Class 06 History Chapter 5 Life and Teachings of Gautam Buddha, Mahavira and Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya Notes & Important Question Answer

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Chapter Notes 

6th century BC It is called the period of social change in India. Many evils had come in the society of that time. In such a time many sects emerged in India. Among these sects, Buddhism and Jainism were the most famous.
Gautam buddha
Gautam Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. His childhood name was Siddhartha. He was born in 567 BC. It happened in Lumbini, Nepal on the day of Vaishakh Purnima. His father Shuddhodhan was a king. His mother's name was Mahamaya. Mother died seven days after his birth. He was brought up by Mahamaya's younger sister Prajapati Gautami. That's why Siddhartha is also called Gautama. When the birth ceremony of Gautama Buddha was held, Asita, a famous seer of the time, made a prediction that this child would either become a great king or a great guide.

After receiving education, Gautam Buddha was married to Princess Yashodhara at the age of 16 only. He started living with Yashodhara in the luxurious palace built by his father where their son Rahul was born. But all these could not tie Siddharth to worldly illusions.

Leaving home
One day on his way to the city he saw four different visions. 

1. In the first vision he saw an old man. On asking the charioteer, he was told that every person is old. 
2. In the second scene, on seeing a patient, it was told that diseases also keep happening. 
3. In the third scene, on seeing a funeral procession, the charioteer told that death of every human being is certain. Seeing these scenes, he felt that there is nothing in the world except sorrows. 
4. In the fourth scene, saw a monk who was singing merrily. The charioteer told about him that he has left the world and is engaged in the attainment of knowledge. 

At the age of 29, leaving all the pleasures including his wife and son at midnight, he left home and went to the forests for the attainment of knowledge.

Name                         Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha)
Born                          567 BC Lumbini (Nepal)
His father's name      Shuddhodana
Mother's Name          Mahamaya
Parenting                  Aunty Prajapati Gautami
Siddhartha marries   Princess Yashodhara
Son name                 Rahul

Acquisition of knowledge
After leaving the house, Siddhartha reached Rajagriha. There, he received education regarding knowledge from two scholars named Acharya Alar Kalam and Udrak, but his mind was not satisfied. After that he decided to do severe penance which made his body very weak. This experience forced him to consider penance as futile. At this time, after taking milk from a girl named Sujata, he left the path of penance. Now he went towards Gaya and meditated under a Peepal tree (Mahabodhi tree) at that place. After 8 days of samadhi, at the age of 35, he attained true knowledge on the full moon night of Vaishakh month. Due to this, he was called Buddhist (knowledgeable) ie 'Buddha'. He first reached Sarnath near Banaras and delivered his first sermon to five of his companions who had left him at Gaya. This event is called Dharmachakra Pravartana. The Mahabodhi tree is a Peepal tree located in the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in the Gaya district of Bihar state. It was under this tree that Lord Buddha attained enlightenment.

Teachings of Mahatma Buddha
Four Noble Truths 

1. The world is the abode of sorrows. 
2. Desires are the cause of all sorrows. 
3. Sorrows can be avoided only by controlling desires and cravings. 
4. There are eight ways to remove worldly sorrows. These have been called Ashtamarga or the middle path. 

Ashtamarga  
Ashtamarga is also known as Madhyamarga. The basis of Buddhism is Ashtamarga, by following this path all the problems of man can be solved. There are 8 ideals in Ashta Marg, by following which Nirvana (enlightenment) can be attained. 

1. Samyak Karma: Man's actions should be pure. 
2. Right thoughts: The thoughts of all human beings should be true. They should stay away from worldly evils and useless rituals. 
3. Right livelihood: Not doing any directly or indirectly harmful business. 
4. Right Effort: Trying to improve yourself. 
5. Samyak Smriti: Trying to acquire the mental ability to see with clear knowledge. 
6. Right Meditation: One should concentrate on leading a pure and simple life. 
7. Right faith: One should have true faith that sufferings can end by giving up desires. 
8. Samyak Samadhi: Attaining Nirvana. 

Belief in karma theory
Buddha used to say that each person is the maker of his own destiny. As he works, so does he reap the fruits.

Rebirth
According to Buddha, till the thirst and lust of man do not end, then man is born again in the world.

Nonviolence
Mahatma Buddha was of the opinion that man should have love and sympathy for all living beings i.e. humans, animals, birds and living beings.

Disbelief in sacrifice and sacrifice
Mahatma Buddha had described the practice of Yajna and Bali as superstition and hypocrisy. His statement was that a person's deeds cannot be changed with the sacrifices.

