young men of noble families. Thus, Panchatantra is a kind of educational book, a didactic work. But Panchatantra didactics has very little to do with morality. It arose among sectarian city dwellers, equally opposed to both Brahmanism and Buddhism, expressing the interests of this environment and the demands it made on state power. Its goal is to show that moral laws are not absolute, that they recede into the background before the idea of the welfare of the state.
It is clear that this worldview, this artistic method easily found an echo wherever the prerequisites for the isolation of the “urban class” already existed, where representatives of merchant capital began to feel constrained under the conditions of the feudal system. It is not for nothing that most of the Panchatantra plots were so easily adopted by the urban class of the medieval West and used by them to ridicule monks, priests and knights.
Read a book
The ancestors of the Indian population came to this land from different parts of the world. Therefore, today Indian fairy tales are told by hundreds of nationalities inhabiting the country.
How to distinguish an Indian fairy tale?
Despite all the diversity of cultures, religions and even languages, the best Indian fairy tales for children have some peculiarities. The main focus of most stories are:
desire to gain knowledge;
religiosity;
preference for a righteous lifestyle;
placing family values at the forefront;
inclusion of poetic forms.
Religious quotes and teachings are directly put into the mouths of some characters.
Brief history of creation
Old Indian legends date back to before our era. Then they were created as teachings for the sons of the ruler of the country. But they already had a fairy-tale form, they were written on behalf of animals. The oldest collection of fairy tales itself is “Kathasaritsagaru”, based on the most ancient beliefs in traditional Indian gods.
Gradually all the folklore stories took shape. Magical, everyday, love, and heroic tales arose. In the country's folk art, many stories were written about ordinary people who defeated all the adversities of fate. Fairy tales about animals possessing all human qualities were spread. They interacted with each other, denounced vices, and praised virtuous behavior. Often the narrative included short advice given by the wisest hero. This is how fairy tales remain today.
What attracts you to the amazing legends of India?
The fairy-tale fantasies of India attract with their amazingly colorful oriental flavor, storytelling style and, of course, the abundance of magical plots. At the same time, the child unobtrusively receives wise advice and forms a correct vision of the surrounding world of people and animals.
Defense of the history project
"INDIA is the birthplace of many fables and tales about animals."
We are students of grade 5 “B”, Anastasia Lozhechnikova and Daria Borodina. We present to your attention a history project: “India is the birthplace of many fables and tales about animals”
Project manager: Svetlana Ivanovna Repinskaya - history teacher
The OBJECT of our research is the country of India
The SUBJECT of the study is animal heroes of fairy tales and fables of India
We have put forward a hypothesis: The veneration of sacred animals in India is the reason that India is a country of many fairy tales and fables about animals
When preparing for the project, we set ourselves the following GOAL:
Find out what beliefs are associated with the fact that in ancient Indian literature the characters are often animals. We have set ourselves the following TASKS:
Get acquainted with Indian fairy tales and fables about animals
Find out which ones you liked best and why.
Find out what beliefs are associated with the fact that in ancient Indian literature the characters are often animals
Find interesting information in additional literature and the Internet about India, and what animals Indians consider sacred.
Research methods:
Reading literature
Observation
Poll - questionnaire
Analysis of results
India is an ancient country approximately 8 thousand years old. The amazing Indian people lived on its territory. Which were divided into several social castes. Where priests played an important role. Although historians do not know who ruled such an amazing state. The Indians had their own language and writing. Scientists cannot decipher their letters to this day.
The ancient Indians gave humanity such agricultural crops as cotton and sugar cane. They made thin chintz fabric. They domesticated the largest animal in the world, the elephant.
They revered and believed in different gods. Animals were deified. Along with the gods, the Vedas, the Sanskrit language and the Brahmins were revered as guardians of culture and sacred knowledge. Brahmins were considered living gods.
This is a very interesting state and people.
