Module 2- Indian Literature, Culture, Tradition, and Practices

Evolution of script and languages in India: Harappan Script and Brahmi Script. The Vedas, the
Upanishads, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Puranas, Buddhist And Jain Literature in
Pali,Prakrit And Sanskrit, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Famous Sanskrit Authors, Telugu Literature,
Kannada Literature,Malayalam Literature ,Sangama Literature Northern Indian Languages &
Literature, Persian And Urdu ,Hindi Literature

Evolution of script and languages in India

1. Different people came to India at different times, each with its special racial type, language,
region and culture. 2. A great intermingling of races and cultures started from prehistoric times,
resulting in the emergence of a mixed Indian people with a composite culture of its own. 3. In the
evolution of development of languages in India we see this process of miscegenation at work. 4. The
Aryan speech, after it came to India, assimilated with the Dravidian, the Austric and the Indo-
Mangoloid speeches and a common speech, gradually evolved. 5. Until the discovery of the Indus
Valley Civilization in 1920, ancient India seemingly had two main scripts in which languages were
written, Brahmi and Kharosti. 6. The Brahmi script developed under Semitic influence around 7th
C. BC. 7. The Kharosti script came into being during the 5th C. BC in northwest India which was
under Persian rule. 8. In 1920 archaeologists announced the discovery of Indus Valley which pre-
dated the earliest literary sources. 9. This caused scholars working on ancient texts to re-examine
their views on the different phases of Indian culture. 10. The extensive excavations carried out at
the two principal city sites, Harappa and Mohen-jo-Daro, both situated in the Indus basin, indicates
that Dravidian culture was well established by about 2500 B.C. 11. Every attempt to decipher the
script used by these people has failed so far. 12. Recent analyses of the order of the signs on the
inscriptions have led several scholars to the view that the language appears to be Dravidian akin to
Old Tamil. 13. What this points to is the existence of a system of writing far more ancient than what
was originally considered. 14. Thus, in the matter of writing, we find a long history from prehistoric
times before the coming of the Aryans down to recent years.
The different language of India.
1. Language is a medium through which we express our thoughts. 2. To know any particular culture
and its tradition it is very important that we understand the evolution of its language.

Classification of Indian languages :

The Indian people speaks languages belonging to following four distinct speech families :
A. Aryan :
1. Of the ancient Indian linguistic and cultural groups, the Aryan is the most important. 2. Indian
civilization has found its expression primarily through the Aryanspeech as it developed over the
centuries. 3. The hymns and poems collected in the four Vedas gives us the oldest
specimens of the speech. 4. Aryan speech developed over time through Vedic Sanskrit (old Indo-
Aryan), then Classical Sanskrit, then Early Middle Indo-Aryan dialects like Pali and Old Ardha-
Magadhi, then Buddhist and Jaina Sanskrit and after that the various Prakrits and Apabhramsas,
and finally the different Modern Indo-Aryan languages of the country.
B. Dravidian :

1. Dravidian is the second important language family of India and has some special characteristics
of its own. 2. After the Aryan speech, it has very largely functioned as the exponent of Indian
culture. 3. It forms a solid bloc in South India, embracing the four great literary languages, Kannada,
Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. 4. The Dravidian speech in its antiquity in India is older than Aryan.
C. Sino-Tibetan :

1. Peoples of Mongoloid origin, speaking languages of the Sino-Tibetan family, were present in India
at least as early as the tenth century B.C. 2. The Sino-Tibetan languages do not have much numerical
importance or cultural significance in India, with the exception of Manipuri of Manipur. 3.
Everywhere they are gradually receding before the Aryan languages like Bengali and Assamese.
D. Austric :

1. The Austric languages represent the oldest speech family of India, but they are spoken by a very
small number of people, comparatively. 2. The Austric languages of India have a great interest for
the student of linguistics and human culture. 3. They are valuable relics of India's past, and they link
up India with Burma, with Indo-China, with Malaya, and with Indonesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.
4. Their solidarity is, however, broken by the more powerful Aryan speeches. 5. Speakers of Austric
know some Aryan language. In some cases they have become very largely bilingual. 6. Speakers of
Austric introduced some of their own speech habits and their own words into Aryan. In this way,
the Austrics peoples helped to modify the character of the Aryan speech in India and even to build
up Classical Sanskrit as the great culture speech of India.