Disbelief in Vedas and Sanskrit
Buddha believed that reading religious texts only in Sanskrit language does not yield results. He did his propaganda in the folk language Pali.

Disbelief in the caste system
Buddha believed that a man can become small or great according to his deeds and not by birth.

The rise of Buddhism took place on such an occasion when many evils had crept into the society. People were tired of the harshness of Vedic religion and were in search of a simpler religion. On this opportune occasion, Mahatma Buddha provided relief to the Indian society through his simple teachings. Impressed by the simple teachings of Mahatma Buddha, a large number of people adopted Buddhism.

Mahavir
Mahavir Swami was the founder of Jainism. The original name of Mahavir Swami was Vardhaman. Lord Mahavir was born 599 years before Christ in Kundagram of Vaishali (Bihar) republic. According to Jainism, the first Tirthankara was Rishabhdev and the 23rd Tirthankara was Parshvanath. Mahavir Swami's mother's name was Trishala. Father's name was Siddhartha. Wife's name was Yashoda. The daughter's name was Priyadarshana. Vardhaman was very brave since childhood. 

• He saved the life of his companion from a huge dragon. 
• Once again he subdued the mad elephant and saved the lives of his friends. 
• That's why Vardhaman's name became Mahavir. 

Childhood name Vardhaman
Born                       599 BC Happened in Kundagram of Vaishali (Bihar).
Father's Name        Siddharth
Mother's Name      Trishala
Wife's Name          Yashoda
Daughter's name    Priyadarshana or Anoja

Home renunciation and enlightenment
At the age of 30, after taking permission from brother Nandivardhan, he left home. After that he gave many kinds of pains to the body while doing penance. After 12 years of continuous penance, he attained enlightenment under a shal tree on the banks of river Rijupalika in village Jimbhik (Bihar).
Initially he was known as Kaivalin (Kaivalya) then because of his victory over his senses he was called Jina (conqueror) and later Jain.

Teachings of mahavir
Mahavir Swami's teachings were in Prakrit language so that people could understand them easily. The teachings of Mahavir Swami were opposing the evils spread in the society due to which the development of the society was being hindered. His main teachings are as follows

Triratna: According to Mahavir Swami, three ideal things should be adopted in life to save oneself from sins, these were called Triratna, these were the three gems – 

1. True faith 
2. True knowledge 
3. True conduct 

Five great vows

Mahavir Swami used to emphasize on five Mahavrats and told them to follow them, these are Mahavrats –

1. Non-violence: Non-violence is the ultimate religion of every person, no one should do violence with mind and body. 
2. Do not steal: One should not steal other's things. 
3. Truth: Mahavir Swami always emphasized on speaking the truth, he said, do not talk such things in which there is bitterness. 
4. Non-hoarding: One should not hoard money etc. more than necessary. 
5. Celibacy: Man should stay away from lusts. A true celibate is one who neither thinks nor talks about sensual pleasures. 

Fasting and penance
In Jainism, a lot of emphasis has been laid on fasting and penance, which suppresses evil tendencies and frees man from the bondage of karma.

Disbelief in god
Mahavir Swami did not believe in the existence of God. He did not accept the theory of Hinduism that God created the universe.

Disbelief in sacrifice
Yajna-sacrifice etc. are opposed in Jainism.

Disbelief in the sanctity of the Vedas and Sanskrit
According to Jainism, Vedas are simple texts. According to him, there is no need to consider Vedas and Sanskrit as sacred.

Opposition to caste system 
Mahavir Swami did not believe in caste system. He believed that all castes are equal.

Belief in the existence of soul
Jainism accepts the existence of soul. According to them the soul is immortal, the soul has knowledge and experiences happiness and sorrow.

Rebirth
Mahavir Swami believed in reincarnation. According to Mahavir Swami, karma and rebirth go hand in hand.

Eighteen sins
In Jainism, 18 types of sins have been described which lead a man towards downfall, these 18 sins are:

In Jainism, 18 types of sins have been described which

After preaching continuously for 30 years, he died in 527 BC at a place named Pava in Rajagriha. At that time he was 72 years old. At the time of his death, his followers numbered in the thousands.
Mahavir Swami was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. He gave a new direction to Jainism. Jainism became very popular during his time. Due to the simple teachings given by him in Prakrit language, a large number of people adopted Jainism.

Aadi Guru Shankaracharya
Adi Shankaracharya was born at a time when there were many schools of thought like Buddhism and Jainism. All of them criticized the ashram system, the caste system and the efforts of the Sanatan Dharma. As a result of which Hindu religion was moving towards decadence.

