HISTORY OF INDIAN LITERATURE GOING DOWN THE LINE.

HISTORY OF INDIAN

LITERATURE

GOING DOWN THE LINE

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”

•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.

The Four VEDAS

prose text that discuss the solemn sacrificial rituals as well as the commitment on their meaning, composed by Hindu priest

BRAHMANAS

“wilderness texts” or “forest treaties”, composed by people who meditated in the woods

Discussion and interpretation of the dangerous rituals

ARANYAKAS

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

UPANISHADS

Major religious text of BuddhismWritten in the Pali languageIncludes the teachings of Buddha

TIPITAKA“The Three Baskets”

Tells 547 stories of Buddha’s former births

JATAKAS “Stories of the Births of

the Buddha”

2. Heroic Text

“The Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty)

Written by the poet VyasalA tale of dispute between two

branches of the Bharata clans over the right to rule the kingdom.

Mahabharata

“The Way of Rama”Written by the poet ValkimiTells the story of the hero Rama,

prince of Ayodhya and incarnation of the god Vishnu

Ramayana

Started with the flowering of the Gupta dynasty

Great achievements in philosophy, sciences and arts

Reflected values of Hinduism

CLASSICAL LITERATURE

Literature was nurtured by the caste system:

Brahman – scholars and priestKshatriya – the warriorsVaisya – merchantsSudra – laborers

Kavya was the major form of classical literature in Sanskrit.

Kalidasa

India’s preeminent classical poetRaghuvamsa (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 universe2. The destruction and re-creation of the

universe3. The genealogy of the gods and holy

sages4. 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 powerThe 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?