Ancient Indian Literature
Antiquity to Classical Period
In quest of ‘Indianness’
The term ‘Indian literature’
is of recent origin; the
application of the ‘Indian’
to denote the sum total of
the writings in the many
languages of India
belongs to the
contemporary mind.
Blame it on the
Westerners!
It is fair that it was the Western writers on
India who coined the term ‘Indian Literature’
but they used it in another sense,- as a
synonym for Sanskrit literature.
Early Sanskrit Literature
Vedas (Vedic Literature: 1500 – 1000 BCE) – (1)
considered the earliest literary record of Indo – Aryan
civilization and the most sacred books of India; (2)
consist of original scriptures of Hindu teachings
containing spiritual knowledge regarding all aspects of
life; (3) not written by humans but it is believed that
God revealed and taught Vedic hymns to people, who
then passed them down through generations by mouth
Mahabharata “Great India” (Epic Sanskrit Literature:
400 – 100 BCE) – (1) great epic of the Bharata
Dynasty, written/complied by a Brahmin named Vyasa;
(2) regarded as Hinduism’s birth and a code of ethics
for Hindus; (3) ‘longest epic poem ever written’ which
narrates the war between two groups of cousins
during the Kurukshetra War
Ramayana (Epic Sanskrit Literature: 7 – 4 BCE) – (1)
regarded as the most important in Hindu literature
(one of the two major ancient epics), written by
Valmiki; (2) considered to be the adikavya, or first
poem in Hindu tradition; (3) tells the adventure of
Prince Rama as he rescues his wife Sita from the
demon king Ravana, including lessons in morality and
faith for Hindus
Classical Sanskrit
Literature
Abhijnanasakuntalam (Classical Sanskrit
Literature: 2 BCE – 4 AD) – (1) prominent
surviving Sanskrit literary from the classical period,
famously known as “The Recognition of
Sakuntala” (through a token), believed to be
written by Kalidasa; (2) first ever translation made
of an Indian play into Western languages; (3) the
play was not composed entirely in Sanskrit and
contains elements of a Middle Indian dialect
known as Maharashtri Prakrit
Arthashastra and Neetishastra (Classical Sanskrit
Literature: 2 BCE – 3 CE)– (1) written by Vishnu
Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political
treaties; (2) Arthashastra discusses monetary and
fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and
war strategies in detail, it also outlines the duties
of a ruler; (3) Chanakya Niti is a collection of
aphorisms, said to be selected by Chanakya from
the various shastras
Kama Sutra (400 BCE – 200 CE) – (1) attributed
to Vatsyayana, an Indian philosopher; (2) an
ancient Indian test which is considered as the
primary Sanskrit work on human sexuality; (3) one
of the first systematic studies of human sexual
behavior in world literature
Milieu of India
Vedic Period/Age (1700 BC – 500 BC)
Known to be the “heroic age” of the ancient
Indian civilization
“formative period” of the Indian civilization
Hinduism (New Religion)
Mahabharata and Upanishads
Caste System (Social Structure)
Creation of Vedas (oldest Indian texts)
Aryan Invasion (Theory)
Dravidians were pushed south
“India in Greece” Edward Pocke
“Greek language is a derivation of Sanskrit”
Early Vedic/Rig Vedic Period
Formation of kingdoms of ancient
India
Nomadic to settled village
communities
Aryans (Indo-European speaking
people) (Vedas)
Battle of the 10 chiefs
Sudas vs Vishvamitra (priest who
was replaced by sudas) (organized
a confederacy of 10 tribes)
Related to the Rigvedas
Later Vedic Mahanjanadapas “Great Kingdoms”
The Sama, the Yajur, The Atharvaveda, the Brahmanas, and
the Upanishads, the Aranyakas
Contributors of this time
Kuru-Pancala (powerful tribe)
16 monarchies and republics (Indo-Gangnetic Plains)
Historical context – sanskrit epics
Buddhism and Jainism
Maurya Empire the classical age of Sanskrit
Mahabatra and Ramayana
Clan to territorial, Chiefdoms to Kingdoms
Kingdoms were provided with power and status because of
territorial identity
Abhishekha (ceremonies)
Sabha and Parishdad (assemblies)
Caste
500 BC – 300 AD
Varnas (four classes) Hymn in the Rigveda
Oligarchic
Single or confederacy of clans
Agrarian economy
Brahmi (most used script)
Concept of money
Jainism and Buddhism (Major)
Gangnes valley – political activity (6th-5th century
BCE)
Alexander the Great
Mauryan Empire (almost the whole sub-continent)
Decline led to rise of small kingdoms
Indo-Greek rule
Demetrius (Greek) gained control of northwestern
India
Other Kingdoms
Oligarchies
Shunga
Kalinga
Andhras
Southern Kingdoms
Trade
References
[Link] (n.d.). Indian History Timeline. Retrieved from
[Link] history/[Link]
[Link] (n.d.) The Vedic Age on Ancient India. Retrieved from
[Link]
[Link] (n.d.). Vedic Period. Retrieved from
[Link]
[Link] (n.d.). Mahanjanadapas. Retrieved from
[Link]
Wolpert S.A., Alam M., Calkins P.B., Champakalakshmi R., Dikshit K.R, Schwartzberg J. E.,
Percival Spear T.G., Allchin F. R., Srivastava A.L., Subrahmanyam S., Thapar S., The
Editors of Enyclopedia Britannica, Et al. (04 Sept, 2019). India. Retrieved from
[Link]
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story-of-ramayana-1770169 [Link]
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