Life introduction
Adi Shankaracharya was born in Kaladi village in the state of Kerala in South India. His father's name was Shivguru Bhatt and mother's name was Aryamba. His father died when he was 3 years old. He was very intelligent and talented. At the age of 6, he had become a scholar and at the age of 8, he had taken retirement.
Mother did not allow him to become a monk, then one day a crocodile caught hold of Shankaracharya's leg on the river bank, then taking advantage of this time, Shankaracharya said to his mother, "Mother, allow me to take retirement, otherwise this crocodile will kill me." Will eat." His mother ordered him to become a monk, on the other hand he got rid of the crocodile too. Thus he became a monk at the age of 8 but the mother assured him that she would perform his last rites. He also fulfilled this assurance.
He took his early education from Guru Govind Bhagwadpad whose ashram was at Omkareshwar Sthal on the banks of river Narmada. Staying there for 3 years, he attained Brahmavidya. His guru was amazed by his extraordinary talent and considered him an incarnation of Shiva. With the permission of the Guru, he explained the Brahmasutra and then went to Kashi.

Teachings :
Advaitamat (Monism) 
Even before Shankaracharya, many Vedic sages have given the principle of Advaitamat. In this, Jiva and Brahman are considered to be the same. This is called monism. According to 'Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya', the soul pervaded in the body is the truth which has been in the past, present and future also.

Bhakti Marg
Shankaracharya also propagated Bhakti a lot. He believed that God can be attained through love and meditation and true knowledge is love.

Path of action 
He had unwavering faith in his work. After taking sannyas in his childhood, he duly performed the last rites of his mother like a householder.

Communal unity
He divided all the ideologies of Hinduism into 5 parts including Vaishnava, Shaiva, Surya, Shakta and Ganapati sects. He gave it the name of Panchdev Upasana. From the point of view of yoga, he linked the relationship of these five deities with the five ghosts Agni, Prithvi, Vayu, Jal, Aakash. Tied the Indian public divided into different sects in the thread of unity.

Yoga practice
He also promoted yoga practice a lot, whose influence is visible on saints like Gorakhnath, Kabir and Nanak.

Integration of monks 
Acharya ji also divided various sages and saints in India into 10 parts. In which Giri, Puri, Aranya, Bharati, Van, Parvat, Sagar, Tirtha, Ashram and Saraswati were.

Establishment of four monasteries
A type of religious forts were established in the four corners of India, which are as follows: 

• Badrinath of North India, Jyotirmath located in Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) 
• Sringeri Math located in Karnataka, South India. 
• Govardhan Math located in Jagannathpuri, Eastern India. (Orissa) 
• Sharada Math located in Dwarka, western India. (Gujarat) 

Question Answer

Let's know, how much learned
Sort out the correct answer:




1. At which place did Mahatma Buddha give his first sermon?
a) Gayaa
b) Sarnath
c) Kundgram
d) Kapilavastu
Answer – b) Sarnath

2. In which province was Mahavir Swami born?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Orissa
c) Assam
d) Bihar
Answer – d) Bihar

3. What was the name of Mahavir Swami's mother?
a) Mahamaya
b) Priyadarshini
c) Trishala
d) Gautam
Answer – c) Trishala

4. Shankaracharya had divided the saints into how many parts.
a) 8
b) 10
c) 12
d) 14
Answer – b) 10




5. At what age did Shankaracharya take retirement?
a) 6
b) 8
c) 9
d) 10
Answer – b) 8

Fill in the blanks: 

1. The childhood name of Mahatma Buddha was _________. 
2. The name of the son of Mahatma Buddha was _________. 
3. Mahavir Swami was born at ________ place. 
4. The real founder of Jainism was _________. 
5. Shankaracharya established ________ Math in western India. 

Answer – 1. Siddharth, 2. Rahul, 3. Vaishali (Bihar), 4. Rishabhdev, 5. Sharda

Match correctly : 
23rd Tirthankar        to gain knowledge 
Bodh Gaya               First sermon 
Sarnath                     Parshvanath 
first Tirthankara       The winner 
Jin                            Rishabhdev

Answer - 
23rd Tirthankar        Parshvanath 
Bodh Gaya              to gain knowledge 
Sarnath                     First sermon 
first Tirthankara        Rishabhdev
Jin                            The winner 

Mark True (✓) or False (X) to the following statements :

1. Mahatma Buddha left home at the age of 20 years. (X) 
2. Mahatma Buddha attained enlightenment under the Ashoka tree. (X) 
3. Mahavir Swami's elder brother's name was Nandivardhan. (✓)
4. Shankaracharya's mother's name was Subhadra. (X) 
5. Adi Shankaracharya was born in Haryana. (X) 

Short Question:

Question 1. Where did Siddhartha reach after leaving home and from whom did he get education?
Answer – After leaving the house, Siddhartha reached Rajgriha. There he received education in relation to knowledge from two scholars named Acharya Alar Kalam and Udrak.

