LiteratureIndian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
in SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
begins with the
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of
Iron Age IndiaIron Age India, the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent, succeeds the Late Harappan culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition...
; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to
late AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
(roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries AD). Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD. There are contemporary efforts towards
revivalSanskrit revival is the accumulation of attempts at reviving the Sanskrit language that have been undertaken.-History:In 1891 there was organized activity among the Theosophists in India promoting and participating in the revival of Sanskrit...
, with events like the "All-India Sanskrit Festival" (since 2002) holding composition contests.
Given its extensive use in religious literature, primarily in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and the fact that most modern
Indian languagesThe languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
have been directly derived from or strongly influenced by Sanskrit, the language and its literature is of great importance in
Indian cultureIndia's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality....
akin to that of
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in
European cultureThe culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
. Some Sanskrit literature such as the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali and the Upanishads were translated into Arabic and Persian. The Panchatantra was also translated into Persian.
The Vedas
Composed between approximately 1500 BC and 600 BC (the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) in
pre-classical SanskritVedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
, Vedic literature forms the basis for the further development of
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. There are four
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
-
RigThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
, YajurThe Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...
, SāmaThe Sama veda , is second of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1700 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda...
and AtharvaThe Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda"....
, each with a main
SamhitaSamhita may refer to"*the basic metrical text of each of the Vedas**specifically, these texts with sandhi applied *post-Vedic texts known as Samhitas:** Ashtavakra Gita...
and a number of circum-vedic genres, including Brahmanas,
AranyakaThe Aranyakas are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; they were composed in late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads....
s,Vedang i.e. Grhyasutras and Shrautasutras and Dharmasutras. The main period of Vedic literary activity falls into ca. the 9th to 7th centuries when the various
shakhaA shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...
s (schools) compiled and memorized their respective corpora.
The older Upanishads (BAU, ChU,
JUBThe Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana or the Talavakara Upanishad Brahmana is a Vedic text associated with the Jaiminiya or the Talavakara shakha of the Samaveda. It is considered as an Aranyaka. A part of this text forms the Kena Upanishad...
,
KathUKatha may refer to:* The Sanskrit for "speech, narration, story, fable", see Katha * The Kaṭha or Caraka-Katha school of the Black Yajurveda** Katha Upanishad, a Hindu text associated with the Katha school...
, MaitrU) belong to the Vedic period, but the larger part of the Muktika canon is post-Vedic. The Aranyakas form part of both the Brahmana and Upanishad corpus.
Sutra literature
Continuing the tradition of the late Vedic Shrautasutra literature, Late Iron Age scholarship (ca. 500 to 100 BCE) organized knowledge into
SutraSūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
treatises, including the
VedangaThe Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines traditionally associated with the study and understanding of the Vedas.#Shiksha : phonetics, phonology and morphophonology #Kalpa : ritual#Vyakarana : grammar...
and the religious or philosophical
Brahma SutrasThe Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
, Yoga Sutras,
Nyaya SutrasThe Nyāya Sūtras are an ancient Indian text on of philosophy composed by ' . The sutras contain five chapters, each with two sections...
.
In the Vedanga disciplines of
grammarThe Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, ...
and
phoneticsShiksha is one of the six Vedangas, treating the traditional Hindu science of phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit.Its aim is the teaching of the correct pronunciation of the Vedic hymns and mantras...
, no author had greater influence than with his (ca. 5th century BC). In the tradition of Sutra literature exposing the full grammar of Sanskrit in extreme brevity, Panini's brilliance lies in the nature of his work of a prescriptive
generative grammarIn theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
, involving metarules,
transformationIn mathematics, a transformation could be any function mapping a set X on to another set or on to itself. However, often the set X has some additional algebraic or geometric structure and the term "transformation" refers to a function from X to itself that preserves this structure.Examples include...
s and
recursionRecursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are exactly parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of infinite recursion. The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from...
. Being prescriptive for all later grammatical works, such as
PatanjaliPatañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
's , 's grammar effectively fixed the grammar of Classical Sanskrit. The Backus-Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages have significant similarities with Panini's grammar rules.
The Epics
The period between approximately the 6th to 1st centuries BC saw the composition and redaction of the two great epics, the
MahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and the
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, with subsequent redaction progressing down to the 4th century AD. They are known as
itihasaItihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
, or "
that which occurred".
The Mahabharata
The
Mahabharata (
Great Bharata) is one of the longest poetic works in the world. While it is clearly a poetic epic, it contains large tracts of
Hindu mythologyHindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
,
philosophyIndia has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
and religious tracts. Traditionally, authorship of the
Mahabharata is attributed to the sage
VyasaVyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
.According to the Adi-parva of the Mahabharata (81, 101-102), the text was originally 8,800 verses when it was composed by Vyasa and was known as the
Jaya (Victory), which later became 24,000 verses in the
Bharata recited by Vaisampayana.
The broad sweep of the story of the
Mahabharata chronicles the story of the conflict between two families for control of Hastinapur, a city in Ancient
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The impact of the
Mahabharata on
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Hinduism cannot be stressed enough. Having been molded by Indian culture, it has in turn molded the development of Indian culture. Thousands of later writers would draw freely from the story and sub-stories of the
Mahabharata.
The Ramayana
While not as long as the
Mahabharata, the
Ramayana is still twice as long as the
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and
OdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
put together. Traditionally, the authorship is attribued to the Hindu sage Valmiki, who is referred to as
Adikavi, or "first poet." Valmiki in the Ramayana introduced the Anushtubh meter for the first time.
Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana was also handed down orally and evolved through several centuries before being transferred into writing. It includes tales that form the basis for modern Hindu festivals and even contains a description of the same marriage practice still observed in contemporary times by people of Hindu persuasion.
The story deals with Prince
RamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
(Hindi: Rām), his exile and the abduction of his wife by the
RakshasaA Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
king
Ravana' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, and the
LankaSri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
n war. Similar to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana also has several full-fledged stories appearing as sub-plots.
