INDIAN LITERATURE
RELIGION - Heaven (Mukti) and Reincarnation are the two
FACTS ABOUT INDIA
 The name "India" derives from the river Indus
 India has the second-largest population in the world
 India is the 7th largest country in the world
 New Delhi is the capital of India
 Thousands of languages are spoken all over India
 India is the 2nd largest English speaking country in the world
 Hinduism - oldest religion I the world and the most popular
religion in India
 India regained independence from Bahrain in 1947
 Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the Modern India
 The Indian Literary Tradition is the oldest in the world,
primarily of verse and essentially oral
 Hindu literary traditions dominate a large part of Indian
culture
 India has 22 officially recognized languages
 
THE INDIAN LITERATURE
 refers to the literature produced across Indian subcontinent
prior to the creation of the Republic of India in 1947 and
within the Republic of India after 1947
 variety of vernacular languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Bengali,
Bihari, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Oriya,
Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tani, Telugu, Urdu, Lahnda, Siraiki, and
Sindhi, among others as well as English
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN LITERATURE
1.
main concepts of Hinduism. To get to Heaven, giving charity
(Dana) is important, and this is greatly highlighted in the
Vedas
2. OBEDIENCE AND VALUES - Being obedient to God or a senior
(by age or authority), keeping promises to people, being brave
during the war, and having moral values is the key to Indian
literature, and these topics are explored in various epics and
sacred texts
3. GOOD DEEDS - The concept of Reincarnation states that the
actions done in one's past determines one's present. In other
words, if you do good deeds now, you will be rewarded with a
noble birth during reincarnation
4. POETIC COMPOSITION/FORM AND BRAVERY - The Dharma in
India follows that good morals will be rewarded, and those
with bad morals will be punished
5. FAMILY - The most famous text of Indian literature, the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are family epics and follows
the lives of extended families
6. THEATRE & DANCE - The four Vedas refer to dance and the
importance of theatrical performance, whereas Indian dramas
are also characteristics of Indian literature
 
THE PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN
LITERATURE
Ancient Period
 religious and scientific documents, tales, poetry and plays,
royal edicts and declarations
 variety of media: stone, stone tablets papyri, palm leaves, and
metal
 
Early Medieval Period
 presents the historical events and publications of literature
during the 6th through 9th centuries
 
Medieval-Early Modern Period
 essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond
during the Middle Ages
 1000 years from the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 AD
to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th, 15th or 16th
century, depending on the country
 
Ancient Indian Literature
 
 consists of four Vedas called as Rigveda, Yajur Veda, Sama
Veda, and Atharva Veda
 the earliest known literary work of Aryans was the Rigveda
which consists of 1028 hymns in Sanskrit and mostly praises
deities
 
Tamil/Sangam Literature
 composed and compiled in associations called Sangams
 historically known as "the poetry of the noble ones"
 connotes the ancient Tamil literature and is the earliest known
literature in South India
 
Sage Agastya
 Father of Tamil-Sangam Literature
 author of several hymns of Rigveda which do not provide
his bioraphy
 Pulastya, one of the Rig Vedic Saptarishis is his father
Sanskrit Literature
 broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language
 includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of
the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts
in Classical Sanskrit, some mixed and non-standard forms of
Sanskrit
 
Maharishi Valmiki
 first to write the worldly poetry: Loka - Kavya
 wrote the Ramayana
 latest poetry is written on his line
 celebrated as the harbinger poet in Sanskrit literature
 
Pali Literature
 concerned mainly with the Theravada Buddhism
 Pali is the traditional language
 the earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the
Pali Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school
 
Buddhaghosa Mahatsavir
 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator,
translator, and philosopher
 worked in the Great Monastery at Anuradhapura, Sri
Lanka and saw himself as being a part of the
Vibhajjavada school in the lineage of the Sinhales
Mahavihara
 his name means "Voice of the Budhha" in the Pali
language
 
Prakrit & Vedic Sanskrit
  The Prakrits are a group of vernacular Middle-Indo Aryan
languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from
around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE
 The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of
Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions
and the later Pali
 Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan
subgroup of the Indo-European language family and is attested
in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of
the mid-2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE, which was orally
preserved, predating the advent of writing by several centuries
 
Kannada Literature
 the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language
 a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian
State of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script
Adikavi Pampa
 flourished 940
 South Indian poet and literary figure called adikavi ("first
poet") in the Kannada language
 created a style that served as the model for all future
works in Kannada language
 
