India Literature Flashcards
a set
of hymns that formed the cornerstone of Aryan culture. Hindus consider the
_____, 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.
Vedas
which has come to mean “hymns of supreme sacred
knowledge,” is the foremost collection or Samhita made up of 1,028 hymns.
The oldest of the Vedas, it contains strong, energetic, non-speculative hymns,
often comparable to the psalms in the Old Testament. The Hindus regard
these hymns as divinely inspired or ‘heard’ directly from the gods.
Rigveda
ruled by Ashoka promoted Buddhism and preached
goodness, nonviolence, and ‘righteousness’ although this period was known for
warfare and iron-fisted rule.
The maurya empire
The period of composition of the two
great epics, Mahabharata and the Ramayana
EPIC AND BUDDHIST AGE
was the next
great political power. During this time, Hinduism reached a full flowering and
was evident in culture and the arts.
The gupta dynasty
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.
Mahabharata
is one of the greatest and
most beautiful of the Hindu scriptures. It is regarded by the Hindus in
somewhat the same way as the Gospels are by Christians. It forms part of
Book IV and is written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Prince
Arjuna and his friend and charioteer, Krishna, who is also an earthly
incarnation of the god Vishnu.
The bhagavad gita (The blessed Lord’s Song)
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.
Ramayana
Classical Period (A.D. – 1000 A.D.). The main literary language of northern
India during this period was
Sanskrit
languages of
southern India.
Dravidian
The Fables of
_____ after the narrator, and Indian sage named
Bidpai
Beast fables such as the ______ were
popular and often used by religious teachers to illustrate moral points.
Panchatantra
The original text is a mixture of Sanskrit prose and stanzas of verse,
with the stories contained within one of five ______ . The introduction,
which acts as an enclosing frame for the entire work, attributes the stories to a
learned Brahman named Vishnusarman, who used the form of animal fables to
instruct the three dull-witted sons of a king.
From the
Frame storis
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.
Sakantula
) is attributed to Shudraka, a king. The characters in this play include a Brahman merchant who has lost his money
through liberality, a rich courtesan in love with a poor young man, much
description of resplendent palaces, and both comic and tragic or near-tragic
emotional situations.
The little clay cart
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.
Gitanjali: Song offerings
Gitanjali: Song offerings
Rabindranath Tagore
a poem by Sahir Ludhianvi, is about the mausoleum in
North India built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz-i-
Mahal. The façade of this grandiose structure is made of white marble and is
surrounded by water gardens, gateways, and walks. The tomb at the center of
the dome stands on a square block with towers at each corner. The
construction of the building took twenty years to complete involving some 20,
000 workers.
The Taj Mahal
an essay by Santha Rama Rau illustrates the
telling effects of colonization on the lives of the people particularly the
younger generation. The writer humorously narrates the conflicts that arise
between her grandmother’s traditional Indian values and the author’s own
British upbringing.
On learning to be an indian
literally “the belief of the people of India,” is the predominant faith of
India and of no other nation. The Hindus are deeply absorbed with God and the
creation of the universe.
Hinduism
