Hindu literature copy

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!^_^