Malayalam Literature
 the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union
territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six
Classical languages of India
 comprises those literary texts written in Malaylam, a Dravidian
language
 
Sankaran Kutty Kunjiraman
 during the time when travelogues were not so popular, he
did a great job in converting it to a section in Malaylam
literature
 won Kendra Sahitya Award and Jnapith Award
 one of the best writers in the Malaylam language
 
Odia Literature
 written in the Odia language, mostly from the Indian state of
Odisha
 the modern Odia language is mostly formed from Tadbhava
words with significant Sanskrit (Tatsama) influences, along
with loan words from Desaja, English, Hindustani
(Hindi/Urdu), Persian, and Arabic
 the earliest forms of texts date from around 1000 CE
 the earliest Odia newspaper was Utaka Deepika, first published
on August 4, 1866
Fakir Mohan Senapati
 often referred to as Utkala Byasa Kabi
 writer, poet, philosopher, and social reformer
 The Father of Odia Literature
 played a leading role in establishing the distinct identity
of Odia
 wrote a long poem in a satirical manner: Utkala
Bhramanam (Tour of Odisha), that first appeared in 1892
which is a commentary on the state of affairs in the
Odisha at that time
 
Telugu Literature
 the body of works written in the Telugu language
 consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics,
among others
  The Andhra Mahabharatam of Nannayya Bhattaraka is the first
and oldest poem in Telugu language
 
Nannaya Bhattaraka
 Telugu poet and author of the first Andhra
Mahabharatam, a Telugu retelling of the Mahabharata
 the first of the Trinity of poets
 held in high regard as the person who revived the Telugu
language
 
Medieval-Early Modern
 Medieval Indian literature was an era of devotional poetry
 a little indifferent to secular representation of life on stage
 the Islamic taboo against such forms of entertainment was also
responsible for the decline of Indian theatre, therefore drama
remained in the state of oblivion
 Modern Indian literature formed during the anti-colonial
movement against British imperialism in India
 
Industrialization & Urbanization
 industrialization transforms an agricultural economy into
a manufacturing one
 urbanization is characterized by the growth of cities
 both helped shape modern Indian literature
 
Assamese Literature
 the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays,
documents, and other writings in the Assamese language
 includes the literary works in the older forms of the language
during its evolution to the contemporary form and its cultural
heritage and tradition
 
Rajanikanta Bordoloi
 noted writer, journalist, and tea planter from Assam,
India
 The Walter Scott of Assam
 President of the Assam Sahitya Sabha in 1925 which was
held at Nagaon
 The King of Assamese Literature
 his pen name was Upanyash Samrat (King of Novel)
 Miri Jiyori is the first novel he wrote which unveils some
important aspects of the then contemporary missing
society and a series of their customs and traditions
 
Bengali Literature
 the body of writings in the Bengali language of the Indian
subcontinent
 earliest extant work is pre-12th-century collection of lyrics that
reflect the beliefs and practices of the Sahajiya religious sect
 
Rabindranath Tagore
 Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer,
playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and
painter
 reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian
art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early
20th centuries
 won Nobel Prize for Literature 1913 for his collection
Gitanjali published in London in 1912
 created the Indian national anthem named "Jana Gana
Mana" which was originally composed as Bharoto
Bhagyo Bidhata in Bengali
 
Bhojpuri Literature
  developed over a course of 1300 years
 the development of the language started in 7th century
 the earliest form of Bhojpuri can be seen in the writings of
Siddha Saints and Charyapada
Acharya Shivpujan Sahay
 contributed in pioneering modern trends in, as well as in
fiction
 his texts "Mata ka Anchal" also printed in CBSE (Central
Board of Secondary Education) Book
 Hindi and Bhojpuri novelist, editor, and prose writer
 
Gujarati Literature
 Gujarati language is a major tongue in India which was fully
developed by the late 12th century
 the oldest examples of Gujarati literature date from the
writings of the 12th century Jain scholar and saint
Hemachandra
 its history may be traced to 1000 AD and has flourished since
then
 it is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling
dynasty other than its composers
 
Acharya Hemachandra
 Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician,
philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian,
lexigrapher, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist
 he wrote Siddhem Shabdanushasan, a book with seven
chapters with each chapter havng four sections
 