Brahmi script
1. Brahmi is the modern name given to the one of the oldest scripts used on the Indian subcontinent
during the final centuries BCE and the early centuries CE. 2. The most disputed point about the
origin of the Brahmi script is whether it was a purely indigenous development or was inspired or
derived from scripts that originated outside India. 3. It is noted that the indigenous view is strongly
preferred by Indian scholars, whereas the idea of Semitic borrowing is preferred most often by
Western scholars. 4. Most scholars until recently thought that the Brahmi scripts was derived from
the ancient Phoenician script which itself is a derivative of the still more ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphic writing, through the later Demotic style. 5. Others thought that the South Arabian form
of Phoenician was the immediate source of Brahmi. 6. But there are some basic divergences
between Phoenician writing on the one hand and Brahmi on the other, which make this affiliation a
little difficult to accept. 7. On the other hand, the agreements between the Mohen-jo-Daro script and
Brahmi would suggest that Brahmi was derived from the Mohenjo- Daro script. 8. Of course, Brahmi
could not be a perfect or full system of writing, expressing in all its niceties the entire sound-system
of the Aryan speech of the time. 9. There was also a suggestion that the Brahmi letters originated
independently in India from pictures of objects. 10. The Brahmi letters have the great beauty of
simplicity - they stand bold and clear.
Characteristics of Brahmi script :
1. Brahmi is usually written from left to right. 2. Brahmi is an abugida, meaning that each letter
represents a consonant, while vowels are written with obligatory diacritics called matras in
Sanskrit. 3. Vowels following a consonant are inherent or written by diacritics, but initial vowels
have dedicated letters. 4. Brahmi characters are joined vertically downwards.
5. In the early Brahmi period, the existence of punctuation marks is not
very well shown. 6. Each letter has been written independently with some space between
words and edicts occasionally. 7. In the middle period, the system seems to be in progress.
8. The use of a dash and a curved horizontal line is found. 9. A flower mark seems to mark the end,
and a circular mark appears to indicate the full stop. There seem to be varieties of full stop.
10. In the late period, the system of interpunctuation marks gets more complicated.
 Harappan script.

1. The Harappan script is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus valley

civilisation. 2. Most inscriptions are extremely short. 3. It is not clear if these symbols constitute a
script used to record a language, and the subject of whether the Indus symbols were a writing
system is controversial. 4. In spite of many attempts at decipherment, it is
undeciphered, and no underlying language has been identified. 5. There is no known bilingual
inscription. 6. The script does not show any significant changes over time. 7. In the early 1970s,
Iravatham Mahadevan published a corpus and concordance of Indus inscriptions listing 3,700 seals
and 417 distinct signs in specific patterns. 8. The average inscription contains five signs, and the
longest inscription is only 17 signs long. 9. He also established the direction of writing as right to
left.

What factors are considered as the obstacles for a successful decipherment of the Harappan
script ?

The following factors are the biggest obstacles for a successful decipherment of the Harappan script
: 1. The underlying language has not been identified though some 300 loanwords in the Rigveda are
a good starting point for comparison. 2. The average length of the inscriptions is less than five signs,
the longest being only 17 signs (and a sealing of combined inscriptions of just 27 signs). 3. No
bilingual texts (like a Rosetta stone) have been found. 4. There have been various (mutually
exclusive) decipherment claims. None of these suggestions has found academic recognition.

Characteristics of Harappan script :

1. The characters are largely pictorial, but include many abstract signs. 2. The inscriptions are
thought to have been written mostly from right-toleft. 3. The number of principal signs is about
400. 4. Since that is considered too large a number for each character to be a phonogram, the script
is generally believed to instead be logo-syllabic.

Vedic literature. : Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda.

1. 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. 2. The word 'Veda' literally means
knowledge. In Hindu culture, Vedas are considered as eternal and divine revelations.
3. They treat the whole world as one human family Vasudev Kutumbakam. 4. There are four Vedas,
namely, the - Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda. Each Veda consists of the
Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the Aranyakas.