Question 2. Which event has been called Dharmachakra Pravartan?
Answer – Mahatma Buddha first gave the first sermon at Sarnath near Banaras to his five companions who had left him in Gaya. This event is called the turning of the wheel of Dharma.

Question 3. Which is the main literature composed by Adi Shankaracharya? 

Answer – Brahmasutra

Question 4. What is meant by Advaitamat?
Answer – In Advaitamat, Jiva and Brahman are considered to be one and the same. This is called monism.

Question 5. When and where did Mahavir Swami get knowledge?
Answer – Mahavir Swami gave many types of pain to the body while doing penance. After 12 years of continuous penance, he attained enlightenment under a shal tree on the banks of river Rijupalika in village Jimbhik (Bihar).

Let's consider:

Question 1. Describe the scenes seen by Siddhartha, which influenced him to leave home.
Answer – One day while going towards the city, he saw four different scenes. 

1. In the first scene, he saw an old man. On asking the charioteer, he was told that every person is old. 
2. In the second scene, on seeing a patient, it was told that diseases also keep happening. 
3. In the third scene, on seeing a funeral procession, the charioteer told that death of every human being is certain. Seeing these scenes, he felt that there is nothing in the world except sorrows. 
4. In the fourth scene, saw a monk who was singing merrily. The charioteer told about him that he has left the world and is engaged in the attainment of knowledge. 

Question 2. What are the Four Noble Truths?
Answer – 

1. The world is the house of sorrows. 
2. Desires are the cause of all sorrows. 
3. Sorrows can be avoided only by controlling desires and cravings. 
4. There are eight ways to remove worldly sorrows. These have been called Ashtamarga or the middle path. 

Question 3. What are the similarities between the lives of Mahatma Buddha and Mahavir Swami?
Answer – There are the following similarities in the lives of Mahatma Buddha and Mahavir Swami – 

• Both of them believed that true knowledge can be attained only by renouncing the home. 
• Both were born in a royal family and both had left home to know the truth. 
• The ideology of both was based on non-violence and both emphasized on non-violence. 
• Both of them had formed an association for the people who had left their homes. 

Question 4. Which are the five Mahavratas mentioned by Mahavir Swami?
Answer – Mahavir Swami used to emphasize on five Mahavrats and told to follow them, these are Mahavrats – 

1. Non-violence: Non-violence is the ultimate religion of every person, no one should do violence with mind and body. 
2. Do not steal: One should not steal other's things. 
3. Truth: Mahavir Swami always emphasized on speaking the truth, he said, do not talk such things in which there is bitterness. 
4. Non-hoarding: One should not hoard money etc. more than necessary. 
5. Celibacy: Man should stay away from lusts. A true celibate is one who neither thinks nor talks about sensual pleasures. 

Question 5. How did Adi Shankara take permission from his mother to become a monk?
Answer – Mother did not allow him to become a monk, then one day a crocodile caught hold of Shankaracharya's leg on the river bank, then taking advantage of this time, Shankaracharya said to his mother, "Mother, allow me to take retirement, otherwise this The crocodile will eat me. His mother ordered him to become a monk, on the other hand he got rid of the crocodile too. Thus he became a monk at the age of 8.

let's try

Question 1. As a student, which teachings of Mahatma Buddha, Adi Shankaracharya and Mahavir Swami would you like to imbibe?
Answer – As a student, I would like to adopt the following teachings of Mahatma Buddha, Adi Shankaracharya and Mahavir Swami – 

1. We should do good deeds. 
2. You should always try to improve yourself. 
3. We should not steal. 
4. We should oppose the evils going on in the society. 

Question 2. Show the various places mentioned in the text on the map of India.
Answer – Students should try themselves.

Important Question Answer

Question 1. Describe the eightfold path of Buddhism.
Answer – There are 8 ideal things in Ashtamarg, following which knowledge can be attained. Which is the following :- 

1. Man's deeds should be pure. 
2. The thoughts of all human beings should be true. They should stay away from worldly evils and useless rituals. 
3. Not to do any business that is harmful directly or indirectly. 
4. Try to improve yourself 
5. To try to have the psychic ability to see with clear knowledge. 
6. Man should focus his attention on leading a pure and simple life. 
7. One should have the true faith that by renouncing desires one can end sorrows. 
8. Attaining Nirvana 

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