Unit-2
Indian Languages, Culture and Literature
2.1.1 The role of Sanskrit
Ever since human beings have invented the scripts, writing has reflected the culture, lifestyle, society and the polity of the contemporary society. In this process, each culture evolved its own language and created the huge literary base. This literary base of the civilization tells us about the evolution of each of its languages and culture through the span of the centuries.
Sanskrit is the mother of many Indian languages. The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Dharma sutras are all written in Sanskrit. There is also a variety of a secular and a regional literature. By reading about the languages and the literature created in the past, we will be able to understand our civilization better and appreciate the diversity and richness of our culture. All this was possible because of the language that developed during that time.
Sanskrit is the most ancient language of the country. It is one of the twenty-two languages listed in the Indian Constitution. The literature in Sanskrit is vast, beginning with the most ancient thought embodied in the Rig Veda, the oldest literary heritage of the mankind, and the Zend Avesta. It was Sanskrit that gave impetus to the study of linguistics scientifically during the eighteenth century. The great grammarian Panini, analyzed Sanskrit and its word formation in his unrivalled descriptive grammar Ashtadhyayi. The Buddhist Sanskrit literature includes the rich literature of the Mahayana school and the Hinayana school. The most important work of the Hinayana school is the Mahavastu which is a storehouse of the stories. While the Lalitavistara is the most sacred Mahayana text which supplied literary material for the Buddha Carita of Asvaghosa.
Sanskrit is perhaps the only language that transcended the barriers of regions and boundaries. From the north to the south and the east to the west there is no part of the India that has not contributed to or been affected by Sanskrit language. Kalhan’s Rajatarangini gives a detailed account of the kings of Kashmir whereas with Jonaraja we share the glory of Prithviraj. The writings of Kalidasa have added beauty to the storehouse of Sanskrit writings.
Significance of scriptures to current society
2.1.2 Indian philosophies
THE VEDAS
The Vedas are the earliest known literature in India. The Vedas were written in Sanskrit and were handed down orally from one generation to the other. Do you know that preservation of the Vedas till today is one of our most remarkable achievements? To be able to keep such a literary wealth as the Vedas intact when the art of writing was not there and there was a paucity of writing material is unprecedented in world history. The word ‘Veda’ literally means knowledge. In Hindu culture, Vedas are considered as eternal and divine revelations. They treat the whole world as one human family Vasudeva Kutumbakam. There are four Vedas, namely, the- Rigveda, Yajurveda, SamaVeda and Atharvaveda. Each Veda consists of the Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the Aranyakas. The Rigveda, SamaVeda and the Yajurveda are collectively known a Traji. In later years the Atharvaveda was incorporated in this group.
Rigveda
The Rigveda is the earliest of the Vedas. It is a collection of 1028 hymns in Vedic Sanskrit. Many of these are beautiful descriptions of the nature. The prayers are largely for seeking world prosperity. It is believed that these recitations are the natural outpouring of the Vedic rishis experiencing a mentally transcendental stage. Some of the well-known rishis are Vasistha, Gautama, Gritasamada, Vamadeva, Vishvamitra and Atri. The prominent gods of the Rigveda are Indra, Agni, Varun, Rudra, Aditya, Vayu, Aditi and the Ashwin twins. Some of the prominent goddesses are the Usha - the goddess of dawn, the Vak - the goddess of speech and the Prithvi - the goddess of earth. Do you know that most of the hymns spoke of universally recognized higher values of life such as truthfulness, honesty, dedication, sacrifice, politeness and culture? The prayers are for seeking world prosperity and for the development of the highly cultured society. Along with religion Rigveda provides us knowledge about social, political and economic condition of an ancient India.
Yajurveda
Yajur means sacrifice or worship. This Veda is concerned mostly with rites and mantras of different sacrifices. It gives directions for the performance of the yajnas. It has both poetic and prose renderings. Being a treatise on rituals, it is the most popular of the four Vedas. There are two major branches of Yajurveda, namely Shukla Yajurveda and Krishna Yajurveda i.e. the Vajasaneyi Samhita and the Taitriya Samhita. This text reflects on the social and religious condition of India at that time.
SamaVeda
Sama means melody or songs. This Veda consists of 16,000 ragas and raginis or musical notes. Out of total 1875 verses only 75 are original and others belong to the Rigveda. The SamaVeda prescribes the tunes for the recitation of the hymns of the Rigveda. It may be called the book of the Chants (Saman). This book is an evidence of the development of an Indian music during this period.
Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda is known as the Brahma Veda. It contains treatment for ninety-nine diseases. The source of this Veda is traced to two rishis called Atharvah and Angiras. The Atharvaveda is of immense value as it represents the religious ideas at an early period of the civilization. It has two branches, the Paippalada and the Saunaka. This book has detailed information about the family, social and political life of later Vedic period. In order to understand the Vedas, it is necessary to learn the Vedangas or the limbs of the Vedas. These supplements of the Vedas provide education (siksha), grammar (vyakarana), ritual (kalpa), etymology (nirukta), metrics (chhanda) and astronomy (Jyotisha). A good deal of a literature grew around these subjects. It was written in the form of precepts in the sutra style. A precept was called sutra because of its brevity. The most famous example of this is Panini’s grammar, Ashtadhyayi, which illustrates the rules of the grammar and also throws light on the society, economy and the culture of those times.
Brahmanas and Aranyakas
After the four Vedas, variety of works known as the Brahmanas were developed. These books gave a close clarification of sacred text rituals and directions and subsume the science of sacrifice. The latter parts of the Vedic literatures were known as the Aranyakas whereas the ultimate components of the Aranyakas area unit philosophic books named Upanishads that belong to the later stage of the Brahmana literature. Every of the four Vedas have their own Vedic literature books. Rig Veda had Kaushitaki and Aitreya. Taitteriya belongs to Krishna Yajurveda and Shatpath belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda. Tandav, Panchvish and Jaimaniya belongs to Atharvaveda. It’s through them that we tend to get a close info of the social, political and spiritual lifetime of the folks. The Arayankas subsume soul, birth and death and life on the far side it. These were studied and schooled by men in Vanprastha i.e. Munis and therefore the inhabitants living within the forests. Of these works were in Indo-Aryan. They were handed down orally and were place to writing a lot of later.
THE UPANISHADS
The word Upanishad springs from upa (nearby), and nishad (to sit-down), that is, “sitting down near”. Teams of pupil sit close to the Guru to be told from him within the Guru-shishya parampara or tradition. The Upanishads mark the end result of Indian thought and area unit the ultimate components of the Vedas. Because the Upanishads contain abstract and troublesome discussions of final philosophical issues, they were schooled to the pupils at the top. That’s why they're known as the top of Vedas. Vedas begin with the worship of the manifest, as that's obvious then slowly rework to the data of the unmanifest There are a unit quite two hundred familiar Upanishads, one amongst that, the Muktika, provides a listing of 108 Upanishads – this variety corresponds to the holy variety of beads on a malar bone or Hindu beads. The Upanishads kind a very important a part of our literary heritage. They subsume queries just like the origin of the universe, life and death, the fabric and unseen, nature of data and lots of alternative queries. The earliest Upanishads area unit the Brihadaranyaka that belongs to the Shukla Yajur Veda and Chand yogya that belongs to the Sama Veda. A number of the opposite vital Upanishads area unit the Aitareya, Kena, Katha Upanishad. Try to verify another vital Upanishads on your own. Scan them and you may notice a full new world of Indian philosophy gap before of you. There are a unit a lot of books merchandising on the Upanishads. Begin with the little stories. Get inquisitive about them and then head to the total book of any Upanishad.
THE Sanskrit literature and therefore the Mahabharata
Our 2 nice epics area unit the Sanskrit literature and therefore the Mahabharata. The Sanskrit literature of Valmiki is that the original Sanskrit literature. It’s known as Adikavya and Maharishi Valmiki is understood as Adi Kavi. The Sanskrit literature presents an image of a perfect society. The opposite epic, the Mahabharata, was written by Ved Vyas. Originally, it had been written in Indo-Aryan and contained 8800 verses and was known as “Jaya” or the gathering handling conclusion. These were raised to twenty-four, 000 and came to be called Bharata, named when one amongst the earliest sacred text tribes. The ultimate compilation brought the verses to one hundred, 000, that came to be called the Mahabharata or the Satasahasri Veda. It contains narrative, descriptive and didactical material, with reference to conflict between the Kauravas and therefore the Pandavas. The Mahabharata and therefore the Sanskrit literature have many renderings in numerous Indian languages. The Mahabharata contains the known Bhagavad Bhagavadgita that contains the essence of divine knowledge and is really a universal gospel. Although it's an awfully ancient scripture, its basic teachings area unit in use even these days. Within the Bhagavadgita, avatar explains to Arjuna his duties as a human and patrician and elaborates on completely different yogistic and Vedantic philosophies with examples and analogies. This makes Bhagavadgita an apothegmatic guide to Hindu philosophy and a parochial, self-contained guide to life. In modern world Hindu Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, nationalist leader and lots of others used the text to assist inspire the Indian independence movement. This was principally as a result of the Bhagavad-Gita spoke of positivity in human actions. It conjointly spoke of duty towards God and groups of people alike forgetting regarding the results. You may appreciate the actual fact that the Bhagavad-Gita has been translated nearly altogether the most languages of the planet.