The Ramayana has also played a similar and equally important role in the development of Indian culture as the Mahabharata.
The
Ramayana is also extant in Ramayana: Southeast Asian versions
Classical Sanskrit literature
The classical period of Sanskrit literature dates to the Gupta period and the successive pre-Islamic
Middle kingdoms of IndiaMiddle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 3rd century BC after the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC...
, spanning roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries CE.
Drama
Drama as a distinct genre of Sanskrit literature emerges in the final centuries BC, influenced partly by
Vedic mythologyVedic mythology refers to the mythological aspects of the historical Vedic religion and Vedic literature, most notably alluded to in the hymns of the Rigveda...
and partly by Hellenistic drama. It reaches its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries before declining together with Sanskrit literature as a whole.
Famous Sanskrit dramatists include Śhudraka,
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
,
Asvaghosa' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
. Though numerous plays written by these playwrights are still available, little is known about the authors themselves.
One of the earliest known Sanskrit plays is the Mrichakatika, thought to have been composed by Śhudraka in the 2nd century BC. The
Natya Shastra (ca. 2nd century AD, literally "Scripture of Dance," though it sometimes translated as "Science of Theatre'") is a keystone work in Sanskrit literature on the subject of stagecraft.
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
are major early authors of the first centuries AD, Kālidāsa qualifying easily as the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit He deals primarily with famous
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
legends and themes; three famous plays by Kālidāsa are
VikramōrvaśīyamVikramōrvaśīyam is a Sanskrit play by medieval Indian poet Kalidasa who fluorished in the 4th Century CE, on the Vedic love story of king Pururavas and celestial nymph Urvashi...
(Vikrama and Urvashi),
MālavikāgnimitramMālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. It is his first play.The play tells the story of the love of King Agnimitra, the Shunga king of Vidisha , for the beautiful hand-maiden of his chief queen. He falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Mālavikā...
(Malavika and Agnimitra), and the play that he is most known for:
Abhijñānaśākuntalam Abhijñānashākuntala or Abhijñānaśākuntalam) , is a well-known Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Its date is uncertain, but Kalidasa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE....
(The Recognition of Shakuntala).
Late (post 6th century) dramatists include
DandinDandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
and Sriharsha. The only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is
KoodiyattamKoodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...
. Which is being preserved in
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
by the
ChakyarChakyar is a Brahmin caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of South India. The women in this caste are called Illotammas....
community.
Scholarly treatises
The earliest surviving treatise on astrology is the
YavanajatakaThe Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja is an ancient text in Indian astrology....
"sayings of the Greeks" (3rd century). Classical Hindu astrology is based on early medieval compilations, notably the
{{Citations missing|date=December 2007}}
{{History of literature2}}
LiteratureIndian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
in SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
begins with the
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of
Iron Age IndiaIron Age India, the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent, succeeds the Late Harappan culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition...
; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to
late AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
(roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries AD). Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD. There are contemporary efforts towards
revivalSanskrit revival is the accumulation of attempts at reviving the Sanskrit language that have been undertaken.-History:In 1891 there was organized activity among the Theosophists in India promoting and participating in the revival of Sanskrit...
, with events like the "All-India Sanskrit Festival" (since 2002) holding composition contests.
Given its extensive use in religious literature, primarily in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and the fact that most modern
Indian languagesThe languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
have been directly derived from or strongly influenced by Sanskrit, the language and its literature is of great importance in
Indian cultureIndia's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality....
akin to that of
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in
European cultureThe culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
. Some Sanskrit literature such as the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali and the Upanishads were translated into Arabic and Persian. The Panchatantra was also translated into Persian.
The Vedas
{{Main|Vedas}}
Composed between approximately 1500 BC and 600 BC (the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) in
pre-classical SanskritVedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
, Vedic literature forms the basis for the further development of
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. There are four
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
-
RigThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
, YajurThe Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...
, SāmaThe Sama veda , is second of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1700 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda...
and AtharvaThe Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda"....
, each with a main
SamhitaSamhita may refer to"*the basic metrical text of each of the Vedas**specifically, these texts with sandhi applied *post-Vedic texts known as Samhitas:** Ashtavakra Gita...
and a number of circum-vedic genres, including Brahmanas,
AranyakaThe Aranyakas are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; they were composed in late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads....
s,Vedang i.e. Grhyasutras and Shrautasutras and Dharmasutras. The main period of Vedic literary activity falls into ca. the 9th to 7th centuries when the various
shakhaA shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...
s (schools) compiled and memorized their respective corpora.
The older Upanishads (BAU, ChU,
JUBThe Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana or the Talavakara Upanishad Brahmana is a Vedic text associated with the Jaiminiya or the Talavakara shakha of the Samaveda. It is considered as an Aranyaka. A part of this text forms the Kena Upanishad...
,
KathUKatha may refer to:* The Sanskrit for "speech, narration, story, fable", see Katha * The Kaṭha or Caraka-Katha school of the Black Yajurveda** Katha Upanishad, a Hindu text associated with the Katha school...
, MaitrU) belong to the Vedic period, but the larger part of the Muktika canon is post-Vedic. The Aranyakas form part of both the Brahmana and Upanishad corpus.
Sutra literature
{{Main|Sutra}}
{{See also|Shulba Sutras|Kalpa Sutras|Dharma Sutras|Shastra}}
Continuing the tradition of the late Vedic Shrautasutra literature, Late Iron Age scholarship (ca. 500 to 100 BCE) organized knowledge into
SutraSūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
treatises, including the
VedangaThe Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines traditionally associated with the study and understanding of the Vedas.#Shiksha : phonetics, phonology and morphophonology #Kalpa : ritual#Vyakarana : grammar...
and the religious or philosophical
Brahma SutrasThe Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
, Yoga Sutras,
Nyaya SutrasThe Nyāya Sūtras are an ancient Indian text on of philosophy composed by ' . The sutras contain five chapters, each with two sections...