Hindi Literature
 written in various Hindi language which has a writing system
(Devanagari)
 Devanagari or Nagari, is a left-to-right abugida
(alphasyllabary) based on the ancient Brahmi script
Dhanpat Rai Srivastava
 better known from his pen name Premchand
 famous for modern Hindustani literature
 pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction
 
Konkani Literature
 mostly produced in three scripts: Roman, Devangari, and
Kannada
 eligible for the Sahitya Academy Award
 
Ravindra Kelekar
 noted Indian author who wrote primarily in the Konkani
language, although he also wrote in Marathi and Hindi
 Ganghian activist, freedom fighter, and a pioneer in the
modern Konkani movement
 well known Konkani scholar, linguist, and creative
thinker
 Aamchi Bhas (1962)
 
Maithili Literature
 entire collection of poetry, novels, short stories, documents,
and other writing in the Maithili language
 
Vidyapati
 also known by the sobriquet Maithil Kavi Kokil
  was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint,
playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-
theorist, writer, courtier, and royal priest
 devotee of Shiva
 wrote love songs and devotional Vaishnava songs
Marathi Literature
 the body of literature in Marathi language, and Indo-Aryan
language spoken mainly in the Indian State of Maharashta ad
written in the Devanagari and Modi script
 
Vishnu Vaman Shriwadkar
 popularly known by his pen name, Kusumagraj
 he was an Marathi poet, playwright, novelist, and short
story writer, who wrote of freedom & justice
 recipient of the 1974 Sahitya Academy Award in Marathi
for Natsamrat, Padma Bhushan (1991) and Jnanpith
Award in 1987
 he also served as the President of the Akhil Bharatiya
Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held at Margao in 1964
 
Meitei Literature
 also known as Manipuri literature
 refers to the literature written in Meitei language, one of the 22
official languages of the Republic of India and the sole official
language of Manipur State
 
Ashangbam Minaketan Singh
 founder of Modern Meitei Literature
 famous poet of Manipur
 
Punjabi Literature
 characteristic of the historical Punjab of India and Pakistan and
the Punjabi diaspora
 written in several scripts, of which the Shahmukhi and
Gurmukhi scripts are the most commonly used in Pakistan and
Indian, respectively
Dhani Ram Chatrik
 Indian poet and typographer
 one of the pioneers of modern Punjabi poetry
 promoted Punjabi culture, language, and publications
through life
 became the President of Punjabi Sahit Sabha, a literary
society, in 1926
 
Rajasthani Literature
 includes all the literature works that has been created within
the geaographical boundary of Rajasthan from start of time till
now
 written in various genres starting from 1000 AD
 
Suryamal Misran
 poet from Bundi, Rajasthan, India
 his most important works are the Vansa Bhaskara and the
Vir Satsai
 one of the foremost poets of the 19th century who tried to
inspire his countrymen by advocating the spirit of
nationalism
 
Sindhi Literature
 composition of oral and written scripts and texts in the Sindhi
language in the form of prose
 romantic tales, epic stories, and poetry
  the coexistence of Vedantic ("conclusion" of the Vedas) CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIA TO WORLD LITERATURE
thoughtt and Islamic mysticism  The rise of the Indian Literature can be attributed to the
  intermingling of social codes between the colony and
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai colonialist Indians and British
 commonly known by the honorifics Lakhino Latif, Latif  The Indian writers have made the most remarkable
Ghot, Bhittai, and Bhit Jo Sha contribution to the sphere of fiction, which as Mulk Raj Anand
 he was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet says, "has come to stay as a part of world literature"
 greatest poet on the Sindhi language  India plays an integral and significant contribution to the
 known for his collection of poems Risalo literature world
   Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali writer, is the first Indian to
Urdu Literature win the Noble Prize in the field of literature with his work
 writing in Urdu language of the Muslims of Pakistan and "Gitanjali" in 1920
Northern India  Arundhati Roy, won the Booker prize with her book, "God of
 written in the Perso-Arabic script Small Things"
 work of Muslim writers who take their themes from the life of  
the Indian subcontinent  
 
Allama Rashid-ul-Khairi
 born as Abdur Rashid, known as Musavire Gham
 social reformer from British India
 one of the most celebrated literary names of Urdu
literature
 
Indian-English Literature
 also referred to as Indian Writing in English
 
Kamala Surayya
 popularly known as her one-time pen name,
Madhavikutty, and married name, Kamala Das
 Indian poet in English
 also an author in Malayalam from Kerala, India