PURANAS
The Puranas occupy a novel position within the sacred literature of the Hindus. They’re regarded next in importance solely to the Vedas and therefore the Epics. There are a unit aforesaid to be eighteen Puranas and regarding identical variety of Upapuranas. A number of the acknowledge Puranas area unit - Brahma, Bhagwat, Padma, Vishnu, Vayu, Agni, Matsya and Hindu deity. Their origin is often derived as way back because the time once Buddhism was gaining importance and was a significant opponent of the Brahmanic culture. Puranas area unit mythological works that propagate non secular and non-secular messages through parables and fables. They need a potent influence within the development of the non-secular lives of the folks. The Puranas follow the lines of the epics, and therefore the earliest Puranas were compiled within the Gupta amount. They’re filled with myths, stories, legends and sermons that were meant for the education of the people. These Puranas contain vital geographical information/ histories and subsume the mysteries of creation, re-creation and phratry genealogies. This era conjointly saw the compilation of varied smritis or law books written in verse. The part of writing commentaries on the smritis begins when the Gupta amount. Amarasimha the Indo-Aryan linguist, states that a Purana ought to describe 5 topics; (1) Sarga (Creation) (2) Pratisarga (Secondary creation) (3) Vemsa (Genealogy) (4) Manvantara (Manu periods) and (5) Vamsanucarita (dynastic history)
2.1.3 Other Sanskrit literature
We even have an oversized body of books addressing numerous sciences, law, medicine and grammar. To the current class belong the law books known as the Dharmasutras and smritis, together called Dharmashastras. The Dharmasutras were compiled between five hundred and two hundred BC. These lay down duties for various varnas furthermore as for the kings and their officers. They prescribed the principles consistent with that property had to be command, sold and transmitted. They additionally visit punishments for persons guilty of assault, murder and adultery. The Manusmriti tells United States of America regarding the role of man and lady in society, their code of conduct and relationship with one another.
Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a vital treatise of the Mauryan times. It reflects the state of society and economy at that point and provides made material for the study of ancient Indian polity and economy.
The works of Bhasa, Shudraka, Kalidasa and Banabhatta provided us with glimpses of the social and cultural lifetime of northern and central India in times of the Guptas and Harsha. The Gupta amount additionally saw the development of Sanskrit grammar supported the works of Panini and Patanjali.
The Kushana kings patronized Sanskrit scholars. Ashvaghosha wrote Buddhacharitra that is that the life of the Buddha. He additionally wrote Saundarananda that could be a fine example of Sanskrit poetry
India made nice literary works on subjects like Math, Astronomy, Astrology, Agriculture and geography etc. Books on medicine were written by Charak and on surgery by Sushruta. Madhava wrote a book on pathology. Books written on astronomy by Varahamihira and Aryabhatta and on astrology by Lagdhacharya had all achieved prominence. There’s none that may contend with Varahamihiras Bhrihatsamhita, Aryabhatia and vedanga Jyotisha.
Key Takeaways:
- Sanskrit is the mother of many Indian languages. The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Dharma sutras are all written in Sanskrit.
- Sanskrit is perhaps the only language that transcended the barriers of regions and boundaries. From the north to the south and the east to the west there is no part of the India that has not contributed to or been affected by Sanskrit language
- There are four Vedas, namely, the- Rigveda, Yajurveda, SamaVeda and Atharvaveda.
- Each Veda consists of the Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the Aranyakas. The Rigveda, SamaVeda and the Yajurveda are collectively known a Traji. In later years the Atharvaveda was incorporated in this group.
2.1.4 Literature of south India
The four Dravidian languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam developed their own literature. Tamil being the oldest of those languages began writing earlier and made the sangam literature - the oldest literature in Tamil.
Telugu Literature
The Vijayanagara period was the golden age of Telugu literature. Nachana Somanatha, a court writer of Bukka I, made a poetical work titled Uttaraharivamsam. Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529), the best of the Vijayanagara emperors, was a writer of nice merit. His work Amukta Malyada is thought to be an excellent prabandha in Telugu literature. Eight Telugu literary luminaries, popularly called ashtadiggajas adorned his court. Among them, Allasani Peddana, the author of Manucharitram, was the greatest. He was called Andhra kavitapitamaha. The opposite seven poets of the group were Nandi Timmana, the author of Parijathapaharanam, Madayagari Mallana, Dhurjati, Ayyalaraju Ramabhadra Kavi, Pingali Surana, Ramaraja Bhushana and Tenali Ramakrishna.
Dhurjati, a devotee of Shiva, composed 2 poetical works of nice benefit called Kalahasteeswara Mahatmayam and Kalahasteeswara Satakam, Pingali Surana composed 2 works Raghavapandaviyam and Kalapuranodayam. Within the former, he tried a literary feat telling the story of the Ramayana and also the Mahabharata at the same time. Tenali Ramakrishna, the court jester, was an interesting figure of the Krishnadevaraya’s court. His practical jokes on high-placed men of the time are recounted with pleasure even nowadays. Ramakrishna was the author of Panduranga Mahatmayam that was thought of one in all the best poetical works of Telugu literature. Ramarajabhushana was the author of Vasucharitram. He was additionally called Bhattumurti. His other works embrace Narasabhupaliyam and Harishchandra Nalopakhyanam. It is a poetical work on the model of Raghavapandaviyam. One will browse in it stories of Nala furthermore as Harishchandra. Madayagari Mallana’s work Rajashekharacharitra could be a prabandha addressing the wars and loves of Rajashekhara, king of Avanti. Ayyalaraju Ramabhadra was the author of 2 works Ramabhyudayam and Sakalakathasara Sangraham.