.
In the Vedanga disciplines of
grammarThe Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, ...
and
phoneticsShiksha is one of the six Vedangas, treating the traditional Hindu science of phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit.Its aim is the teaching of the correct pronunciation of the Vedic hymns and mantras...
, no author had greater influence than {{IAST|Pāṇini}} with his {{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}} (ca. 5th century BC). In the tradition of Sutra literature exposing the full grammar of Sanskrit in extreme brevity, Panini's brilliance lies in the nature of his work of a prescriptive
generative grammarIn theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
, involving metarules,
transformationIn mathematics, a transformation could be any function mapping a set X on to another set or on to itself. However, often the set X has some additional algebraic or geometric structure and the term "transformation" refers to a function from X to itself that preserves this structure.Examples include...
s and
recursionRecursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are exactly parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of infinite recursion. The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from...
. Being prescriptive for all later grammatical works, such as
PatanjaliPatañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
's {{IAST|Mahābhāṣya}}, {{IAST|Pāṇini}}'s grammar effectively fixed the grammar of Classical Sanskrit. The Backus-Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages have significant similarities with Panini's grammar rules.
The Epics
{{Main|Indian epic poetry}}
The period between approximately the 6th to 1st centuries BC saw the composition and redaction of the two great epics, the
MahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and the
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, with subsequent redaction progressing down to the 4th century AD. They are known as
itihasaItihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
, or "
that which occurred".
The Mahabharata
{{Main|Mahabharata}}
The
Mahabharata (
Great Bharata) is one of the longest poetic works in the world. While it is clearly a poetic epic, it contains large tracts of
Hindu mythologyHindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
,
philosophyIndia has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
and religious tracts. Traditionally, authorship of the
Mahabharata is attributed to the sage
VyasaVyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
.According to the Adi-parva of the Mahabharata (81, 101-102), the text was originally 8,800 verses when it was composed by Vyasa and was known as the
Jaya (Victory), which later became 24,000 verses in the
Bharata recited by Vaisampayana.
The broad sweep of the story of the
Mahabharata chronicles the story of the conflict between two families for control of Hastinapur, a city in Ancient
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The impact of the
Mahabharata on
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Hinduism cannot be stressed enough. Having been molded by Indian culture, it has in turn molded the development of Indian culture. Thousands of later writers would draw freely from the story and sub-stories of the
Mahabharata.
The Ramayana
{{Main|Ramayana}}
While not as long as the
Mahabharata, the
Ramayana is still twice as long as the
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and
OdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
put together. Traditionally, the authorship is attribued to the Hindu sage Valmiki, who is referred to as
Adikavi, or "first poet." Valmiki in the Ramayana introduced the Anushtubh meter for the first time.
Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana was also handed down orally and evolved through several centuries before being transferred into writing. It includes tales that form the basis for modern Hindu festivals and even contains a description of the same marriage practice still observed in contemporary times by people of Hindu persuasion.
The story deals with Prince
RamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
(Hindi: Rām), his exile and the abduction of his wife by the
RakshasaA Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
king
Ravana' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, and the
LankaSri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
n war. Similar to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana also has several full-fledged stories appearing as sub-plots.
The Ramayana has also played a similar and equally important role in the development of Indian culture as the Mahabharata.
The
Ramayana is also extant in Ramayana: Southeast Asian versions
{{See also|Hikayat Seri Rama|Kakawin Rāmâyaṇa|Phra Lak Phra Lam|Ramakien|Reamker|Yama Zatdaw}}
Classical Sanskrit literature
The classical period of Sanskrit literature dates to the Gupta period and the successive pre-Islamic
Middle kingdoms of IndiaMiddle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 3rd century BC after the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC...
, spanning roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries CE.
Drama
{{Main|Sanskrit drama}}
Drama as a distinct genre of Sanskrit literature emerges in the final centuries BC, influenced partly by
Vedic mythologyVedic mythology refers to the mythological aspects of the historical Vedic religion and Vedic literature, most notably alluded to in the hymns of the Rigveda...
and partly by Hellenistic drama. It reaches its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries before declining together with Sanskrit literature as a whole.
Famous Sanskrit dramatists include Śhudraka,
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
,
Asvaghosa' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
. Though numerous plays written by these playwrights are still available, little is known about the authors themselves.
One of the earliest known Sanskrit plays is the Mrichakatika, thought to have been composed by Śhudraka in the 2nd century BC. The
Natya Shastra (ca. 2nd century AD, literally "Scripture of Dance," though it sometimes translated as "Science of Theatre'") is a keystone work in Sanskrit literature on the subject of stagecraft.
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
are major early authors of the first centuries AD, Kālidāsa qualifying easily as the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit He deals primarily with famous
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
legends and themes; three famous plays by Kālidāsa are
VikramōrvaśīyamVikramōrvaśīyam is a Sanskrit play by medieval Indian poet Kalidasa who fluorished in the 4th Century CE, on the Vedic love story of king Pururavas and celestial nymph Urvashi...
(Vikrama and Urvashi),
MālavikāgnimitramMālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. It is his first play.The play tells the story of the love of King Agnimitra, the Shunga king of Vidisha , for the beautiful hand-maiden of his chief queen. He falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Mālavikā...
(Malavika and Agnimitra), and the play that he is most known for:
Abhijñānaśākuntalam Abhijñānashākuntala or Abhijñānaśākuntalam) , is a well-known Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Its date is uncertain, but Kalidasa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE....
(The Recognition of Shakuntala).
Late (post 6th century) dramatists include
DandinDandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
and Sriharsha. The only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is
KoodiyattamKoodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...
. Which is being preserved in
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
by the
ChakyarChakyar is a Brahmin caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of South India. The women in this caste are called Illotammas....
community.
