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A&H101 Great Books: INDIAN LITERATURE, Lecture notes of Indian Literature

Western Mindanao State University (WMSU)Indian Literature

This document contains a brief and concise information about the Indian Literature. Take note that this is summarized already, its not that detailed anymore. It covers the following topic regarding the mentioned literature: 1. Sanskrit 2. Veda and its 4 types 3. Brahmana 4. Most important epics in India (detailed information each) PLEASE BE REMINDED OF THE FOLLOWING; 1. The document is digitally written (typed), not a compiled picture of a handwritten notes. 2. All the information in the document were from my college instructor. I do not wish to take credit of those information. Those are simply my personal digital notes of the lesson. 3. I did not include the reference of this lecture notes, because those information were from the PPT that my college instructor sent to the class and she did not include her reference.

Typology: Lecture notes

2023/2024

Available from 06/20/2024

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Indian Literature
Asia is known to be the most populous and largest continent on the planet.
Asia is a cradle of the human race, world religions and civilization which is composed of a
widespread variety of ethnic groups, diverse cultures, environments, and varied governmental
systems making it rich in written literature.
Indian literature - writings of the Indian subcontinent, produced there in a variety
ofvernacular languages including:
1. Sanskrit
2. Punjabi
3. Prakrit
4. Rajasthani
5. Pali
6. Tamil
7. Bengali
8. Telugu
9. Bihari
10. Urdu
11. Gujarati
12. Lahnda
13. Hindi
14. Siraika
15. Kannada
16. Sindhi
17. Kashmiri
18. Malayalam
19. Oriya 
Sanskrit is the primary sacred language of Hinduism, and has been used as a philosophical
language in the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Sanskrit is a standardized dialect
of Old Indo-Aryan, originating as Vedic Sanskrit as early as 1700-1200 BCE.
One of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial documentation exists, Sanskrit
is believed to have been the general language of the greater Indian Subcontinent in ancient
times. It is still used today in Hindu religious rituals, Buddhist hymns and chants, and Jain texts.
The earliest Indian literature took the form of thecanonical Hindu sacred writings, known as
theVeda, which were written in Sanskrit. To the Veda were added prose commentaries such as
theBrahmanasand theUpanishads.
Brahmana, any of a number of prose commentaries attached to theVedas, the earliest writings
ofHinduism, explaining their significance as used inritualsacrifices and the symbolic import of
the priests’ actions. The wordbrahmanamay mean either the utterance of aBrahman(priest) or
an exposition on the meaning of the sacred word; the latter is more commonly accepted by
scholars.
Veda, (Sanskrit: “Knowledge”) a collection of poems or hymns composed inarchaicSanskritby
Indo-European-speaking peoples who lived in northwest India during the 2nd millenniumBCE.
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Indian Literature

Asia is known to be the most populous and largest continent on the planet. Asia is a cradle of the human race, world religions and civilization which is composed of a widespread variety of ethnic groups, diverse cultures, environments, and varied governmental systems making it rich in written literature.

Indian literature - writings of the Indian subcontinent, produced there in a variety

of vernacular languages including:

  1. Sanskrit
  2. Punjabi
  3. Prakrit
  4. Rajasthani
  5. Pali
  6. Tamil
  7. Bengali
    1. Telugu
    2. Bihari
    3. Urdu
    4. Gujarati
    5. Lahnda
    6. Hindi
    7. Siraika
    8. Kannada
    9. Sindhi
    10. Kashmiri
    11. Malayalam
    12. Oriya Sanskrit is the primary sacred language of Hinduism, and has been used as a philosophical language in the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Sanskrit is a standardized dialect of Old Indo-Aryan, originating as Vedic Sanskrit as early as 1700-1200 BCE. One of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial documentation exists, Sanskrit is believed to have been the general language of the greater Indian Subcontinent in ancient times. It is still used today in Hindu religious rituals, Buddhist hymns and chants, and Jain texts. The earliest Indian literature took the form of the canonical Hindu sacred writings, known as the Veda , which were written in Sanskrit. To the Veda were added prose commentaries such as the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. Brahmana , any of a number of prose commentaries attached to the Vedas, the earliest writings of Hinduism, explaining their significance as used in ritual sacrifices and the symbolic import of the priests’ actions. The word brahmana may mean either the utterance of a Brahman (priest) or an exposition on the meaning of the sacred word; the latter is more commonly accepted by scholars. Veda , (Sanskrit: “ Knowledge ”) a collection of poems or hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking peoples who lived in northwest India during the 2nd millennium BCE.