Kannada Literature
Apart from Telugu, Vijayanagara rulers extended their patronage to Kannada and Sanskrit writers furthermore. Several Jain scholars contributed to the expansion of Kannada literature. Madhava wrote Dharmanathapurana on the fifteenth Tirthankara. Another Jain scholar, Uritta Vilasa, wrote dharma Parikshe. The Sanskrit works of the period embrace Yadavabhyudayam by Vedanta Desika and Parasara Smriti Vyakhya of Madhavacharya. Kannada language developed totally once the tenth century AD. The earliest well-known literary work in Kannada is Kavirajamang written by the Rashtrakuta King, Nripatunga Amoghavarsha I. Pampa, called the father of Kannada wrote his nice poetic works Adi Purana and Vïkramarjiva Vijaya within the tenth century AD. Pampa lived within the court of Chalukya Arikesari. In his poetic talent, great thing about description, delineation of character and development of rasa, Pampa is one and only. Ponna and Ranna were 2 alternative poets who lived throughout the reign of Rashtrakuta Krishna III. Ponna wrote AN epic named Shanti Purana and Ranna wrote Ajitanatha Purano. Along Pampa, Ponna and Ranna attained the title ratnatraya (the 3 gems). Within the thirteenth century new feats were achieved in Kannada literature. Harishvara wrote Harishchandra Kavya and Somanatha Charita whereas Bandhuvarma wrote Harivamshabhyudaya and Jiva Sambodhana. Beneath the patronage of later Hoysala rulers, many literary works were made. Rudra Bhata wrote Jagannathavijaya. Andayya’s Madana Vijaya or Kabbïgara kava could be a work of special interest in pure Kannada while not the mixture of Sanskrit words. Mallikarjuna’s Suktisudharnava, the primary anthology in Kannada and Kesirja’s Shabdamanidarpana on grammar are two alternative commonplace works within the Kannada language. Kannada literature flourished significantly between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries beneath the patronage of the Vijayanagara kings. Poets of all religious teams created necessary contribution to that. Kunura Vyasa wrote Bharata and Narahari wrote Tarave Ramayana.
Malayalam Literature
Malayalam is spoken in Kerala and also the adjoining areas. The language of Malayalam emerged round the eleventh century AD. By fifteenth century Malayalam was recognized as AN independent language. Bhasa Kautilya, a commentary on Arthashastra and Kokasandisan are two great works. Rama Panikkar and Ramanujan an Ezhuthachan are acknowledge authors of Malayalam literature. Although it developed much later compared to other South Indian languages, Malayalam has created a mark as a strong medium of expression. Currently an outsized variety of journals, newspapers and magazines ar printed in Malayalam. Once people read and write in their own language, they fancy it additional. This can be because language is part of their culture. It thus well inters woven in their social life that they will specific and feel their emotions as well in their own language. This, should even be the case with you and your language also.
TAMIL OR SANGAMA LITERATURE
Tamil as a written language was identified since the start of the Christian era. It is, therefore, no surprise that appreciable Sangama literature was made within the early four centuries of the Christian era, though it had been finally compiled by 600 AD. Poets who in these assemblies were patronized by kings and chieftains made the Sangama literature over a period of 3 to four centuries. Poets, bards and writers, authors came from numerous components of South India to Madurai. Such assemblies were known as “Sangamas”, and also the literature made in these assemblies was known as “Sangama literature”. The contributions of Tamil saints like Thiruvalluvar who wrote ‘Kural’ that has been translated into several languages ar noteworthy. The Sangama literature may be a collection of long and short poems composed by numerous poets in praise of various heroes and heroines. They’re secular in nature and of an awfully high quality. 3 such sangams were held. The poems collected within the first sangam are lost. Within the second Sangam about 2000 poems are collected.
And Pattupattu (the 10 songs). The previous is mostly assumed to be older than the latter, and thought of to be of additional historical importance. Thiruvallurar’s work ‘Kural’ is split into 3 parts. The primary half deals with the epics, the second part with polity and government and also the third part with love. Besides the Sangama texts, we've got a text known as Tolkkappiyam that deals with grammar and poetry. Additionally, we've got the twin epics of Silappadikaram and Manimekalai. These 2 were composed round the sixth century AD. The first is taken into account because the brightest gem of Tamil literature and deals with a story. The second epic was written by a grain merchant of Madurai. These epics throw light on the socio-economic life of Tamils from second century to sixth century AD. From the sixth to 12th century AD, the Tamil devotional poems written by Nayanmars (saints who herb in praise of Shaivism) and Alvars herald the great bhakti movement that engulfed the whole Indian sub-continent. Throughout this era, Kambaramayanam and Periya Puranam were two Tamil literary classic writers.