Scholarly treatises
{{History of literature5}}
{{Main|Tantras|Shastra|Siddhanta|Jataka}}
{{See|Jyotihshastra}}
The earliest surviving treatise on astrology is the
YavanajatakaThe Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja is an ancient text in Indian astrology....
"sayings of the Greeks" (3rd century). Classical Hindu astrology is based on early medieval compilations, notably the
{{Citations missing|date=December 2007}}
{{History of literature2}}
LiteratureIndian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
in SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
begins with the
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of
Iron Age IndiaIron Age India, the Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent, succeeds the Late Harappan culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition...
; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to
late AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
(roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries AD). Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD. There are contemporary efforts towards
revivalSanskrit revival is the accumulation of attempts at reviving the Sanskrit language that have been undertaken.-History:In 1891 there was organized activity among the Theosophists in India promoting and participating in the revival of Sanskrit...
, with events like the "All-India Sanskrit Festival" (since 2002) holding composition contests.
Given its extensive use in religious literature, primarily in
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and the fact that most modern
Indian languagesThe languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
have been directly derived from or strongly influenced by Sanskrit, the language and its literature is of great importance in
Indian cultureIndia's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality....
akin to that of
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in
European cultureThe culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
. Some Sanskrit literature such as the Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali and the Upanishads were translated into Arabic and Persian. The Panchatantra was also translated into Persian.
The Vedas
{{Main|Vedas}}
Composed between approximately 1500 BC and 600 BC (the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) in
pre-classical SanskritVedic Sanskrit is an old Indo-Aryan language. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language...
, Vedic literature forms the basis for the further development of
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. There are four
VedasThe Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
-
RigThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
, YajurThe Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...
, SāmaThe Sama veda , is second of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures. Its earliest parts are believed to date from 1700 BC and it ranks next in sanctity and liturgical importance to the Rigveda...
and AtharvaThe Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and one of the four Vedas, often called the "fourth Veda"....
, each with a main
SamhitaSamhita may refer to"*the basic metrical text of each of the Vedas**specifically, these texts with sandhi applied *post-Vedic texts known as Samhitas:** Ashtavakra Gita...
and a number of circum-vedic genres, including Brahmanas,
AranyakaThe Aranyakas are part of the Hindu śruti, the four Vedas; they were composed in late Vedic Sanskrit typical of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads; indeed, they frequently form part of either the Brahmanas or the Upanishads....
s,Vedang i.e. Grhyasutras and Shrautasutras and Dharmasutras. The main period of Vedic literary activity falls into ca. the 9th to 7th centuries when the various
shakhaA shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...
s (schools) compiled and memorized their respective corpora.
The older Upanishads (BAU, ChU,
JUBThe Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana or the Talavakara Upanishad Brahmana is a Vedic text associated with the Jaiminiya or the Talavakara shakha of the Samaveda. It is considered as an Aranyaka. A part of this text forms the Kena Upanishad...
,
KathUKatha may refer to:* The Sanskrit for "speech, narration, story, fable", see Katha * The Kaṭha or Caraka-Katha school of the Black Yajurveda** Katha Upanishad, a Hindu text associated with the Katha school...
, MaitrU) belong to the Vedic period, but the larger part of the Muktika canon is post-Vedic. The Aranyakas form part of both the Brahmana and Upanishad corpus.
Sutra literature
{{Main|Sutra}}
{{See also|Shulba Sutras|Kalpa Sutras|Dharma Sutras|Shastra}}
Continuing the tradition of the late Vedic Shrautasutra literature, Late Iron Age scholarship (ca. 500 to 100 BCE) organized knowledge into
SutraSūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
treatises, including the
VedangaThe Vedanga are six auxiliary disciplines traditionally associated with the study and understanding of the Vedas.#Shiksha : phonetics, phonology and morphophonology #Kalpa : ritual#Vyakarana : grammar...
and the religious or philosophical
Brahma SutrasThe Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
, Yoga Sutras,
Nyaya SutrasThe Nyāya Sūtras are an ancient Indian text on of philosophy composed by ' . The sutras contain five chapters, each with two sections...
.
In the Vedanga disciplines of
grammarThe Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, ...
and
phoneticsShiksha is one of the six Vedangas, treating the traditional Hindu science of phonetics and phonology of Sanskrit.Its aim is the teaching of the correct pronunciation of the Vedic hymns and mantras...
, no author had greater influence than {{IAST|Pāṇini}} with his {{IAST|Aṣṭādhyāyī}} (ca. 5th century BC). In the tradition of Sutra literature exposing the full grammar of Sanskrit in extreme brevity, Panini's brilliance lies in the nature of his work of a prescriptive
generative grammarIn theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
, involving metarules,
transformationIn mathematics, a transformation could be any function mapping a set X on to another set or on to itself. However, often the set X has some additional algebraic or geometric structure and the term "transformation" refers to a function from X to itself that preserves this structure.Examples include...
s and
recursionRecursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are exactly parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of infinite recursion. The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from...
. Being prescriptive for all later grammatical works, such as
PatanjaliPatañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
's {{IAST|Mahābhāṣya}}, {{IAST|Pāṇini}}'s grammar effectively fixed the grammar of Classical Sanskrit. The Backus-Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages have significant similarities with Panini's grammar rules.
The Epics
{{Main|Indian epic poetry}}
The period between approximately the 6th to 1st centuries BC saw the composition and redaction of the two great epics, the
MahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and the
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, with subsequent redaction progressing down to the 4th century AD. They are known as
itihasaItihasa as defined by Amarakosha refers to purvavritta, i.e. events of the past. In the Vedic age, those portions of the Brahmanas which narrated events of bygone days were known as itihasa and had some ritualistic importance...
, or "
that which occurred".
