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GOING DOWN THE LINE
HISTORY OF INDIAN
LITERATURE
Indian Literature
• One of the world’s oldest and richest
• Oral traditions – storytellers present
traditional Indian text
• Literature is influenced by:
– A 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
Sanskrit Literature
Classical Literature
Medieval Literature:
The Rise Of The Regional Languages
Colonial Period To Independence
Independence Onwards
SANSKRIT LITERATURE
• Literature is written in
Sanskrit language
• Text were produced
about 16th century BC by
people known as Aryans
(were cattle herders who
were originally nomadic)
who established
kingdoms in north India
I.
Religious Text
 Composed in Old Sanskrit
by Aryan poets
 Constitute the fundamental
scripture of the Hindu
religion and used as
sacramental rites of
Hinduism
 Compilation of two major
literary forms:
– Hymns of praise to
nature deities
– Ritual chants to
accompany Aryan
religious rituals
VEDAS
“Book of Knowledge”
The Four VEDAS
•Rig-Veda – anthology of 1080 hymns to
various gods
•ex. “Creation Hymn”
* Sama-Veda – “Book of Chants” consists of
liturgies.
* Yajur-Veda – “Prayer Book” which consists of
liturgies and repetition of Rig-Veda but
contains many original prose formulas
*Atharva-Veda – “Book of Spells” which
contains some hymns, spells, incantations, and
notions about demonology and witchcraft.
BRAHMANAS
prose text that discuss the solemn
sacrificial rituals as well as the
commitment on their meaning, composed
by Hindu priest
ARANYAKAS
“wilderness texts” or “forest treaties”,
composed by people who meditated in
the woods
Discussion and interpretation of the
dangerous rituals
UPANISHADS
Composed by a group of sages who
questioned the usefulness of ritual religion
Consists of 108 dialogues between
teachers and their students about the
individual soul’s unity
India’s oldest philosophical treaties and
form the foundation of major schools of
Hindu philosophy
TIPITAKA
“The Three Baskets”
Major religious text of Buddhism
Written in the Pali language
Includes the teachings of Buddha
JATAKAS
“Stories of the Births of the Buddha”
Tells 547 stories of Buddha’s former births
2.
Heroic Text
Mahabharata
“The Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty)
Written by the poet Vyasal
A tale of dispute between two branches of
the Bharata clans over the right to rule the
kingdom.
Ramayana
“The Way of Rama”
Written by the poet Valkimi
Tells the story of the hero Rama, prince of
Ayodhya and incarnation of the god
Vishnu
CLASSICAL LITERATURE
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.
Kalidasa
India’s preeminent classical poet
Raghuvamsa (Dynasty of Raghu)
- Epic poem
Meghaduta (The Cloud Messenger)
- Lyric poem about separated lovers
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.
Sanskrit Drama
A rich pageant of mime, dance, music, and lyrical
texts set in the court of kings and aristocrats
 Mrichchhakatika
(The Little Clay Cart)
by Shudraka
 Malati-Madhava
(Malati and Madhava) a romance
by Bhavabhuti
Panchatantra
(The Five Strategies) b y Vishnusharman
A collection of stories in prose and
verse, which feature animals as the
characters, teach lessons about human
conduct
Use the technique of telling stories
within the framework of the main story
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
4. The reign of the Manus )legendary Hindu
figures)
5. The histories of the kings who trace their
ancestry the sun and the moon
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 PERIOD TO
INDEPENDENCE
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
INDEPENDENCE ONWARDS
Indian independence from Britain in 1947
marked the start of modern Indian literature
What role do religion and culture play
in the lives and literature of the
people?
Describe India’s literature. How is it
similar/different to Chinese and
Japanese literature?