Key Takeaways:
- The four Dravidian languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam developed their own literature.
- Tamil being the oldest of those languages began writing earlier and made the sangam literature - the oldest literature in Tamil.
- By fifteenth century Malayalam was recognized as AN independent language. Bhasa Kautilya, a commentary on Arthashastra and Kokasandisan are two great works
- Kannada literature flourished significantly between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries beneath the patronage of the Vijayanagara kings
2.2.1 Northern Indian languages & literature
Languages evolved in India right up to the first medieval period. The previous apabhramsha had taken new forms in some areas or was within the method of evolving into alternative forms. These languages were evolving at 2 levels: the spoken and also the written communication. The previous Brahmi script of the Ashoka days had undergone a good modification. The alphabets throughout Ashoka’s period were uneven in size however by the time of Harsha, the letters had become of a similar size and were regular, presenting the picture of a cultivated hand.
A large variety of individuals speak Hindi in its completely different forms that include Braj Bhasha, and Avadhi (spoken in Oudh region), Bhojpuri, Magadhi, and Maithili (spoken around Mithila), and Rajasthani and khadi Boli (spoken around Delhi). Rajasthani is another variant or dialect of Hindi. This classification has been created on the basis of literature made by nice poets over a length of your time. Thus, the language used by Surdas and Bihari has been given the name of Braj Bhasha; that used by Tulsidas within the Ramacharitamanasa is named Avadhi and also the one used by Vidyapati has been termed as Maithili. But Hindi, as we all know it today is that the one known as khadi Boli. Although Khusrau has used textile Boli in his compositions in the thirteenth century it’s in depth use in literature began only within the nineteenth century. It even shows some influence of Urdu.
PERSIAN AND URDU
Urdu emerged as an independent language towards the tip of the fourth century AD. Arabic and Persian were introduced in India with the approaching of the Turks and also the Mongols. Persian remained the court language for several centuries. Urdu as a language was born out of the interaction between Hindi and Persian. When the conquest of Delhi (1192), the Turkish people settled during this region. Urdu was born out of the interaction of those settlers and soldiers within the barracks with the people. Originally it had been a dialect however slowly it acquired all the options of a proper language once the authors started using Persian script. It had been additional given an impetus by its use in Bahamani states of Ahmadnagar, Golkunda, Bijapur and Berar. Here it had been even known as dakshini or daccani (southern). As time passed, it became popular the lots of Delhi.
Urdu became more widespread within the early eighteenth century. People even wrote accounts of later Mughals in Urdu. Step by step it achieved a standing wherever literature-both poetry and prose-started being composed in it. The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur shah Zafar wrote poetry in it. Some of his couplets became quite well known within the Hindi and Urdu speaking areas.
Urdu was given its pride of place by a large range of poets who have left inimitable poetry for posterity. The earliest Urdu poet is meant to be Khusrau (1253-1325). He started writing as a poet within the reign of sultan Balban and was a follower of Nizam ud-din Auliya. He’s said to possess composed ninty-nine works on separate themes and various verses of poetry. Among the vital works composed by him are Laila Majnun and Ayina-I-Sikandari dedicated to Alau-din-Khalji. Among different well-known poets are Ghalib, Zauq, and Iqbal. Iqbal’s Urdu poetry is out there in his collection referred to as Bang- I - dara. His Sarejahan se achcha Hindostan hamara is sung and played at several of the national celebrations in India. No army parade is taken into account complete without the army band playing this tune. In massive Indian cities like Delhi these are many programs during which famous singers are invited to sing nazams or Ghazals written by famous poets like Ghalib, Maum, Bulley shah, Waris shah besides several others. Therefore, you can imagine however made our language and literary culture must be to continue until today. It enriched our lives and is central to people meeting and intermingling with one another
Among the simplest prose writers were people like Pandit ratan Nath Sarshar, who wrote the notable Fasanah- i-Azad. Even in the early days, Munshi Prem Chand, who is meant to be a doyen of Hindi literature, wrote in Urdu. Urdu has given us a new type of poem that's called a nazm. Urdu was patronized by the Nawabs of Lucknow, who control symposiums during this language. Slowly it became quite popular. Pakistan has adopted Urdu because the state language.