The Mahabharata
{{Main|Mahabharata}}
The
Mahabharata (
Great Bharata) is one of the longest poetic works in the world. While it is clearly a poetic epic, it contains large tracts of
Hindu mythologyHindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
,
philosophyIndia has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
and religious tracts. Traditionally, authorship of the
Mahabharata is attributed to the sage
VyasaVyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
.According to the Adi-parva of the Mahabharata (81, 101-102), the text was originally 8,800 verses when it was composed by Vyasa and was known as the
Jaya (Victory), which later became 24,000 verses in the
Bharata recited by Vaisampayana.
The broad sweep of the story of the
Mahabharata chronicles the story of the conflict between two families for control of Hastinapur, a city in Ancient
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The impact of the
Mahabharata on
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Hinduism cannot be stressed enough. Having been molded by Indian culture, it has in turn molded the development of Indian culture. Thousands of later writers would draw freely from the story and sub-stories of the
Mahabharata.
The Ramayana
{{Main|Ramayana}}
While not as long as the
Mahabharata, the
Ramayana is still twice as long as the
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and
OdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
put together. Traditionally, the authorship is attribued to the Hindu sage Valmiki, who is referred to as
Adikavi, or "first poet." Valmiki in the Ramayana introduced the Anushtubh meter for the first time.
Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana was also handed down orally and evolved through several centuries before being transferred into writing. It includes tales that form the basis for modern Hindu festivals and even contains a description of the same marriage practice still observed in contemporary times by people of Hindu persuasion.
The story deals with Prince
RamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
(Hindi: Rām), his exile and the abduction of his wife by the
RakshasaA Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
king
Ravana' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, and the
LankaSri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
n war. Similar to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana also has several full-fledged stories appearing as sub-plots.
The Ramayana has also played a similar and equally important role in the development of Indian culture as the Mahabharata.
The
Ramayana is also extant in Ramayana: Southeast Asian versions
{{See also|Hikayat Seri Rama|Kakawin Rāmâyaṇa|Phra Lak Phra Lam|Ramakien|Reamker|Yama Zatdaw}}
Classical Sanskrit literature
The classical period of Sanskrit literature dates to the Gupta period and the successive pre-Islamic
Middle kingdoms of IndiaMiddle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 3rd century BC after the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC...
, spanning roughly the 3rd to 8th centuries CE.
Drama
{{Main|Sanskrit drama}}
Drama as a distinct genre of Sanskrit literature emerges in the final centuries BC, influenced partly by
Vedic mythologyVedic mythology refers to the mythological aspects of the historical Vedic religion and Vedic literature, most notably alluded to in the hymns of the Rigveda...
and partly by Hellenistic drama. It reaches its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries before declining together with Sanskrit literature as a whole.
Famous Sanskrit dramatists include Śhudraka,
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
,
Asvaghosa' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
. Though numerous plays written by these playwrights are still available, little is known about the authors themselves.
One of the earliest known Sanskrit plays is the Mrichakatika, thought to have been composed by Śhudraka in the 2nd century BC. The
Natya Shastra (ca. 2nd century AD, literally "Scripture of Dance," though it sometimes translated as "Science of Theatre'") is a keystone work in Sanskrit literature on the subject of stagecraft.
BhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
and
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
are major early authors of the first centuries AD, Kālidāsa qualifying easily as the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit He deals primarily with famous
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
legends and themes; three famous plays by Kālidāsa are
VikramōrvaśīyamVikramōrvaśīyam is a Sanskrit play by medieval Indian poet Kalidasa who fluorished in the 4th Century CE, on the Vedic love story of king Pururavas and celestial nymph Urvashi...
(Vikrama and Urvashi),
MālavikāgnimitramMālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. It is his first play.The play tells the story of the love of King Agnimitra, the Shunga king of Vidisha , for the beautiful hand-maiden of his chief queen. He falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Mālavikā...
(Malavika and Agnimitra), and the play that he is most known for:
Abhijñānaśākuntalam Abhijñānashākuntala or Abhijñānaśākuntalam) , is a well-known Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Its date is uncertain, but Kalidasa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE....
(The Recognition of Shakuntala).
Late (post 6th century) dramatists include
DandinDandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
and Sriharsha. The only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is
KoodiyattamKoodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...
. Which is being preserved in
Keralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
by the
ChakyarChakyar is a Brahmin caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of South India. The women in this caste are called Illotammas....
community.
Scholarly treatises
{{History of literature5}}
{{Main|Tantras|Shastra|Siddhanta|Jataka}}
{{See|Jyotihshastra}}
The earliest surviving treatise on astrology is the
YavanajatakaThe Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja is an ancient text in Indian astrology....
"sayings of the Greeks" (3rd century). Classical Hindu astrology is based on early medieval compilations, notably the {{IAST and
SārāvalīSaravali is a community located 6 km SE of the centre and a suburb of Patras, Greece, north of Ovrya, northeast of Mintilogi and 9 km W of the Iera Moni Omplou/Omplos Monastery. Saravali is in the northern part of the municipal unit of Messatida...
(7th to 8th century). The earliest surviving treatise on (non-divinatory) Indian astronomy predates the Yavanajataka: the
Vedanga JyotishaThe ' is an Indian text on Jyotisha, redacted by Lagadha .The text is foundational to the Vedanga discipline of Jyotisha. It is dated to the final centuries BCE...
of Ladaga documents the state of in the Maurya period. The astronomy of the classical Gupta period, the centuries following Indo-Greek contact, is documented in treatises known as
SiddhantaSiddhanta, a Sanskrit term, roughly translates as the Doctrine or the Tradition. It denotes the established and accepted view of a particular school within Indian philosophy.-Hindu philosophy:...
s (which means "established conclusions" ).
VarahamihiraVarāhamihira , also called Varaha or Mihira, was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain...
in his
Pancha-Siddhantika contrasts five of these: The
Surya SiddhantaThe Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest siddhanta in archeo-astronomy of the Hindus by an unknown author. It describes the archeo-astronomy theories, principles and methods of the ancient Hindus. This siddhanta is supposed to be the knowledge that the Sun god gave to an Asura called Maya. Asuras...
besides the Paitamaha Siddhantas (which is more similar to the "classical"
Vedanga JyotishaThe ' is an Indian text on Jyotisha, redacted by Lagadha .The text is foundational to the Vedanga discipline of Jyotisha. It is dated to the final centuries BCE...
