A Comparison of the Values ​​of Classical India, China and PersiaDuring the era known as the Epoch Classical civilizations, many notable changes have occurred in many civilizations and city-states around the world. In India, China and Persia in particular, one could see the influence of religion and philosophy on the political and social structure of the time. In India, the Hindu religion in particular provides two sources of support with regard to social structure. of the time. These sources are the Vedas and the Upanishads. According to the Rig Veda, when Purusha's body was divided, “his mouth became Brahman; both his arms were transformed into rajanya; his two thighs the Vaishyas; from his two feet was born the shūdra (Reilly, 92). By dividing the body in this way, the creation of the varna or caste system was justified. The highest or Brahmin class was the priest class, also known as the purest. In this role, they were the liaison figures between Purusha and his people, reflecting the fact that they are his mouth. The next higher class was the Ksatriya or warrior/leader class. In the class, the role was to fight battles that reflected the fact that they were the arms of Purusha. The artisan/farmer or the middle class were known as Vaishyas. In this class, the members represented the role of Purusha's thighs, who were responsible for the heaviest or most difficult tasks in society. The most marginal social class was that of the sudra, who were serfs and servants. They represented the feet of Pursha, reflecting their lowest class status. Along with the Vedas, the Upanishads served as written guidelines for the varna. These works encouraged the concept of doing...... middle of paper ......o the practice of other religions throughout his empire because his religion allowed him to be a more moral and upright leader . However, Darius strongly believed in punishing evildoers. This can be seen by the inscription on the relief above the Royal Way, which states that "Lying made them rebellious, so that these [men] deceived the people." Then Ahuramazda put them in my hand; such was my desire, so I did to them (Primary Source, 131). This supports the idea that Zoroastrianism created benevolent but firm political dignitaries. In conclusion, although many changes occurred throughout the world during the Classical period, the most widespread changes took place in India, China, and Persia. These changes implied that religion and philosophy were a means of justifying the class, gender and political roles of citizens..