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Hindu Literature
India World’s 7th largest country located in
South Asia
Second most populous country.
[1,336,286,256 (July 2016 est.)] (17.50%)
About 3,000 km(1,865 mi) wide, shoreline about 7000 km (4,350 mi) along Bay of Bengal
India and Bharat are both official names.
Derives from Indus river used by Greek
India civilization grew up in the Indus Valley 4000 to 2500 BC.
People
It is impossible to find out the exact origin
of Indian People.
The 6 main ethnic groups are as follows.
Negrito
Proto - Australoids or Austrics
Mongoloids
Mediterranean or Dravidian
Western Brachycephals
Nordic Aryans
Language
More than 200 languages are spoken in
India
2 official languages at the national level
[English and Hindi (spoken by 40% of
Indians)]
Regional Level
South India - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,
Malayalam
West India - Marathi, Gujarati, Konkani, Sindhi
East India - Oriya, Bengali, Maithili, Assamese,
Bodo, Manipuri, Santhali
North India - Dogri (in Jammu & Kashmir),
Kashmiri, Nepali, Punjabi
Religion
As per the religious census data released by
the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner of India:
Hindu (79.8%)
Islam (14.2%)
Christian (2.3%)
Sikh (1.7%)
Buddhist (0.7%)
Jain (0.4%)
Other religions and persuasions (ORP)
(0.7%)
religion not stated (0.2%)
Caste system
Indian Caste system – major
social system that groups people
according to birth◦ Brahmins: priests, the highest caste
◦ Kshatriyas: warriors and kings
◦ Vaishyas: merchants
◦ Shudras: manual labourers
Some people do not fall into any
caste; these are called dalits, or
untouchables
Caste system Untouchables also known as Harijans◦ Dalits have traditionally been tasked with
work such as cleaning streets and working with human and animal corpses and waste
Caste-based discrimination is now illegal in India, and affirmative-action policies aim to improve standards of living in lower castes
Education
Literacy is higher on man than woman
Male literacy rate is 82.14% and Female
literacy rate is 65.46%
Literacy rate of India is 74.04%
Has four levels:
lower primary (age 6 to 10)
upper primary (11 and 12)
high (13 to 15)
higher secondary (17 and 18)
Government
Federal system with parliamentary form of government
Parliament consist of two houses◦ The Raiya Sabha (Council of states)
◦ The Lok Sabha (House of the People)Elected directly by eligible voters and sit 5
years unless Parliament is dissolved
Indian National Congress- party most identified remained control of the central government
November 1989 election -
Discontent with India’s leadership
caused Congress to lose its
parliamentary
1991 election- P.V Narasimha Rao
succeeded Ravid Gadhi as party
leader became prime minister in
June 1991
Literature Sanskrit Literature – Oral Tradition produced the
Vedic holy text.
Mahabharata and Ramayana – two great books
of Hindu Literature
400 B.C. – PANINI produced his Sanskrit
grammar
Middle Ages Sanskrit – used in religious context
by priesthood
History of Indian literature falls into 2 periods;
1. The Vedic Period
2. Sanskrit Period
Religious works Poetry◦ The Rig Veda: a book of sacred hymns
◦ The Yajur Veda: a book of knowledge and melodies for the hymns
◦ The Sama Veda: descriptions of the materials for sacrifice
◦ The Atharva Veda: contains magic spells and other folk knowledge
The Brahmanas
The Upanishads
Maya
The Sutras
Secular works Epics◦ The Mahabharata
◦ Bhagavad gita
◦ Nala and Damayanti
◦ The Ramayana
Dramas
The toy clay cart
Sakuntala or the
fatal ring
The Jatakas
The Panchatantra
Romanorum
The Hitopdesa
The Sukasaptati
Ganesh
Brahma
Shiva Vishnu
Karma and Reincarnation
Reincarnation is the belief that the soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and being reborn again in a new body.
Karma, a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life.
Hinduism says we create karma by our actions on earth. If you live a good life, you create good karma. If you live a bad life, you create bad karma.
Moksha
Each time a Hindu soul is born into a better life, it has the opportunity to improve itself further, and get closer to ultimate liberation.
This liberation is called Moksha.
One attains Moksha when one has "overcome ignorance", and no longer desires anything at all.
The ones who reach this state no longer struggle with the cycle of life and death.
Sacred Writings
The Vedas collections of Sanskrit
hymns (written down 1200-900BCE,
but based on older oral versions).
The Upanishads which means the
inner or mystic teaching that were
passed down from guru (teacher) to
disciple (student).
Mahabharata
Mahabharata, Sanskrit for Great Story, is one of the great epic poems of ancient India.
It was written between 300 BC and 300 AD.
The story is about the battle of one family over a kingdom in northern India.
The Bhagavad Gita (Song of God) is contained in the Mahabharata. It is dialogue between Krishna and the hero Arjuna on the meaning of life.
Ramayana
Ramayana was written in 3rd century BC, and tells story of Rama, and his wife, Sita.
Rama and Sita are generally seen as ideal examples of great manly heroism and wifely devotion.
Reciting the Ramayana is considered a religious act, and scenes from the epic are portrayed throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Hindu Life Goals
Hinduism is about the sort of life one should
lead in order to be born into a better life
next time and ultimately achieve liberation.
There are 4 legitimate goals in life:
dharma (appropriate living)
artha (the pursuit of material gain by lawful
means)
kama (delight of the senses)
moksha (release from rebirth).
Hindu Duties
Each Hindu has 4 daily duties:
Revere the deities
Respect ancestors
Respect all beings
Honor all humankind
Thank You!^_^
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