As Persian was the language of the court, a lot of the literature created during this amount was written in Persian. Amir Khusrau and Amir Hasan Dehelvi wrote very good poetry in Persian. Historians like Minhas-us-Siraj and Zia Barani and Ibn Batuta who came to India during those days wrote accounts of rulers, important political events and incidents during this language. Within the medieval amount, Persian was adopted because the court language. Many historical accounts, administrative manuals and allied literature in this language have come back right down to us. The Mughal rulers were nice patrons of leaning and literature. Babar wrote his tuzuk (autobiography) in Turkish language, however his grandson Akbar got it translated into Persian. Akbar patronized several scholars. He got Mahabharata translated into Persian. Jahangir’s autobiography (Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri) is in Persian and could be a distinctive piece of literature. It’s said that Noorjahan was AN accomplished Persian poet. Quite honest amount of Persian literature has been created by the courtiers of the Mughals. Abul Fazl’s Akbarnamah and Ain-e-Akbari could be a fine piece of literature. From there we have a tendency to get an honest deal of knowledge regarding Akbar and his times. Faizi wrote lovely Persian poetry. Many collections of letters of the Mughal amount (insha) have come back right down to America. Besides shedding lightweight on Mughal history, they indicate totally different varieties of letter writing. Another name in prose and history writing is that of Chandra Bhan, an author of Shahjahan’s days. Similarly, we've got a piece named Tabqat-i-Alamgïri, shedding light on Aurangzeb. Badauni was another author who belonged during Akbar’s time. Within the twentieth century, Iqbal wrote good Persian poetry. All this has currently become a part of Indian heritage and culture.
HINDI LITERATURE
There was a tremendous growth of regional languages like Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marathi and Gujarati throughout this point. Within the South, Malayalam emerged as AN independent language within the ordinal century the emergence of these languages resulted in the decline of Sanskrit because they came to be used as the medium through that the administrative machinery functioned. The rise of the devotion movement and also the use of those regional languages by the various saints helped in their growth and development. We’ve got already noted the various dialects that developed in northern and western India. Prithviraj Raso is meant to be the first book in the Hindi language. It’s AN account of exploits of Prithviraj Chauhan. In its imitation many other rasos were written. The language went on ever-changing because the area wherever it was used where. New words to express new situations were either coined or taken from areas coming under its influence. Hindi literature looked to Sanskrit classics for guidance and Bharata’s Natyashastra was kept in mind by Hindi writers. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there started a movement in southern India that was referred to as the bhakti movement. As its influence reached the north, it started affecting the prose and poetry that were being composed in Hindi. Poetry currently became for the most part devotional in nature. A number of the poets like Tulsidas wrote poetry in a language that was of that region solely, while others like Kabir, who moved from place to place added Persian and Urdu words yet. Although it's said that Tulsidas wrote Ramcharit Manas based on Valmiki’s Ramayana, he additionally alters situations and adds quite few new scenes and things based on folklore. For instance, Sita’s exile is mentioned in Valmiki’s version however it's not mentioned in Tulsidas’s account. Tulsidas has deified his hero while the hero of Valmiki is a soul.
Hindi evolved throughout the Apabhramsa stage between the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. And also the fourteenth C. It absolutely was characterized as Veer Gatha Kala i.e. the age of heroic poetry or the Adi Kala (early period). It absolutely was patronized by the Rajput rulers because it glorified chivalry and poetry. The foremost famous figures from this era were Kabir and Tulsidas. In modern times, the khadi dialect became additional prominent and a variety of literature was made in Sanskrit. Similarly, surdas wrote his Sur Sagar in which he talks of Krishna as AN infant, a young lad indulging in pranks and a young man engaged in dalliance with the gopis. These poets created a deep impression on the minds of the listeners. If the festivals related to Rama and Krishna became thus very popular, the credit goes to those poets. Their versions became the source of inspiration not just for other poets however also for painters within the medieval ages. They inspired Mirabai, who sang in Rajasthani language, and Raskhan, who, although a Muslim, sang in praise of Krishna. Nandadasa was a very important bhakti poet. Rahim and Bhushan were a class apart. Their subject wasn't devotion, however spiritual. Bihari wrote his Satsai in the seventeenth century; it provides us a glimpse of shringar (love) and other rasas.
All the on top of mentioned Hindi poets, except Kabir, expressed their sentiments essentially to satisfy their own devotional instincts. Kabir didn't believe institutionalized religion. He was chanting of a formless God. Vocalizing His name was the be-all and end-all for him. Of these poets influenced the north Indian society in a very manner that had never happened earlier. Because it is easier to remember poetry than prose, they became popular common.
However, it's only with the beginning of nineteenth century That-Hindi prose came into its own. Bharatendu Harishchandra was one of the earliest to produce dramas in Hindi that were basically translations of texts written in Sanskrit and alternative languages. However, he set the trend. Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi was another author who wrote translations or made adaptations from Sanskrit. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (l 838-94) wrote novels originally in Bangla. They came to be translated into Hindi and became very popular. Vande Mataram, our national song, is AN excerpt from his novel, Annand Math. Swami Dayanand’s contribution to Hindi cannot be neglected. Originally a Gujarati and a scholar of Sanskrit, he advocated Hindi as a typical language for the total of India. He started writing in Hindi and contributed articles to journals primarily engaged in religious and social reforms. SatyarthaPrakash was his most important add Hindi. Among alternative names who have enriched Hindi literature, is that of Munshi Prem Chand, who switch from Urdu to Hindi. Surya Kant Tripathi, ‘Nirala’, achieves recognition as a result of he questioned the orthodoxies in society. Mahadevi Verma is that the 1st woman writer in Hindi to highlight problems related to women. Maithili Sharan Gupt is another important name. Jaishankar Prasad wrote beautiful dramas.