), the Paulisha and
RomakaThe Romaka Siddhanta is an Indian astronomical treatise, based on the astronomical learning of Byzantine Rome...
Siddhantas (directly based on Hellenistic astronomy) and the Vasishta Siddhanta.
The earliest treatise in
Indian mathematicsIndian mathematics emerged in the Indian subcontinent from 1200 BCE until the end of the 18th century. In the classical period of Indian mathematics , important contributions were made by scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, and Bhaskara II. The decimal number system in use today was first...
is the
{{IASTĀryabhaṭīya or Āryabhaṭīyaṃ, a Sanskrit astronomical treatise, is the magnum opus and only extant work of the 5th century Indian mathematician, Āryabhaṭa.- Structure and style:...
(written ca. 500 CE), a work on astronomy and mathematics. The mathematical portion of the
{{IAST|Āryabhaṭīya}} was composed of 33
sūtras (in verse form) consisting of mathematical statements or rules, but without any proofs. However, according to {{Harv|Hayashi|2003|p=123}}, "this does not necessarily mean that their authors did not prove them. It was probably a matter of style of exposition." From the time of
Bhaskara IBhāskara was a 7th century Indian mathematician, who was apparently the first to write numbers in the Hindu-Arabic decimal system with a circle for the zero, and who gave a unique and remarkable rational approximation of the sine function in his commentary on Aryabhata's work...
(600 CE onwards), prose commentaries increasingly began to include some derivations (
upapatti).
"Tantra" is a general term for a scientific, magical or mystical treatise and mystical texts both
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Buddhist said to concern themselves with five subjects, 1. the creation, 2. the destruction of the world, 3. the worship of the gods, 4. the attainment of all objects, 5. the four modes of union with the supreme spirit by meditation. These texts date to the entire lifespan of Classical Sanskrit literature.
Stories
{{Main|Panchatantra|Hitopadesha}}
Sanskrit fairy tales and fables are chiefly characterised by ethical reflections and proverbial philosophy. A peculiar style, marked by the insertion of a number of different stories within the framework of a single narrative, made its way to Persian and Arabic literatures, exerting a major influence on works such as
One Thousand and One Nights.
The two most important collections are
PanchatantraThe Panchatantra is an ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. The original Sanskrit work, which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma...
and
HitopadeshaHitopadesha is a collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse written in the 12 century C.E. It is an independent treatment of the Panchatantra...
; originally intended as manuals for the instruction of kings in domestic and foreign policy, they belong to the class of literature which the Hindus call
nīti-śāstra, or "Science of Political Ethics".
Other notable prose works include a collection of pretty and ingenious fairy tales, with a highly Oriental colouring, the
Vetāla-panchaviṃśati or "Twenty-five Tales of the Vetāla" (a demon supposed to occupy corpses), the
Siṃhāsana-dvātriṃçikā or "Thirty-two Stories of the Lion-seat" (i.e. throne), which also goes by the name of
Vikrama-charita, or "Adventures of Vikrama" and the
Śuka-saptati, or "Seventy Stories of a Parrot". These three collections of fairy tales are all written in prose and are comparatively short.
Somadeva's
Kathā-sarit-sāgaraKathasaritsagara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by a Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva....
or "Ocean of Rivers of Stories" is a work of special importance: composed in verse and is of very considerable length. It contains more than 22,000 shlokas, equal to nearly one-fourth of the
MahābhārataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
.
Somadeva's
Kathā-sarit-sāgaraKathasaritsagara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by a Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva....
is derived from Gunadhya's Brhat-Katha of which there is a Thirteenth Century Fragment
The Travels Of Pandit Ganja Deen The Sadhaka
Fable collections, originally serving as the handbooks of practical moral philosophy, provided an abundant reservoir of ethical maxims that become so popular that works consisting exclusively of poetical aphorisms started to appear. The most important are the two collections by the highly-gifted Bhartṛhari, entitled respectively
Nīti-śataka, or "Century of Conduct," and
Vairāgya-śataka, or "Century of Renunciation." The keynote prevailing in this new ethical poetry style is the doctrine of the vanity of human life, which was developed before the rise of Buddhism in the sixth century B.C., and has dominated Indian thought ever since.
Classical poetry
This refers to the poetry produced from the approximately the 3rd to 8th centuries.
KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
is the foremost example of a classical poet.
But a striking characteristic of Indian literary tradition is that sometimes poets show off their technical dexterity with highly Oulipian word-games, like stanzas that read the same backwards and forwards, words that can be split in different ways to produce different meanings, sophisticated metaphors, and so on. This style is referred to as
KāvyaKavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
. A classic example is the poet
BharaviBharavi was a Sanskrit poet known for his Mahakavya , the Kirātārjunīya in 18 cantos based on an episode from the Mahabharata.-Time and place:...
and his magnum opus, the Kiratarjuniya (6th-7th century). Magh is noted for his epic poem (mahAkAvya) Shishupala Vadha, the 20 cantos of which are based on the Mahabharata episode where the defiant king Shishupala is beheaded by Krishna's chakra (disc)
The greatest works of poetry in this period are the five
Mahākāvyas, or "great composition"s:
- Kumārasambhava
Kumārasambhava is a Sanskrit epic poem by Kālidāsa; the first eight cantos are accepted as his authorship...
by KālidāsaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
- Raghuvamsha by Kālidāsa
- Kiratarjuniya
Kirātārjunīya is a Sanskrit kavya by Bhāravi, written in the 6th century or earlier. It is an epic poem in eighteen cantos describing the combat between Arjuna and lord Shiva in the guise of a kirāta or mountain-dwelling hunter. Along with the Naiṣadhacarita and the Shishupala Vadha, it is one of...
by BharaviBharavi was a Sanskrit poet known for his Mahakavya , the Kirātārjunīya in 18 cantos based on an episode from the Mahabharata.-Time and place:...
