Hindu literature

HINDU LITERATURE(INDIAN LITERATURE)

• As early as 300 B.C., India already possessed a considerable body of literature written in several Indian tongues.

• SANSKRIT- ancestral language-means cultivated or perfected

• The earliest known literature of India is a collection of traditions handed down by word of mouth.

• VEDAS (1500–1200 BCE)- contains hymns addressed to the Indian gods. (Bible of Indians)(Books of Knowledge)

THE RIG- VEDA- 1028 hymns to various gods- The chief object of worship is Brahma,

the eternal, self- existent god.- The prevailing religion is Hindu

Pantheism- The most notable single poem in this

collection is the “Creation Hymn”

THE SAMA- VEDA- “Book of Chants”- It consists principally of liturgies, of

which most are repetitions of hymns in the Rig-Veda

THE YAHUR- VEDA- “Prayer Book”- “Book of Rituals”- This is also liturgical and repetitions

of the Rig- Veda, but it contains, in addition, many original prose formulas.

THE ATHARVA- VEDA- “Book of Spells”- It contains hymns, consists chiefly of

spells, incantations, and notions about demonology and witchcraft.

• India was the center of an ancient civilization which spread east and south and influenced the language and culture of many countries in both Europe and Asia.

• Indian civilization is older than that of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

• Long before Christ lived, the Indians were already preaching the brotherhood of all people and fatherhood of God.

• Indian culture has interesting and distinctive qualities. Indian literature, already fully developed over 3000 years ago, is rich in spiritual ang imaginative values.• Trigonometry, the first grammar

books, first study of phonetics, game of chess.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN

LITERATURE

1. Indian literature is based on piety, a deeply religious spirit.

- Indians believe that a knowledge of gods and a strong belief in Hinduism is necessary to save mankind.

2. Indian literary masterpieces are written in epic form, corresponds to the great epochs in the history of India.-The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the most important epics of India; the latter is the longest epic in the world.

• The Indians believed in reincarnation. • Indians believe in kindness to other

people and to animals. They also abstain from destroying plants because in that plant might be reincarnated one’s dead relative.

• RAMAYANA is about the reincarnation of Vishnu in the person of Rama.

• MAHABHARATA deals with another reincarnation of Vishnu in the person of Krishna.

• AVATARS

RAMAYANA

MAHABHARATA

BHASA AND KALIDASA- Indian Shakespeare

Indian drama is characterized by poetry and idyllic beauty. It concentrates on love as the background of the story; it has a happy ending always.

The text is a mixture of prose and poetry.

*INDIAN DRAMA

PANCHANTANTRA (Five Headings)- is an ancient Indian inter-related

collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format.

- It is based on older oral traditions, including "animal fables that are as old as we are able to imagine", including the Buddhist Jataka Tales.

BHAGAVAD GITA- The Song of the Bhagavan, often referred

to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. This scripture contains a conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna on a variety of theological and philosophical issues.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE- He was a great Indian poet.- He started writing at the age of 8.- 1913, 1915- Author of Gitanjali (Song Offerings)

RABINDRANATH TAGORE