Download Second Quarter English 10/06/10 Indian Literature History One of

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Second Quarter
English
10/06/10
A. Indian Literature
History
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Sanskrit Literature
Has its origin in an oral
tradition that produce the
vedic holy texts
Oral history, legend and moral
tales were later fused into two
great books of hindu tradition,
The Mahabharata and The
Ramayana which have been
used as sources of countless
literary works.
Major additions to Sanskrit
literature are the Puranas and
the Panchatantra.
Religious Works:
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One of the world’s oldest or
richest.
Oral traditions – storytellers
present traditional Indian text
Literature is influenced by:
Religious doctrine karma – the
chain of good and bad action
and their inevitable
consequences, which result to
the repeated birth and death
of the soul.
Mythology of the dominant
Hindu deities.
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Prose
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Poetry : Oldest sacred
literature of India is found in
four Vedas (Book of
Knowledge)
Vedas
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Rig-Veda: Anthology of 1080
hymns to various Gods.
Sama-Veda: “book of chants”
consists of liturgies.
Yajur-Veda; “Prayer book”
which consists of liturgies and
repetition of Rig-Veda but
contain many original prose
formulas.
Atharva-Veda: “book of spells”
which contains some hymns,
spells incantations and notions
about demonology and
witchcraft.
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Brahman: Commentaries on
the Vedic hymns and religious
rites.
Upanishads: collection of 108
discourses on the Brahman
religion.
Sutras: extremely concise,
often unintelligible treatises
concerning ritual.
Secular Works:
Epic:
- Mahabharata
: the longest poem in the world about
200,000 lines, nearly 8 times as long as the
lliad and odyssey combined. The epic
number of the poem concerns the battle
between kauravas. Represents the principle
of Good.
: Tale of Savitri
King Aswapati was loved by his people.
He was devoted to the gods and prayed
that he would have a child
Goddess Savitri appeared to King
Aswapati
Queen Madra conceived a child and the
child was named Savitri
Savitri was too perfect that no man dared
to ask her hand in marriage
Fated Bridegroom
Savitri searched for a husband and found
Satyavan
Narad, a wise man warned Savitri not to
marry Satyavan because he was to die
after their 1st year of marriage
Savitri still married Satyavan
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Overtaken by Fate
Savitri fasted and went without sleep
Satyavan set to go to the forest and
Savitri came with him
the sound of an axe was heard and
Satyavan felt a sharp pain stabbing his
brain and felt his blood was hot. He died.
Triumph Over Fate
Savitri met and followed Yama, the god of
death
Yama was touched by Savitri’s loyalty and
pureness of heart and granted her 3
wishes
1st wish: give back the eyesight of
Satyavan’s father
2nd wish: restore the old king’s kingdom
3rd wish: to have children with Satyavan
all wishes were granted and Satyavan
came back to life
- Ramayana
: A poem of about 96,000 lines in 7 books. It
concerns Rama ( an incarnation of Vishnu)
and his wife Sita; Rama’s Exile; Sita’s
faithfulness when tempted by Ravana , an
evil spirit and Rama’s eventual destruction
of Ravana.
Drama:
-very little is known about origin of Indian drama.
-there was no theatre; the dramas were presented in
the banquet hall or ballroom of the ruler’s palace.
Examples:
Toy Day Cart
Sakuntala / The Fatal Ring
*Kalidasa is the hindu
Shakespeare.
- Mrichchhakatika
(The Little Clay Cart)
by Shudraka
- Malati-Madhava
(Malati and Madhava) a romance by Bhavabhuti
Tales:
-ancient Indian had a great talent for telling stories.
-the most important collections are the ff:
* The Jatakas
- imaginative legends concerning the 550 births of
Buddha and his early life.
* The Panchatantra
- “5 books”, a series of tales intended as manual
instruction for the kings sons.
- collection of Indian animal fables in verse and
prose.
-an original Sanskrit work attributed to Vishnu.
-it is an inter-woven series of colorful fables, for the
benefit of 3 ignorant princess mainly about wise
conduct of life.
-5 books
*The Separation of Friends (The Lion and The
Bull)
*The Gaining of Friends (Dove, Crow, Mouse,
Tortoise and Deer)
*War and Peace (Of Crows and Owls)
*Loss of Gains ( Monkey and Crocodile)
* Ill-Considered Action / Rash Deeds (Brahman
and Mongoose)
Lyrics:
-Kalidasa: famous for the “the Cloud Messenger”
: SHAKUNTALA
(Shakuntala and the Ring of Recollection)
- poetic drama, tells the story of a love
affair between a king and a woodland maiden
Shakuntala
- a universal drama of the passion,
separation, suffering and reunion of lovers.
-Javadeva: Author of “Gitogavinda” or Cowherd in
song.
