LPW (Indian Lit.) Flashcards
- Oral literature and written literature (appeared in India around 16th century during British colonization).
- The roots of Indian Literature may be traced to the Hindu Writings.
- The Hinduism ideology firmly believes in incarnation (cycle of being born)
indian literature
(The Creator, creation, knowledge and Vedas)
brahma
(The Preserver, protect humans and to restore order to the world)
vishnu
(means perfected)– sacred language of Hinduism, start of oral literature by Aryans
sanskrit
(The Destroyer, destroys to recreate and transform the universe)
shiva
- Pre-Hindu Vedic religion
- Oldest of vedas
- Hymns of supreme sacred knowledge
- Regarded as divinely inspired or heard directly from the gods
rig veda
four goals in life ….
dharma - appropriate living
artha - wealth
kama - accumulation of good will
moksha - ultimate liberation from desire
- Sitting at the feet of the teacher
- Consisted of a group of sketches, illustrations, explanations, and critical comments on the religious thought suggested the hymns of Rig-Veda
- Most important doctrine is the existence of single supreme being, the Brahman, and its union with the Atman or self
the upanishads
epics of india
- ramayana
- mahabharata
Literature was nurtured by caste system
- Brahman – scholars and priests
- Kshatriya – rulers, warriors
- Vaisya – merchants, land owners
- Sudra – laborers, commoners, peasant
- Dalits - slaves, untouchables
classical literature
- Considered as the genius writer in classical period
- Raghuvamsa (epic poem)
- Meghaduta (lyric poem about separated lovers)
- Shakuntala (poetic drama about love)
kalidasa
written in Sanskrit language which gave birth to literary words as early as 1500 BCE
vedas
- Hindu movement
- Devotional poems to Hindu gods and goddesses
medieval literature
- Anthology of Buddhist teaching in aphoristic style
the dhammapada
Collection of Indian animal fables, which has had extensive circulation both in the country of its origin and throughout the world. In Europe the work was known under the name The Fables of Bidpai (for the narrator, an Indian sage, Bidpai, called Vidyapati in Sanskrit), and one version reached the West as early as the 11th century.
panchatantra