A. The Rig-Veda Samhita :

1. The oldest of the four samhitas mentioned is the Rig samhita. 2. It is the name given to that
samhita in which the priest intones the mantras as an invitation to the Gods to put in an appearance
at a yagya. 3. It is the oldest and the most extensive of the samhitas, and many of its
mantras have been borrowed in the other samhitas. 4. Rig samhita has been divided into ten
mandals or parts and the mantras that are included in each mandal are given the prefix ‘sukta’.
5. There are 1028 suktas in the Rigveda. It took hundreds of years to
compose these suktas. 6. Rig veda provides almost complete information concerning the old Vedic
civilization. It contains picture of the oldest Aryan civilization and their religion, way of life, thought
and modes of behaviour. 2–Indian Literature, Culture & Tradition 7. This particular text also shows
how philosophic thought, religion, ideas and other related emotions and feelings came to be born in
the mind of man.
B. The Sama-Veda Samhita :
1. This is the second Veda. It contains some 1549 mantras of which only 72 are new, while the rest
have all been derived from the Rigveda. 2. There are two parts to this veda. There are six kandas in
the first and nine in the latter part. 3. Each kanda has numerous smaller kandas which are also
called ‘sukta’. There are 459 such small kandas. 4. The collection of the samhita of the Samaveda
was made keeping in mind the requirements of the singer priest. 5. Sama means song or singing. In
the Samaveda everything is sung. 6. When the yagya was organised, the singer priest called out to
the deity in question by singing the mantras in a loud and sweet voice.
7. The Samaveda samhita has been divided into two parts - the purvarchika and the uttararchika.
C. The Yajur-Veda Samhita :
1. Yaju is the name given to poetry, for which reason much of this Veda is in poetry.
2. Etymologically the term 'Yajur Veda' means knowledge concerning yagya. 3. It contains 40
chapters in which there are 2000 couplets. 4. It contains poetical sentences which were employed
at the time of the yagya for this reason yajur-veda is particularly concerned with
anushthana. 5. This Veda has two forms - the Shukla Yajurveda and the Krishna Yajurveda.
6. Each of the two forms has its own samhita, the samhita of the Shukla Yajurveda being called the
Vaajsaneyi sanhita. 7. The Shukla yajur-veda has two prominent branches of which each one
has a separate samhita. 8. There are many branches of the Krishna yajur-veda, of which only four
are existent. 9. Both the Krishna and the Shukla yajur-veda provide detailed description
of yagya rituals. 10. In the yajur-veda one finds graphic descriptions of the difference between
the caste and the varna systems. 11. There is mention of mixed castes also, along with descriptions
of handicrafts, science, trade, etc.
D. The Atharva-Veda Samhita :
1. In this Veda there are 20 kandas, 34 Prapathaka, 111 Anuvaka, 731 suktas and 1849 mantras.
2. In the Atharva-Veda little attention has been paid to the technique or mode of yagya.
3. Rig-Veda derives its importance from its independent development and from the fact that it is a
record of ancient history. The same is true of the Atharva-Veda also. 4. The chief difference between
the two is that there was practically no class distinction or brahmanic superiority in the Rig veda
but it is clearly in evidence in the Atharva veda. 5. Some of the mantras of the Atharva-Veda are
concerned with such occult activities as magic, curses, casting spells, ghosts, witches, causing
invisibility, and hypnotism. 6. The beginning of Ayurveda, medicine and pharmacology are to be
found in this Veda. 7. This Veda also provides some glimpses of the manner in which the beliefs and
ideas concerning life evolved in the Aryan period.

Upanisad ? Discuss.
1. Literally speaking, the word, “Upanisad”, means “sitting down near”. 2. The sense most commonly
signified by the word upanisad is the esoteric teaching imparted by the teacher to the pupil who
sits (sad), near him (upa), in a closed select (ni), group.
3. The Upanisads are also called the Vedanta, because they represent the concluding portion of the
apauruseya Veda, or the ultimate end and aim of the teachings of the Veda.
4. The Upanisads are the first recorded attempt at systematic, though not systematized,
philosophizing. 5. They are one of the most significant sources of the spiritual wisdom of
India, and are traditionally regarded as one of the three prasthanas (source books) of Indian
philosophy. 6. Upanisads are concerned with the contemplative-realizational rather
than with the ritualistic-ceremonial aspect of the spiritual life of the people. 7. There are over 200
Upanisads. The ten chief ancient Upanisads are the Isa, the Kena, the Katha, the Prasna, the Mundak,
the Mandukya, the Taittiriya, the Aitereya, the Chandogya and the Brhdaranyaka.
8. Apart from these principal Upanisads there are many others, but they are essentially sectarian in
character and pseudo-philosophical in content.
9. They are usually divided into various classes, such as Slmanya-Vedanta, Yoga, Sannyasa, Saiva,
Vaisnava, and Sakta, in accordance with their main tendencies. 10. The Upanisads gave the people a
philosophy but not a religion.
the story of Ramayana.
The main story of the Ramayana is briefly this : 1. Dasaratha, king of Ayodhya, is about to install his
eldest son, Rama, on the throne. 2. Kaikeyi, Rama‘s step-mother, wants her own son Bharata to be
crowned king, and Rama to be sent into exile for fourteen years. 3. The old and infirm king, though
reluctant, has to agree. 4. Rama goes to live in the forest, accompanied by his consort, Sita, and his
brother, Laksmana. 5. The demon-king of Lanka, Ravana, abducts Sita.
6. Rama, determined to rescue Sita, wages a dour war against Ravana who is ultimately vanquished
and killed. 7. Rama comes back to Ayodhya and assumes his position as king, with
Sita as queen.
. Write an account on the literary characteristics of Ramayana.