BENGALI, ASSAMESE AND ORTYA LITERATURE
After Hindi, consecutive important literature was the one that developed in geographical area. The Baptist Mission Press was established in Serampore close to Calcutta in 1800. East India Company based the Fort William faculty within the same year. It provided coaching to civil servants of the corporate in law, customs, religions, languages and literatures of Republic of India to alter them to figure additional with efficiency.
In this regard, an awfully necessary landmark was achieved by William Carey, United Nations agency wrote a synchronic linguistics of Bengali and revealed an English-Bengali wordbook and conjointly wrote books on dialogues and stories. It should be noted that the synchronic linguistics and dictionaries ar necessary within the development of a literature. They guide the writers on the correctness of a sentence and conjointly facilitate them to find appropriate words for a selected state of affairs and plan. Though the aim of the run by the missionaries was in the main to propagate Christian religion however alternative presses go past native folks helped within the flourishing of non-Christian literature. Millions of pamphlets, tiny and large books and journals were made. Within the meanwhile education unfold, though at an awfully slow pace. However once 1835, once historiographer won the battle against Orientalists, it unfolds at a quicker pace. In 1854 came Sir Charles Wood’s Despatch and in 1857 the 3 universities of Calcutta, Madras and Mumbai were established. Besides textbooks for faculties and faculties, alternative literature was conjointly made. But it absolutely was Raja Ram Mohan Roy United Nations agency wrote in Bengali besides English that gave impetus to Bengali literature. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91) and Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820- 86) were 2 alternative writers of this early amount. Additionally, to those, Bankim Chandra Chatterji (l834-94), Sharat Chandra Chatterji (l876-1938), and R.C. Dutta, a noted scholar and a prose author, all contributed to the creating of Bengali literature. However, the foremost necessary name that influenced the total of Republic of India was that of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Novels, dramas, short stories, criticism, music and essays, all flowed from his pen. He won the laurels for literature in 1913 for his Geetanjali.
However, a couple of things have to be compelled to be noted regarding the influence of Western concepts that penetrate geographical area and anon alternative elements of Republic of India. Up to 1800, most of the literature made was restricted to faith or formal literature. The Western influence brought the writers nearer to the person within the street. The themes were mundane. Some spiritual literature was conjointly made however it hardly aforementioned something new
The final years of the nineteenth century and also the half of the 20th century saw a replacement subject, nationalism, being concerned. 2 things were seen during this new trend. The primary was the love for recent history and culture and an awareness of the facts of British exploitation. The second was a clarion imply arousing the Indians to drive out the foreigners, each by persuasion and force. This new trend was expressed by Subrahmanyam Bharti in Tamil and Qazi Nazrul Islam in Bengali.
PUNJABI AND RAJASTHANI LITERATURE
Punjabi is a language with many shades. It’s being written in 2 scripts, Gurmukhi and Persian. The Gurmukhi script until the end of the nineteenth century was nearly restricted to the adi granth, the holy book of the Sikhs. Solely a small variety of individuals tried to find out the script except the granthis, who recited the holy granth in the gurdwaras. However, the language did not lack literature. Guru Nanak was the first writer in Punjabi. Some other contemporary poets, mostly Sufi saints, used to sing in this language. These Sufis or their followers used the Persian script if they needed to commit their poetry to writing. In this list, the first name is that of Farid. His poetry has found a place within the adi granth. The adi granth additionally contains poetry of the next four gurus. All this literature belongs to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Amongst the later gurus, the poetry of the ninth guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur has also contributed to the adi granth. Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, was educated in Patna (Bihar), where he learnt Persian and Sanskrit. He has composed 2 savaiyyas in Punjabi however these aren't an area of the adi granth.
But it absolutely was the love stories of Heer and Ranjha, Sasi and Punnu and Sohni and Mahiwal, that gave this language its theme in the early days. Even the story of Puran Bhagat found favor with some poets. Beautiful poems written by some known and a few unknown poets have come back all the way down to us. These are being sung by native singers for the last 2 or 300 years. There are many different poetic stories that are composed by the locals. This folklore has been preserved. The foremost important of these is Heer of Waris Shah. It’s the most popular of the early works. It’s a landmark in Punjabi poetry. Similar is that the popularity of Bulley Shah who was a Sufi saint. He has left a large variety of songs. One of his popular styles of compositions was called kafi; it was sung in a classical musical type. Kafis are sung by people with nice fervor.