The hymns formed a liturgical body that in part grew up around the soma ritual and sacrifice and were recited or chanted during rituals. They praised a wide pantheon of gods, some of whom personified natural and cosmic phenomena, such as fire (Agni), the Sun (Surya and Savitri), dawn (Ushas, a goddess), storms (the Rudras), and rain (Indra), while others represented abstract qualities such as friendship (Mitra), moral authority (Varuna), kingship (Indra), and speech (Vach, a goddess). Four Vedas

Rigveda - Rig means “Praise ”.

  • The oldest Veda is the Rigveda (1800 – 1100 BCE). It has 1028 hymns called ‘Suktas’ and is a collection of 10 books called ‘Mandalas.’
  • It has 10600 verses
  • Rigvedic books 2-9 deal with cosmology and deities
  • Rigvedic books 2-7 are the oldest and shortest also called family books
  • Rigvedic books 1 & 10 are the youngest and longest
  • 1028 hymns deal with deities including Agni, Indra and are attributed and dedicated to a sage rishi

Samaveda

  • Known as the Veda of melodies and chants , Samaveda dates back to 1200- BCE. This Veda is related to public worship.
  • There are 1549 verses (except 75 verses, all have been taken from Rigveda)
  • The Samaveda is considered as the root of the Indian classical music and dance
  • Samaveda is categorized into two parts – Part-I includes melodies called Gana & Part-II includes three verses book called Archika.
  • Samaveda Samhita is not meant to be read as a text, it is like a musical score sheet that must be heard

Yajurveda - Yajur means “ Worship ”, dates back to 1100-800 BCE

  • It compiles ritual-offering mantras/chants. These chants were offered by the priest alongside a person who used to perform a ritual Atharvaveda - Atharva means “Stable Mind ”
  • The daily procedures of life are very well enumerated in this Veda
  • This Veda contains hymns many of which were charms and magic spells which are meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf

as Gitanjali: Song Offerings , and it was published in 1912 with an introduction by William Butler Yeats.

Vishnu Sharma an Indian scholar, author and sage, who is believed to have written the

Panchatantra, a collection of fables. He was invited to teach the King Sudarshan who ruled a kingdom. He didn’t teach his princes students through conventional means and he had to employ a less orthodox way, and that was to tell a succession of animal fables – one weaving into another – that imparted to them the wisdom they required to succeed their father. After Vishnu Sharma taught the king’s sons, he was offered with valuable gifts which he declined. The king later gave him a title of “Pathak” and after him his family started using “Pathak” as surname. Now also in villages there is belief in Pathak’s that they don’t have to charge anything for knowledge transfer. These five discourse titled “The Lose of Friends”, “The Winning of Friends”, “Of Crows and Owls”, “Loss of Gains”, “Imprudence” – became the Panchantantra – meaning the five (pantra), treatises (tantra) Panchatantra - a compilation of inter-woven series of tales in prose and poetry, mostly animal fables. It was compiled in Sanskrit (Hindu) and Pali (Bhuddhist). It consists of 5 parts, apart from a brief introductory narrative.  The Panchatantra is a series of inter-woven colourful tales, mostly fables. According to its introductory narration, these inter-woven tales are meant to illustrate, for the benefit of three ignorant princes, the primary Hindu principles of nïti - "the wise conduct of life" or "prudent worldly conduct".