1. In the Ramayana the art of poetry appears to have made great progress. 2. The poet is an adept in
characterization, and this is displayed in a series of unparalleled portraits : i. Rama’s supreme
sacrifice for the sake of his father; ii. Sita is the glowing example of chastity and high-mindedness;
iii. Laksmana’s obedience to his elder brother; iv. The self-abnegation of Bharata in abjuring royal
comforts during the absence of Rama;
v. The unflinching loyalty of Hanuman to his master. vi. Across the sea, in Lanka, we find Ravana, of
tremendous physical and mental vigour. 3. The author of the Ramayana has thus presented a
magnificent lifegallery throbbing with profound human appeal, and in the centre of this gallery the
character of Ram shines. 4. He is a model son, husband, brother, king, warrior, and man. 5. The
Ramayana brings out the close relationship between external nature and internal nature expressed
in the minds and moods of people. 6. Unlike the other epic, the Ramayana creates an idyll out of
nature and produces a lyrical effect. 7. Various sentiments have been introduced, into the epic, but
the main sentiment is the heroic.
Describe the story of Mahabharata.
The main story of the Mahabharata is briefly this : 1. The Pandavas, headed by Yudhisthira, and the
Kauravas, headed by Duryodhana, descended from common ancestors.
2. Duryodhana becomes jealous and, coveting the crown invites Yudhisthira to a game of dice.
3. As the result of a rash wager, Yudhisthira loses his kingdom to Duryodhana and is then forced to
go into exile, together with his brothers and Draupadi, the common consort of the Pandavas, for
twelve years, followed by one year during which they must live incognito. 4. But even when the
stipulated period is over, Duryodhana refuses to give even a fraction of his territory to Yudhisthira,
the rightful owner. 5. A grim battle ensues. The Kauravas are routed and ruined, and the Pandavas
regain their lost kingdom.
the literary characteristics of Mahabharata.
1. The Mahabharata has been characterized as a “whole literature”.2. The nucleus of the epic is
simple. Around this nucleus has gathered a diverse mass of material dealing with innumerable
topics-legendary, didactic, ethical, heroic, aesthetic, philosophical, political, and so on.
3. Even a casual reader is struck by the wealth of characters in the epic, and the way they have been
so beautifully portrayed. 4. The composer knows the value of contrast, for he shows how a good
character shines brighter against a bad one. 5. Each of the five Pandava brothers has his own
distinct traits of character. Yudhisthira, the eldest, never departs from the age-old path of virtue.
Unflinching in his devotion to dharma, he has an unshaken faith that
Dharma must ultimately triumph.
6. Duryodhana is materialistic in outlook; he is concerned mainly with artha (wealth) and kama
(desire), and does not bother himself about dharma. He thus serves as an excellent foil to
Yudhisthira. 7. The suffering caused by their enemies rouses the righteousness of
Draupadi. Her speech to urge Yudhisthira to action is fiery and imbued with the high Ksatriya spirit.
8. Similarly Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas, condemns Dhritrashtra as the one who is fully
responsible for the rout and ruin of the Kauravas. 9. Thus clearly showing that she is not blinded by
attachment to her husband or by affection for her sons. Her judgment is impartial and sound. 10.
The dominant sentiment in the Mahabharata is the heroic, but here too
the pathetic sentiment is equally noteworthy. 11. The epic reveals the poet’s mastery of the art of
description. In general, the style is effortless.