- Shishupala Vadha
The Shishupala Vadha is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas of about 1800 highly ornate stanzas, and is considered one of the six Sanskrit mahakavyas, or "great epics". It is also known as the Māgha-kāvya after its author...
by MāghaMagha was a Sanskrit poet at King Varmalata's court at Srimala, the-then capital of Gujarat . Magha was son of Dattaka Sarvacharya and grandson of Suprabhadeva...
- Naishadha-Charita by Sriharsha
Some scholars include the Bhattikavya as a sixth Mahākāvya.
Other major literary works from this period are
KadambariKādambari is a romantic novel in Sanskrit. It was substantially composed by Bānabhatta in the first half of the 7th century, who did not survive to see it through completion. The novel was completed by Banabhatta's son Bhushanabhatta, according to the plan laid out by his late father...
by
BanabhattaBāṇabhaṭṭa , also known as Bāṇa, was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India...
, the first Sanskrit novelist (6th-7th centuries), the
Kama SutraThe Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
by
VatsyayanaVātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived during time of the Gupta Empire in India...
, and the three
shatakas of {{IAST|Bhartṛhari}}.
Puranas
{{Main|Puranas}}
The corpus of the
HinduHindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
PuranasThe Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
likewise falls into the classical period of Sanskrit literature, dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries, and marks the emergence of the Vaishnava and Shaiva denominations of classical
HinduismHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
.
The Puranas are classified into a Mahā- ("great") and a Upa- ("lower, additional") corpus.
Traditionally they are said to narrate five subjects, called
{{IAST|pañcalakṣaṇa}} ("five distinguishing marks"):
Sargaśca pratisargasca vamśo manvantarāņi ca I
Vamśānucaritam caiva Purāņam pañcalakśaņam II
They are:
- Sarga — The creation of the universe.
- Pratisarga — Secondary creations, mostly re-creations after dissolution.
- Vamśa — Genealogy of royals and sages.
- Manvañtara — Various eras.
- Vamśānucaritam — Dynastic histories.
A Purana usually gives prominence to a certain deity (
ShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
,
VishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
or
KrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
,
DurgaFor the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
) and depicts the other gods as subservient.
Later Sanskrit literature
The
Avadhuta GitaAvadhuta Gita is a Hindu text based on the principles of Advaita Vedanta . The singer of the Avadhuta Gita is Dattatreya, an Avadhuta, and according to the Nath Sampradaya, the work was heard and transcribed by two of Dattatreya's disciples—Swami and Kartika...
, an extreme nondual (Sanskrit: advaita) text, is held by Western scholarship to date in its present form from the 9th or 10th centuries.
Some important works from the 11th century include the
Katha-sarit-sagaraKathasaritsagara is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by a Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva....
and the
Gita GovindaThe Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...
of
JayadevaJayadeva was a Sanskrit poet circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of Krishna-an avatar of Vishnu and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned that Radha is greater than Hari, and is considered an important text in the...
.
NaganandaNagananda is a Sanskrit play attributed to king Harsha .Nagananda is one of the best Sanskrit dramas in five acts dealing with the popular story of Jimutavahana's self-sacrifice to save the Nagas...
, attributed to King Harsha, is an outstanding drama that outlines the story of King Jimutavahana, who sacrifices himself to save the tribe of serpents. It is also unique in that it invokes Lord Buddha in what is a predominantly Hindu drama.
The
Katha-sarita-sagara (An Ocean of Stories) by Somadeva was an 11th century poetic adaptation in Sanskrit of
Brihat-katha, written in the 5th century BC in the
Paishachi dialect. One of the famous series of stories in this work is the
Vikrama and Vetāla series, known across India today. On the other side of the spectrum, of the 'Bhana' style of drama,
UbhayabhisarikaUbhayābhisārika is a Sanskrit single-player satirical play formatted as a monologue, written by Vararuchi, who is thought to have lived in the Gupta age...
is a one-person drama of an endearing lecher who knows every courtesan and her family by name.
The
Gita Govinda (The song of Govinda) by the Oriya composer
JayadevaJayadeva was a well known Sanskrit poet and lyricist who was born in Kenduli, Orissa in the 11th century AD. The works of Jayadeva have had a profound influence on Indian culture. It forms the basis of the east Indian classical dance form, Odissi, and has strongly influenced the Bharatanatyam...
is the story of
KrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
's love for Radha, and is written in spectacularly lyrical and musical Sanskrit.
A central text for several Hindu sects in eastern India, the
Gita Govinda is recited regularly at major Hindu pilgrimage sites such as
JagannathJagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
temple at Puri,
OrissaOrissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
. The
Ashtapadis of the
Gita Govinda also form a staple theme in
BharatanatyamBharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...
and
OdissiOdissi, also spelled Orissi , is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as...
classical dance recitals.
Beyond the 11th century, the use of Sanskrit for general literature declined, most importantly because of the emergence of literature in vernacular Indian languages (notably
HindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
,
MarathiMarathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
,
TeluguTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, and Kannada). Sanskrit continued to be used, largely for Hindu religious and philosophical literature. Sanskrit literature fueled literature in vernacular languages, and the Sanskrit language itself continued to have a profound influence over the development of
Indian literatureIndian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
in general.
Attempts at
revival of SanskritSanskrit revival is the accumulation of attempts at reviving the Sanskrit language that have been undertaken.-History:In 1891 there was organized activity among the Theosophists in India promoting and participating in the revival of Sanskrit...
have been undertaken in the Republic of India since its foundation in 1947.