ELEPHANTS
The elephant is the personification of wisdom, strength and prudence. The image of an elephant serves as an emblem of royal power, because this animal symbolizes all the qualities necessary for a good ruler: dignity, insight, intelligence, patience, peacefulness. In ancient India, the elephant was considered a symbol of sacred wisdom and invincible power. Due to its longevity, the elephant also symbolizes overcoming death.
MONKEY
According to Hinduism, the monkey is considered a sacred animal belonging to the god Hanuman and killing them is prohibited.
They are simultaneously revered as an incarnation of the Hindu god Hanuman and hated as aggressive barbarians.
SNAKES
Snakes are considered sacred and are treated with respect and care. Temples were erected in their honor; images of reptiles carved from stone are often found near roads, reservoirs and villages.
There are countless legends and tales about snakes in India, but the most unexpected signs are also associated with them. It is believed that the snake personifies eternal movement, acts as the embodiment of the soul of an ancestor and the guardian of the home. That is why Hindus put the snake sign on both sides of the front door.
COW
Why do Indians revere these animals so much? Firstly, cows here are equated to the status of a mother, because this animal is characterized by such maternal qualities as modesty, kindness, wisdom and calmness. In India, a cow is called “Gau Mata”, which literally translates as “MOTHER COW”.
Secondly, cow urine is widely consumed in India. In Ayurvedic medicine (Indian doctors), cow urine is considered a very powerful remedy for treating serious diseases, especially the liver. Ayurveda also recognizes human urine as a potent remedy for the treatment of many diseases.
Killing a cow is punishable by twenty years in prison.
We found and read fairy tales in additional literature: About a dog, a cat and a monkey. Golden fish. Cunning jackal. Golden antelope. Jackal and partridge and others.
Indian fables are collected in the collection “Panchatantra”
Tales about animals in India were common among forest tribes, whose life was closely connected with wild nature.
Most fairy tales have something in common with Russian ones.
“Make me laugh and make me cry, feed me and get me out of trouble,” demands the capricious jackal from his friend the partridge (“The Jackal and the Partridge”). But the same motifs are also combined in Russian fairy tales about a fox: a blackbird rescues it from a hole, feeds it and gives it water. Only he does this not out of friendship, but out of coercion.
Indian fairy tales and fables feature animals - jackal, tiger, monkey, crocodile, crab.
In many of these fables and tales it is easy to recognize people of different social status. These stories, fables and fairy tales are written in prose, and the teachings contained in them are usually written in verse. Some of them preserved satire on kings, nobles and brahmins, portrayed as unjust, greedy and hypocritical.
We conducted a SURVEY-questionnaire, in which 15 people took part, students of MKOU Secondary School No. 2
He's in front of you
1. What animals of India do you know about? Cow, elephants, cobras, monkeys, cats, dogs, fish, jackal, tigers.
2. What Indian fairy tales do you know? About the raj and the bird, about the dog, cat and monkey, the golden fish, the cunning jackal.
3.What have you heard about the animals of India? Some animals in India are sacred.
4. What sacred animals of India do you know? Elephant (12 people), cow (7 people), monkey (5 people)
Results of our research:
The Indians believed that animals, birds and insects thought, felt and talked to each other, just like people.
Therefore, they composed fairy tales and fables in which animals were the main characters.
Thus, as a result of our research, we confirmed the hypothesis: the veneration of sacred animals in India is the reason that India is a country of many fairy tales and fables about animals.
We found out that cows, elephants, monkeys, and snakes were and remain sacred animals in India.
Municipal state educational institution secondary school No. 2
History project 5th grade
"India is the birthplace of many fables and tales about animals"
Completed by students of class 5 “B” of MKOU secondary school No. 2
Lozhechnikova Anastasia
Borodina Daria
Project Manager:
Repinskaya Svetlana Ivanovna - history teacher
g Plast
year 2014
Content
The theme of the project is “India, the birthplace of many fables and tales about animals”
Object of study: India
Subject of research: Animals - heroes of fairy tales and fables about animals
Hypothesis
Objective of the project
Tasks
Research methods
Sacred animals
Survey
Conclusion