. What is Purana ?
1. The term purana means, “that which lives from ancient times”. 2. The Puranas are a very
important branch, of the Hindu sacred literature. 3. They enable us to know the true import of the
ethos, philosophy, and religion of the Vedas. 4. The Puranas were written with the object of
popularizing the truths taught in the Vedas by presenting them in relation to specific personages
and to the events of their lives.
5. The real function of the Puranas is to explain, illustrate, and amplify the Vedas.
6. The main value of the Puranas consists in amplifying, enforcing, and illustrating the spiritual
truths stated in the Vedas in the form of injunctions and commands. 7. The principal (Maha)
Puranas are eighteen in number. There are also eighteen secondary (Upa) Puranas. These contain
about 4,00,000 verses on the whole and relate to a vast variety of topics.
8. Purana is traditionally defined as comprising five main topics : sarga (creation), pratisarga
(dissolution and recreation), vamsa (divine genealogies), manvantara (ages of Manus), and
vasmanuchari (genealogies of kings).
9. The eighteen Mahapuranas are classified either as sattvika, tamasa,
and rajas or in accordance with the divinity (such as Visnu, Siva, Brahma, Devi) which they glorify.
Buddhist and Jain Literature in Pali, Prakrity and Sanskrit.
the Buddhist literature.
1. The earliest Buddhist works were written in Pali, which was spoken in Magadha and South Bihar.
2. The Buddhist works can be divided into the canonical and the noncanonical. 3. The canonical
literature is best represented by the Tripitaka, that is, three baskets :
i. Vinaya Pitaka : It deals with rules and regulations of daily life.
ii. Sutta Pitaka : It contains dialogues and discourses on morality and deals with Dharma.
iii. Abhidhamma Pitaka : It deals with philosophy and metaphysics. It includes discourses on
various subjects such as ethics, psychology, theories of knowledge and metaphysical problems.
4. The non-canonical literature is best represented by the Jatakas. Jatakas are the most interesting
stories on the previous births of the Buddha. 5. The Jatakas throw invaluable light on the social and
economic conditions ranging from the sixth century BC to the second century BC.
6. They also make incidental reference to political events in the age of the
Buddha. 7. The Buddhist literature, both Hinayana and Mahayana, is preserved
mainly in Pali, Buddhist Sanskrit, and Pure Sanskrit. 8. Pali Tripitaka represents the earliest and
most complete collection of the Buddhist literature.

Pali language.
1. The word Pali simply means ‘a line’ and is regarded as a Middle Indo- Aryan language that is
native to India. 2. The earliest known origins of this language are unclear.
3. It was earlier known as Magadhi, named after its place of origin in modern-day Bihar.
4. Buddha spent most of his time in Magadha and preached his doctrine there in the dialect of that
region. 5. It is but natural that the early Buddhist scriptures were composed in
Magadhi in which Buddha himself spoke. 6. The Tripitaka was committed to writing during the
reign of Vattagamani Abhaya in the first century B.C. 7. Apart from the canonical literature in Pali,
there are also a large number of post-canonical Pali works. They comprise mostly tikas and
tippanis. 8. The extracanonical works can be divided in to the commentaries, then the chronicles,
manuals, poetical works, grammars, and works on rhetoric and metrics, and lastly, the lexicons.
the Buddhist Sanskrit literature.
Like the Pali Tripitaka, there is also the Tripitaka in Buddhist Sanskrit consisting of Agama, Vinaya,
and Abhidharma.

A. Hinayana Buddhist Sanskrit texts :

1. The Agama is divided into four books entitled Dirghagama, Madhyamagama, Samyuktagama and
Ekottaragama. 2. The Vinaya Pitaka contains four divisions Vinayavibhanga, Vinayavastu,
Vinayaksudrakavastu and Vinaya-uttaragrantha. 3. The Abhidharma Pitaka of the Sarvastivada
School has seven treatises: the Jnana-prasthana, the Sangitiparyaya, the Prakaranapada, the
Vijnanakaya, the Dhatukaya, the Dharmaskandha, the Prajnaptisastra. 4. The Mahavastu is one of
the most important works belonging to the school of Hinayana. It is an encyclopedia of Buddhist
legends and doctrines. 5. Apart from those mentioned above, this school has to its credit a large
number of works under the caption Avadana literature.
B. Mahayana Buddhist Sanskrit texts :
1. The Mahayana school’s contribution to Indian thought is unique. It had
an extensive literature of its own.
2. Of the numerous Mahayana works, nine books (nine Dharmas) are
held in great reverence. 3. They are : Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita, Saddharmapundarika-Sutra,
Lalitavistara, Lankavatara, Suvarnaprabhasa, Gandavyuha, Tathagataguhyaka,
Samadhiraja and Dasabhumisvara. 4. They are also known as Vaipulya-Sutras.
C. Pure Sanskrit texts :
1. The Buddhist literature was further enriched by a galaxy of eminent scholars.
2. Prominent among them were Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Sthiramati,
Dinnaga, Vasumitra, Dharmapala, Dharmakirti, Santideva and Santaraksita. 3. Their works were
composed in pure Sanskrit and mainly on Buddhist philosophy and logic.
the literature of Jainism.
1. The Jain texts were written in Prakrit and were compiled in the sixth
century AD in Valabhi in Gujarat. 2. The important works are known as Angas, Upangas, Prakirnas,
Chhedab Sutras and Malasutras.
3. Jainism helped in the growth of a rich literature comprising poetry, philosophy and grammar.
4. These works contain many passages which help us to reconstruct the political history of eastern
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. 5. The Jain texts refer repeatedly to trade and traders. 6. Jaina literature
begins with the last of the Tirthankaras, Mahavir, who reorganized the old Nirgrantha sect and
revitalized its moral and religious zeal and activities. 7. He preached his faith of ahimsa (non-
violence) and self-purification to the people in their own language Prakrit. 8. The form of Prakrit
which he is said to have used was Ardha-Magadhi.

