INDIAN LITERATURE

NAME: NATHANIEL LLADONES AZUL

YEAR AND BLOCK: 3A ENGLISH
INDIA

1. Rig Veda (summary and excerpt) The Rig Veda (ऋग्वेद) is the oldest of the four Vedas, the oldest
sacred texts of Hinduism. It is a collection of hymns, mantras,
litanies, and prayers in Vedic Sanskrit, composed over a period
of centuries between 1500 and 900 BCE. The Rig Veda is a
complex and multifaceted text, and its interpretation has been the
subject of much debate and scholarly research.

The Song of Creation

Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air,
no sky beyond it.
What covered it and where? And what gave shelter? Was water
there, unfathomed depth of water?
Death was not then nor was there aught immortal: no sign was
there, the day’s and night’s divider.
That one thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from
it was nothing whatsoever.
Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness, this All was
indiscriminated chaos.
All that existed then was void and formless: by the great power
of warmth was born that unit.

2. Pachatantra (summary and excerpt) The Panchatantra is a collection of Indian beast fables originally
written in Sanskrit. In Europe, the work was known under the
title The Fables of Bidpai after the narrator, and Indian sage
named Bidpai, (called Vidyapati in Sanskrit). It is intended as a
textbook of artha (worldly wisdom); the aphorisms tend to
glorify shrewdness and cleverness more than helping of others.

From the Panchatantra: “Right-Mind and Wrong-Mind”

The good and bad of given schemes/ wise thought must first
reveal: the stupid
heron saw his chicks/ provide a mongoose meal.

3. Ramayana (summary and excerpt) The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit, probably not before
300 BC, by the poet Valmiki and consists of some 24,000
couplets divided into seven books. It reflects the Hindu values
and forms of social organization, the theory of karma, the ideals
of wifehood, and feelings about caste, honor and promises.

From the Ramayana: “Brother’s Faithfulness”

If my elder and his lady to the pathless forests wend,
Armed with bow and ample quiver Lakshman will on them
attend,
Where the wild deer range the forest and the lordly tuskers roam,
And the bird of gorgeous plumage nestles in its jungle home,
Dearer far to me those woodlands where perennial bliss prevails!
Grant me then thy sweet permission, - faithful to thy glorious
star,
Lakshman, shall not wait and tarry when his Rama wanders far,
Grant me then thy loving mandate, - Lakshman hath no wish to
stay,
None shall bar the faithful younger when the elder leads the way!
4. Mahabarata (summary and excerpt) The Mahabharata, traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa,
consists of a mass of legendary and didactic material that tells of
the struggle for supremacy between two groups of cousins, the
Kauravas and the Pandavas set sometime 3102 BC.
The Bhagavad Gita (The Blessed Lord’s Song) is one of the
greatest and most beautiful of the Hindu scriptures.

Bhagavad Gita:
Krishna: Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana Ma
karma-phala-hetur bhurur ma te sango'stv akarmani

Translation:
You have the right to work, but never to the fruit thereof. Do not
let the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to
inaction.

5. Shakuntala (summary and excerpt) Sakuntala, a Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa, tells of the love
between Sakuntala and King Dushyanta. What begins as a
physical attraction for both of them becomes spiritual in the end
as their love endures and surpasses all difficulties. King
Dushyanta is a noble and pious king who upholds his duties
above personal desire. Sakuntala, on the other hand, is a young
girl who matures beautifully because of her kindness, courage,
and strength of will.

Excerpt from Sakuntala:

King. You are too modest. I feel honoured by the mere sight of
you.
Shakuntala. Anusuya, my foot is cut on a sharp blade of grass,
and my dress is
caught on an amaranth twig. Wait for me while I loosen it. (She
casts a lingering
glance at the king, and goes out with her two friends.)

King. (sighing). They are gone. And I must go. The sight of
Shakuntala has
made me dread the return to the city. I will make my men camp
at a distance from
the pious grove. But I cannot turn my own thoughts from
Shakuntala.
It is my body leaves my love, not I;/ My body moves away, but
not my mind;
For back to her struggling fancies fly/ Like silken banners borne
against the
wind. (Exit.)

6. Gitanjali (summary and excerpt) Gitanjali: Song Offerings was originally

published in India in 1910 and it s translation
followed in 1912. In these prose translations,
Rabindranath Tagore uses imagery from nature
to express the themes of love and the internal
conflict between spiritual longings and earthly
desires.

Moment’s Indulgence
I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by thy
side.
The works that I have in hand I will finish
afterwards.
 Away from the sight of thy face my heart
knows no rest nor respite,
and my work becomes an endless toil in a
shoreless sea of toil.

I. General Knowledge
Instruction: Provide/Enumerate information needed on the list of each subtopic.

Periods in Indian Literature

1. Highlights Vedic Period (1500 B.C. – 500 B.C.)
This period is named for the Vedas, a set of hymns that formed the cornerstone of Aryan
culture. Hindus consider the Vedas, which were transmitted orally by priests, to be the most
sacred of all literature for they believe these to have been revealed to humans directly by the
gods.

2. Epic and Buddhist Age (500 B.C. – A.D.).

The period of composition of the two great epics, Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
This time was also the growth of later Vedic literature, new Sanskrit literature, and
Buddhist literature in Pali.

3. 3.Classical Period (A.D. – 1000 A.D.).

The main literary language of northern India during this period was Sanskrit, in contrast with
the Dravidian languages of southern India. Sanskrit, which means ‘perfect speech’ is
considered a sacred language, the language spoken by the gods and goddesses.

4. 4.Medieval and Modern Age (A.D. 1000 – present). Persian influence

on literature was considerable during this period. Persian was the court language of the
Moslem rulers. In the 18th century India was directly under the British Crown and remained
so until its Independence in 1947. British influence was strong and modern-day Indians are
primarily educated in English. Many have been brought into the world of Western learning at
the expense of learning about their own culture.

HINDUISM

Purusartha
1. dharma – virtue, duty,
righteousness, moral law.

2. artha – wealth.

3. kama – love or pleasure.

4. moksha – the renunciation of duty, wealth and love in order to seek spiritual
perfection.
BUDDHISM

According to Buddhist beliefs, human beings are bound to the wheel of life which is a continual cycle of

1. ______BIRTH______
2. ________DEATH____
3. ____SUFFERING________

The Four Noble Truths are

1.life is suffering;
2.the cause of suffering is desire;
3. the removal of desire is the removal of suffering; and
4.the Noble Eightfold Path leads to the end of suffering.

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of:

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of:

1. right understanding

2 .right thought

3 .right speech

4. right action

5. right means of livelihood

6. right effort

7.right concentration

8. right meditation.

II. AUTHORSHIP
Instruction: Name the author/s of the literary pieces below. Write his/her name on the space
provided before the literary piece.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE. 1. Gitanjali

VATSYAYANA 2. Kama-sutra
SANTHA RAMA RAU 3. On Learning to be an Indian
SAHIR LUDHIANVI 4. The Taj Mahal
KALIDASA 5. Shakuntala

VALMIKI 6. Ramayana

VED VYAS 7. Mahabharata

 III. Reflection
Instruction: Create your own unique and creative infographic timeline of Periods of Literature in India.
Criteria
Content: 25pts
Creativity: 15pts
Total: 40pts.

MY INFOGRAPHIC TIMELINE