HISTORY OF INDIAN LITERATURE
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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?