Modern Sanskrit literature
{{expand section|date=December 2010}}
{{see also|Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit}}
Literature in Sanskrit continues to be produced, despite its relative neglect by both Sanskritists and non-Sanskritists. Since 1967, the
Sahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
, India's national academy of letters, has had an
award for the best creative work written that year in Sanskrit. In 2009, Satyavrat Shastri became the first Sanskrit author to win the
Jnanpith AwardThe Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, it is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country...
, India's highest literary award. Some other modern Sanskrit composers include
Abhiraj Rajendra MishraAbhiraj Rajendra Mishra is a Sanskrit author, poet, lyricist, playwright and the a former Vice-Chancellor of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. He has served as the head of department of Sanskrit in Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla...
(known as
Triveṇī Kavi, composer of short stories and several other genres of Sanskrit literature), Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (known as
Kavikularatna, composer of two epics, several minor works and commentaries on
Prasthānatrayī).
These works, however, have a very small readership. In the introduction to
Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets (1992), Radhavallabh Tripathi writes:
{{quote|Sanskrit is known for its classical literature, even though the creative activity in this language has continued without pause from the medieval age till today. […] Consequently, contemporary Sanskrit writing suffers from a prevailing negligence.}}
However, Tripathi also points out the abundance of contemporary Sanskrit literature:
{{quotes|On the other hand, the number of authors who appear to be very enthusiastic about writing in Sanskrit during these days is not negligible. […] Dr. Ramji Upadhyaya in his treatise on modern Sanskrit drama has discussed more than 400 Sanskrit plays written and published during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a thesis dealing with Sanskrit
mahākāvyaMahākāvya , also known as sargabandha, is a genre of Indian epic poetry in classical Sanskrit literature. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description...
s written in a single decade, 1961–1970, the researcher has noted 52 Sanskrit
mahākāvyas (epic poems) produced in that very decade.}}
Most current Sanskrit poets are employed as teachers, either pandits in
pāṭhaśālas or university professors.
Manmohan AcharyaManmohan Acharya is a poet and lyricist from India. He is also a researcher and published author. His contribution appears significant by inspiring the classical dance, Odissi, for the first time to enter into Bollywood with his lucid Sanskrit lyrics.-Early life and education:Manmohan Acharya was...
is a poet and published author in Sanskrit literature. His contribution appears significant by inspiring the classical dance,
OdissiOdissi, also spelled Orissi , is one of the eight classical dance forms of India. It originates from the state of Orissa, in eastern India. It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences. The classic treatise of Indian dance, Natya Shastra, refers to it as...
, for the first time to enter into Bollywood with his Sanskrit lyrics. His
Gita-Milindam contains 15 gunjans (songs) in different melodious rhythms. Manomohan Acharya speaks for the common mass. His creative technique suggests his attitude to life. Looking at his off-beat themes, none can deny that he is projecting the voice of the mass and hence is a postmodern
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. A devotional song from his
GitamohanamGita-Mohanam,'Spiritual Hymns' is a famous Sanskrit poetry book of Indian Poet Manmohan Acharya.This work has been of great importance in the acceleration of spirituality. The Gita Mohanam is organized Sixteen chapters. Each chapter contains one song...
is included in the 2009 movie,
The DesireThe Desire-Journey of a Woman is an upcoming Indo-Chinese feature film, directed by R. Sarath. Starring Shilpa Shetty in lead role, the film also stars Chinese actor Xia Yu along with Indian actors and actresses as Jaya Prada, Anupam Kher, Sheetal Menon and Sachin Khedekar...
. He authored many Sanskrit poetry to his credit. Some worth-mentioning are
Gita-bhaaratam,
Palli-panchaasika (Khandakavya),
subhasa-charitam (Mahakavya),
Sri Sivananda-Laharika (Philosophical Kavya) and
Yati-giti-satakam (Sataka-kavya). As a playwright, Manomohan Acharya has written many dance dramas, including
Arjuna-Pratijnaa, Shrita-kamalam, Pada-pallavam, Divya-Jayadevam, Pingalaa, Mrtyu, Sthitaprajnah, Tantram , Purva-sakuntalam and
Uttara-sakuntalam.
See also
{{Portal|Literature}}
{{div col|cols=3}}
- Early Medieval literature
See also: Ancient literature, 10th century in literature, list of years in literature.This is a list of literature dating to the 6th to 9th centuries...
- Hindu scripture
The Literature regarded as central to the Vedic and Hindu literary tradition was originally predominantly composed in Sanskrit. Indeed, much of the morphology inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and other early texts....
- Indian literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
- List of Historic Indian Texts
- List of Sanskrit poets
- Sanskrit drama
The earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date from the 1st century CE. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India.Its...
- Telugu literature
The Telugu literature or Telugu Sahityam is one of the most precious possessions of the literary products of India. Telugu literature is rich reserve of poems, stories, dramas and puranas. It flowered in the early 16th century under the Vijayanagar empire, of which Telugu was one of the court...
- Yoga Vasistha
Yoga Vasistha is a Hindu spiritual text traditionally attributed to Valmiki. It recounts a discourse of the sage Vasistha to a young Prince Rama, during a period when the latter is in a dejected state...
{{div col end}}
Further reading
- Arthur Anthony Macdonell
Arthur Anthony Macdonell , 7th of Lochgarry, was a noted Sanskrit scholar.Macdonell was born in India and educated at Göttingen University, then matriculated in 1876 at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, gaining a classical exhibition and three scholarships...
, A History of Sanskrit Literature, New York 1900
- Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature. Oriental books, New Delhi, 1927 (1907)
- J. Gonda (ed.) A History of Indian Literature, Otto Harrasowitz, Wiesbaden.
- S. Ranganath, Modern Sanskrit Writings in Karnataka, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan is an educational organization in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1970 to propagate, develop and encourage Sanskrit learning and research. It is a deemed university and is fully funded by the government of India...
, 2009.
External links
{{Interwiki|code=sa}}
{{Wikibooks|Sanskrit}}
{{Poetry of different cultures and languages}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanskrit Literature}}