*The Puranas
-A genre of mythological narratives
-Five topics of Puranas:
1. The creation of the universe
2. The destruction and re-creation of
the universe
3. The genealogy of the gods and holy
sages
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5.
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The reign of the Manus )legendary
Hindu figures)
The histories of the kings who
trace their ancestry the sun and
the moon
Classical
-Started with the flowering of the Gupta
dynasty.
-Great achievements in philosophy,
sciences and arts.
-Reflected values of Hinduism.
-Literature was nurtured by the caste system:
*Brahman – scholars and priest
*Kshatriya – the warriors
*Vaisya – merchants
*Sudra – laborers
- Kavya was the major form of classical literature in
Sanskrit.
 Medieval Literature
-Different regions began to develop its own
distinctive culture
-Islamic dynasties conquered many territories
-Indian languages were influenced by Islamic
religion, Persian and Arabic languages
-Unique version of local myths, legends,
romances and epics emerged
*Bhakti: Devotional Literature
-Authors who belong to Hindu movement, who
wrote lyric poetry
-Bhakti: was an aspect of religion that involved
passionate, emotional devotion to a particular
god.
-They addressed devotional poems to the major
Hindu gods and goddesses; Shiva, Vishnu,
Bhrama, Krishna, Rama, Lakhsmi, Ganesha,
-Some major Bhatik poets were women and
men of the lower caste
 Colonial Literature
-British became a colonial power
-The colonial government introduced English
education for upper-class Indians so that they
can serve the colony
-Introduction of the printing press, which made
possible the establishment of newspapers and
journals
-Bengal Renaissance
*Rabindranath Tagore
-An innovative poet of the Bengali language
-Drew on traditional forms of poetry and
performance
-The first non-European winner of the Nobel
Prize award for literature
*GITANJALI (Song Offerings, 1910)
-His best known work, which is a collection
of poems.
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Independence Literature
-Indian independence from Britain in 1947
marked the start of modern Indian
literature.
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Hindu Deities:
-Brahman: Creator
-Shivan: Destroyer
-Vishnu: Preserver
: (Reincarnation of Brahman)
-Lakshmi: Mother of Fortune and Health
: Sita is the reincarnation of
Lakshmi.
-Krishna: Attracts or draws people / Drains
people away from sin.
B. Vocabs
III. Vocabulary Words
1. Adroit /uh-droit/
 (adj.) expert or nimble in the use of the hands
or body
 (adj.) cleverly skillful, resourceful or ingenious
2. Aloof /uh-loof/
 (adv.) at a distance, especially in feeling or
interest; apart
 (adj.) reserved or reticent; indifferent;
disinterested
3. Ambiance /am-bee-uns/
 (n.) a particular environment or surrounding
influence
 (n.) the atmosphere of an environment
intend to return; every person is compelled to
have one and only one domicile at a time
 (n.) housing that someone is living in
4. Amble /am-bul/
 (n.) a leisurely walk
 (v.) walk leisurely
12. Dubious /dyoo-bee-us/
 (adj.) fraught with uncertainty or doubt
 (adj.) open to doubt or suspicion
 (adj.) not convinced
5. Amicable /am-i-kuh-buhl/
 (adj.) characterized by or showing goodwill;
friendly; peacable
13. Emulate /e-my-leyt/
 (v.) strive to equal or match, especially by
imitating
6. Benevolent /bu’ne-vu-lunt/
 (adj.) intending or showing kindness
 (adj.) generous in providing aid to others and
assistance to the poor
14. Painstaking /’peynz,tey-king/
 (adj.) characterized by extreme care and great
effort
7. Cower /kaw-ur/
 (v.) crouch or curl-up
 (v.) show submission or fear
8. Delude /di’lood/
 (v.) be false to; be dishonest with
9. Discriminate /di’skri-mu-neyt/
 (v.) recognize or perceive the difference
 (v.) treat differently on the basis of factors
such as sex, race, age, etc.
 (v.) distinguish
 (adj.) marked by the ability to see or make
fine distinctions
10. Docile/dow-siul/
 (adj.) willing to be taught, led, supervised or
directed
 (adj.) ready and willing to be taught
 (adj.) easily handled or managed
11. Domicile /do-mi-siul/
 (n.) the residence where you have your
permanent home or principal establishment
and to where, whenever you are absent, you
15. Prolific /pru’li-fik/
 (adj.) intellectually productive
 (adj.) bearing in abundance especially in
offspring
16. Purport /pu(r)’port/
 (v.) have the often specious appearance of
being, intending or claiming
 (v.) have as a plan or objective
17. Relentless /ri’lent-lus/
 (adj.) not to be placated, appeased or moved
by entreaty
 (adj.) never-ceasing
18. Squamish /skwee-mish/
 (adj.) excessively fastidious
disgusted
and
easily