: The Jaina Canon (a collection of sacred books accepted as genuine).

1. The language of these texts is Ardha-Magadhi. But it is not uniform in all the texts. 2. The subject-
matter of this canonical literature is mainly the ascetic practices of the followers of Mahavira. 3. As
such, it is essentially didactic, dominated by the supreme ethical principle of ahimsa. 4. Also there is
a good deal of poetry and philosophy as well as valuable information about contemporary thought
and social history including biographical details of Parsvanatha, Mahavira, and their
contemporaries. 5. Many narrative pieces are interesting and instructive. 6. From the historical
point of view, the life of Mahavira, information about his predecessors and contemporaries, about
his successors, and about monachism practised in the days of Mahavira in eastern India are all very
valuable.
the Jaina sanskrit literature.
1. The language of Jaina literature was primarily the Prakrits. But Sanskrit was not altogether
shunned. 2. Amongst the Jains, the earliest work in Sanskrit devoted to religious writing is
theTattvarthadhigama-Sutra of Umasvamin which epitomizes the whole Jaina creed in about 375
sutras arranged in ten chapters. 3. The work occupies a unique position in Jaina literature as it is
recognized as authoritative equally by the Digambaras and the Svetambaras with a
few variations in the readings, and is very widely studied by both. 4. The next commentary on it is
Tattvartha-raja-varttika of Akalanka (8th century) which offers more detailed explanations of the
sutras, as well as of the important statements of Pujyapada. 5. The Tattvartha-sloka-varttika of
Vidyanandin (9th century) gives expositions in verse and makes valuable clarifications.
6. For yogic practices, the Jnanarnava and the Yogasastra are valuable guides. 7. Jaina Sanskrit
literature is considerably enriched by a series of works on Nyaya (logic).

PART-4
Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Famous Sanskrit Authors, Telugu
Literature, Kannada Literature, Malayalam Literature,
Sangama Literature, Northern Indian Languages &
Literature, Persian and Urdu, Hindi Literature.
:
Kautilya’s Arthashastra.
1. The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, economic policy and
military strategy. 2. Kautilya is traditionally credited as the author of the text. 3. The title
Arthashastra is often translated to “the science of wealth”, but the book Arthashastra has a broader
scope. 4. The Arthasastra is divided into 15 adhikaranas and 180 prakaranas and
embraces economics, sociology, politics, etc. 5. The major portion is devoted to the problems of
administration. It deals with the following elements of the kingdom : i. training; ii. duties and vices
of the king; iii. recruitment and duties of the amatyas and mantrins; iv. civil and criminal
administration; and v. guilds and corporations. 6. Republics form the theme of one whole chapter.
Further, the text enunciates the principles of interstate relations and describes the military
organisation. 7. It suggests methods to win wars and acquire popularity in the conquered
territories. 8. A distinguishing feature of its contents is the exaltation of the central
authority and the assignment of many social and economic functions to the king. 9. A good part of
Kautilya's arthashastra is concerned with politics. 10. However, Kautilya makes a deliberate and
conscious attempt to free politics from the influence of religion and morality.
11. Thus the Arthasastra is not only a treatise on the science of wealth but also a treatise on
political science.
Mention some of the famous Sanskrit authors and their work.

Following are some of the famous Sanskrit authors :

1. Ashwaghosha :
i. Ashwaghosha is the greatest Indian poet prior to Kalidasa who wrote Buddhacharita,
Mahalankara (Book of Glory) and the Saundaranandakavya, a poem with the theme of conversion of
Nanda, Buddha’s half-brother, so that he might reach salvation. ii. He was the court writer and
religious advisor of Kushana king Kanishka and known as first Sanskrit Dramatist of the world. iii.
He was a born Brahmin, but later turned into a Buddhist Monk.
iv. He also wrote a Sanskrit Drama Sariputra Prakaran.
2. Bhasa :
i. Bhasa wrote important works like Swapnavasavadattam, Panch- Ratra, Madhyama-Vyayoga,
DutaGhattotkacha, Duta-Vakya, Urubhanga, Karna-Bhara and Bal Charita. ii. Svapnavasavadattam
was lost and rediscovered in 1912 in Kerala. iii. This play is around the Vatsa king Udayana and his
queen Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti.
3. Kalidasa : Kalidasa is the immortal poet and playwright of India and a peerless genius whose
works became famous worldwide in modern world.