GUJARATI LITERATURE
Early Gujarati literature is available in the kind of bhakti songs of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It still follows the old tradition that is popular in Gujarat. Narsi Mehta’s name is that the foremost in this respect. The people of Gujarat wove these devotional songs in their folk dances and their religious forms usually find expressions in their celebrations.
Narmada’s poetry gave a fillip to the Gujarati literature. Saraswati Chandra, a novel by Govardhan Ram, has become a classic and has given nice impetus to great writers. However probably a name that can't be forgotten is that of Dr. K.M. Munshi. He was a novelist, AN essayist and a historian, and has left a plethora of historical novels. In these books he exhibits his ability to combine fact with fiction. Prithvi Vallabha is one of his finest novels. A special mention should be made of Narsi Mehta whose songs in praise of Krishna not only created him a very popular figure however also made Gujarati language popular.
SINDHI LITERATURE
Sindh was one of the necessary centers of Sufis, who established khanqahs at numerous places. The Sufi singers with their devotional music made the language popular. The credit for making literature in Sindhi goes to Mirza Kalish Beg and Dewan Kauramal.
MARATHI LITERATURE
Maharashtra is situated on a plateau where a large variety of local dialects were in use. Marathi grew out of these local dialects. The Portuguese missionaries started using Marathi for preaching their gospel. The earliest Marathi poetry and prose is by Saint Jnaneshwar (Gyaneshwar) who lived in the thirteenth century. He wrote a long comment on the Bhagavadgita. He was the one who started the kirtan tradition in Maharashtra. He was followed by Namdev (l 270- 1350), Gora, Sena and Janabai. Of these sang and popularized the Marathi language. Their songs are sung even nowadays by the Verkari pilgrirns on their way to Pandharpur pilgrimage. Nearly 2 centuries later, Eknath (l 533-99) came on the scene. He wrote the commentaries on the Ramayana and also the Bhagwat Purana. His songs are highly regarded all over Maharashtra. Then came Tukarama (1598-1650). He’s supposed to be the best bhakti writer of all of them. Ramdas (1608-81), who was the guru of Shivaji, is the last of those hymn writers. He was the devotee of Rama. He inspired Shivaji. The closing years of the nineteenth century saw AN upsurge within the in the literature. It absolutely was a nationalist movement that made Marathi prose popular and prominent. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (l 857-1920) started his Journal Kesari in Marathi. This helped the expansion of Marathi literature. However, the role of Keshav Sut and V.S. Chiplunkar was no less. Hari Narayan Apte and Agarkar wrote novels that became very popular. Of these prose writers made great contribution to the development of Marathi literature. The name of H.G Salgaokar is remembered for writing inspirational poetry. Besides, the names of M.G. Ranade, K.T. Telang, G.T. Madholkar (poet and novelist) are not any lesser.
KASHMIRI LITERATURE
Kashmir shot into literary prominence, once Kalhana wrote Rajatarangini in Sanskrit however this was in the language of the elite. For locals, Kashmiri was the popular dialect. Here conjointly the bhakti movement played its role. One Lal ded, who lived in the fourteenth century, was most likely the first to sing in the Kashmiri language. She was a Shaivite mystic. Once Islam spread in this area, the Sufi influence also came to be visible. Haba Khatoon, Mahjoor, Zinda Kaul, and Noor Din also known as Nund Rishi, Akhtar Mohiuddin, Sufi Ghulam Mohammad and Dina Nath Nadim wrote devotional poetry in Kashmiri. These individuals contributed to the growth of Kashmiri literature. The Western influence didn't reach Kashmir until the end of the nineteenth century. In 1846, once the first Sikh War, the Dogras of Jammu became the rulers there. The Dogras were more interested in Dogri language than in Kashmiri. There have been hardly any schools or education. There was widespread poverty and economic backwardness. Of these led to a lack of fine literature in Kashmir. Though the list of modern Indian languages will have several languages, the constitution of India has originally about fifteen languages as national languages i.e. Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. 3 more languages i.e. Nepali, Manipuri and Konkani are added currently to the list.
Key Takeaways:
- Languages evolved in India right up to the first medieval period. The previous apabhramsha had taken new forms in some areas or was within the method of evolving into alternative forms
- Urdu emerged as an independent language towards the tip of the fourth century AD. Arabic and Persian were introduced in India with the approaching of the Turks and also the Mongols.
- There was a tremendous growth of regional languages like Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marathi and Gujarati throughout this point. Within the South, Malayalam emerged as AN independent language
- Punjabi is a language with many shades. It’s being written in 2 scripts, Gurmukhi and Persian. The Gurmukhi script until the end of the nineteenth century was nearly restricted to the adi granth, the holy book of the Sikhs.
Reference books:
1. Kapil Kapoor, “Text and Interpretation: The India Tradition”,ISBN: 81246033375, 2005
2. “Science in Sanskrit”, Samskrita Bharti Publisher, ISBN 13: 978-8187276333, 2007