4. Sudraka :
i. The real name of Sudraka was Indranigupta and he was an Abhira King. ii. Sudraka has composed
three Sanskrit Plays : a. Mricchakatika b. Vinavasavadatta c. Padmaprabhritaka

5. Vatsyayana :
i. Vatsyayana was the author of Nyaya Sutra Bhashya and Kamasutra. ii. Kamasutra is a treatise on
human sexual behaviour and makes the part of the Kamashashtra. iii. As per the traditions, the first
transmission of the Kamashashra is attributed to Nandi.
6. Vishakhadatta :
i. Vishakhadatta was one of the famous Sanskrit poet and play writer after Mahakavi Kalidas.
ii. We know about only two plays of Vishakhadatta viz. Mudrarakshasa and theDevichandraguptam.
iii. Mudrarakshasa means “Ring of the Demon”. It narrates the ascent of Chandragupta Maurya to
throne.

7. Bharavi :
i. Bharavi is best known for Kiratarjuniya. ii. Kirat is Shiva who speaks to Arjuna in the form of a
mountain dwelling hunter. iii. This epic style Kavya is considered to be among the greatest works in
Sanskrit which is known for complexity of the Sanskrit.
8. Magha :
i. Magha was a Sanskrit poet at King Varmalata's court at Shrimala, the then-capital of Gujarat.
ii. Sisupala-Vadha was written by Magha in 7th Century AD and is one of the six Sanskrit
Mahakavyas. iii. It was inspired by the works of Kalidasa, Bharavi and Dandin.
: Telugu literature.
1. Telugu is one of the classical languages of India. It is a language of the Dravidian family.
2. The Indian Constitution recognises it as one of the 22 official languages
of India. 3. Telugu literature is the body of works written in the Telugu language. It
consists of poems, short stories, novels, plays, and song lyrics, among others. 4. Early Telugu
literature is predominantly religious in subject matter. Poets and scholars drew most of their
material from epics, such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata and the Puranas. 5.
From the 16th century onwards, rarely known episodes from the Puranas would form the basis for
the tradition of Telugu-language kavya. 6. Literary works drawn from episodes of the Puranas
under the name Akhyana or Khanda became popular along with depictions of the fortune of a single
hero under the title of Charitra, Vijaya, Vilasa and Abhyudaya.
7. In the eighteenth-century, marriages of heroes under the title Parinaya, Kalyana and Vivaha
became popular. 8. Religious literature consisted of biographies of the founders of religion,
their teachings (Sara) as well as commentaries (bhashya). 9. Traditional Hindu knowledge systems
such as astrology, law, grammar, ballets, moral aphorisms, and devotional psalms to deities within
the Hindu pantheon are characteristics of more popular works of Telugu
literature.
: Kannada literature.
1. Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the
Dravidian family. 2. The Kannada language is usually divided into three linguistic phases : Old
(450–1200 CE), Middle (1200–1700 CE) and Modern (1700–present). 3. Its literary characteristics
are categorised as Jain, Veerashaiva and Vaishnava — recognising the prominence of these three
faiths in giving form to the classical expression of the language. 4. Starting with the Kavirajamarga
(c. 850), and until the middle of the 12th century, literature in Kannada was almost exclusively
composed by the Jains.
5. The Veerashaiva movement of the 12th century created new literature which flourished
alongside the Jain works. 6. With the waning of Jain influence during the 14th century Vijayanagara
Empire, a new Vaishnava literature grew rapidly in the 15th century.
7. In the 19th century, some literary forms, such as the prose narrative, the novel, and the short
story, were borrowed from English literature.
: Malayalam literature.

1. Malayalam literature comprises of literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian

language spoken in Kerala. 2. The earliest known literary work in Malayalam is Ramacharitam, an
epic poem written by Cheeraman in 1198 CE. 3. In the subsequent centuries, besides a popular
pattu literature, the manipravalam poetry also flourished. 4. Manipravalam style consisted of
poetry in an admixture of Malayalam and Sanskrit. 5. Then came works such as champus and
sandeshakavyas in which prose and poetry were interspersed. 6. Later, poets like Cherusseri
introduced poems on devotional themes. 7. Ezhuthachan, a strong proponent of Bhakti movement,
is known as the father of Malayalam. His poems are classified under the genre of kilippattu. 8.
Modern literary movements in Malayalam literature began in the late 19th century with the rise of
the famous Modern Triumvirate consisting of Kumaran Asan, Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer and
Vallathol Narayana Menon.9. Contemporary Malayalam poetry deals with social, political, and
economic life context. The tendency of the modern poetry is often towards political radicalism.

Sangam literature.
1. In ancient times the association or academy of the most learned men of the Tamil land was called
‘Sangam’ whose chief function was promotion of literature. 2. Later Tamil writers mention the
existence of three literary academies (Sangams) at different periods.
3. The last academy is credited with the corpus of literature now known as ‘Sangam Works’.
4. Naturalism and romanticism were the salient features of the poems of the Sangam bards. 5.
Tolkappiyam, the name signifying the ancient book or ‘the preserver of ancient institutions’ was
written by Tolkappiyanar and is the oldest extant Tamil grammar dating back to 500 B.C.
6. It lays down rules for different kinds of poetical compositions drawn from the examples
furnished by the best works then extant. 7. It contains about 1,610 suttirams (aphorisms). It is in
three parts : ezhuttu (orthography), sol (etymology), and porul (literary conventions and
usages) each with nine sections. 8. The principal works of the third Sangam have come down to us
in the shape of anthologies of poems. 9. The anthologies of the third Sangam consist of poems
divided into two broad categories : aham or interior and puram or exterior.
10. An allegory of the different stages through which the soul of man passes from its manifestation
in the body to its final unification with the Supreme Being is seen in aham.
11. The puram covers varieties of distinctive poems, mostly relating to man's social behaviour.
northern Indian languages and literature.
1. In early medieval period the old apabhramsha had taken new forms and
was in the process of evolving into other forms. 2. These languages were evolving at two levels : the
spoken and the written language. 3. The old Brahmi script of the Ashoka days had undergone a
great change. 4. The alphabets during Ashoka’s period were uneven in size but by the time of
Harsha, the letters had become of the same size. 5. All the scripts of present northern Indian
languages, except that of Urdu, have had their origin in old Brahmi. 6. At present there are over 200
languages or dialects spoken in India. Some are widely used while others are limited to a particular
area. 7. A large number of people speak Hindi in its different forms that include Braj Bhasha,
Avadhi, Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Maithili, Rajasthani and Khadi
Boli. 8. The language used by Surdas and Bihari has been given the name of Braj Bhasha; that used
by Tulsidas in the Ramacharitamanasa is called Avadhi and the one used by Vidyapati has been
termed as Maithili. 9. But Hindi, as we know it today is the one called Khadi Boli.
10. Extensive use of Khadi Boli in literature began only in the nineteenth century. It even shows
some influence of Urdu.
Persian and Urdu languages. Persian language :

1. As Persian was the language of the court, much of the literature produced in this period was
written in Persian. 2. We find several historical accounts, administrative manuals and allied
literature in this language. 3. The Mughal rulers were great patrons of leaning and literature.
4. Quite a fair amount of Persian literature has been produced by the courtiers of the Mughals.
5. From there we get a good deal of information about Mughal period. 6. Several collections of
letters of the Mughal period (insha) have come down to us. Besides shedding light on Mughal
history, they indicate different styles of letter writing.
Urdu language :
1. Arabic and Persian were introduced in India with the coming of the Turks and the Mongols.
2. Urdu as a language was born out of the interaction between Hindi and Persian.
3. Originally it was a dialect but slowly it acquired all the features of a
formal language when the authors started using Persian script. 4. Urdu became more popular in the
early eighteenth century. People even wrote accounts of later Mughals in Urdu.
5. Gradually it achieved a status where literature (both poetry and prose) started being composed
in it. 6. Urdu was given its pride of place by a large number of poets who have left inimitable poetry
for posterity. The earliest Urdu poet is supposed to be Khusrau (1253 - 1325). 7. Among the best
prose writers were people like Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar, who wrote the famous Fasanah-i-Azad.
8. Urdu has given us a new form of poem that is called a nazm. 9. Urdu was patronised by the
Nawabs of Lucknow, who held symposiums in this language. Slowly it became quite popular.

: Hindi Literature.
1. In the 14th century the emergence of regional languages resulted in the decline of Sanskrit as
they came to be used as the medium through which the administrative machinery functioned. 2.
The rise of the Bhakti movement and the use of these regional languages by the various saints
helped in their growth and development. 3. The language went on changing as the area where it
was used expanded. New words to express new situations were either coined or taken from areas
coming under its influence. 4. The influence of Bhakti movement started affecting the prose and
poetry that were being composed in Hindi. 5. Hindi evolved during the Apabhramsa stage between
the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. and the 14th C. 6. Hindi poets expressed their sentiments essentially
to satisfy their own devotional instincts. 7. These poets influenced the Indian society in a manner
that had never happened earlier. As it is easier to remember poetry than prose, they became
immensely popular. 8. In modern times, the Khadi dialect became more prominent.