Module #1

The Literature of India

This module gives an overview of India and its literature. Specifically, it contains notes on the following
subtopics: Country Overview which gives facts and details about India; Literature which describes the forms
of Indian literature; and Rabindranath Tagore, India’s best and most famous writer.

After reading this module, the students should be able to:

a. Explain the origin of Indian literature;
b. Relate the characteristics of Indian literature;
c. Compare classical and modern Indian drama; and
d. Recognize the contributions of Rabindranath Tagore to Indian literature.

By: Monalisa M. Samonte (Part-time Faculty)

 Country Overview

 It occupies the greater part of South Asia.

 Its official Sanskrit name is Bharat, the name of the legendary king
in Mahabharata.
 Its capital is New Delhi.
 Its government is a constitutional republic.
 It’s the world’s second most populous country.
 Hinduism is the mainly practiced religion in the country; Islam is the
second.
 Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism (Dharmic religions) all
originated from India.
 While Hindi is the official language, other widely spoken languages
are Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Rajasthani,
Sindhi, Assamese (Asamiya), Maithli and Odia.
 Some festivals are: Rakshabandhan which is celebrated on the
full-moon day of the Hindu month of Sravana (July/August) to
celebrate the love of a brother for his sister; Deepawali or Diwali,
which is a festival of lights symbolizing the victory of righteousness
and the lifting of spiritual darkness celebrated on the 15th day of
Kartika (October/November); Janmashtami, which is celebrated
due to the belief that Lord Vishnu is invoked in his human
incarnation as Krishna on his birth anniversary.

Historical Background

The Aryans
• After the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, the Aryans came to the
Indus Valley. They were Caucasians (white race) and spoke Sanksrit.
They migrated from the north and drove southward the dark-skinned
Dravidians (India's aborigines). Consequently, they founded small
kingdoms in the fertile plains of North India and brought the Vedic
literature, Hindu religion, the caste system, and the Sanskrit (old Indo-
Aryan language).

• Initially, their religion was more of nature-worship, praying to gods for

certain favors. Their gods and demigods represented the moon, sun,
storm, fire, and other natural phenomena. As they are gradually
transformed from tribal and indigenous to a more complicated survival,
they also began to be interested in life after death. Hence, the birth of
Hinduism.
 Literature

Characteristics It reflects the Hindu mind and the essence of spirituality.

of Indian
Literature
Most literary writings manifest that religion and philosophy are inseparable.

Family is given importance as both the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata

deal with family affairs.

These are sacred books of ancient Sanskrit hymns with comments believed to
The have been revealed by Brahma (creator God in Hinduism) and has become
the basis of Brahmanical caste system:

Vedas the Brahmins (priests and scholars);

the Kshatriyas (kings, governors, and warriors);
the Vaishyas (cattle herders, agriculturists, artisans, and merchants;
and
the Shudras (laborers and service providers)
There are four Vedas:
the Rigveda, which is a collection of Sanskrit hymns;
the Yajurveda, which are prose mantras for worship rituals said by a priest
while an individual performed the ritual;
the Samaveda, which are melodies and chants; and
the Atharvaveda, which contains the atharvañas or the procedures for
everyday life.

Each Veda consists of:

the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions);
the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices, and symbolic-
sacrifices);
the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices); and
the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy, and spiritual
knowledge).
 • It has been essentially lyrical in nature from
its earliest beginnings to the present.

• Up until today, poetry recitals are common

occurences in India, especially in small
towns and villages where illiteracy is still

Hindu prevalent. These simple, spontaneous

gatherings help to preserve the ancient
religious hymns and also encourage
creative expression. Often, the verses are
sung or chanted to musical

Poetry accompaniment, which helps keep modern

poetry close to its ancient roots.

• The Mahabharata and the Ramayana stand

out because of their grandeur in concept and
structure.

The Indian • Both epics illustrate significant truths of life

through incidents and characters.

Epics
The In Indian mythology, it is said that Brahma invented drama for the pleasure of
the deities.

Indian However, the elements of drama are also present in the Vedas, such as:

Drama the dramatic dialogue can be traced to the Rigveda;

the elements of the song to the rituals of Yajurveda;
the sentiment from the incantations of the Atharvaveda.

The four basic types of ancient Indian drama are:

1. Nataka, which is considered the highest dramatic type, drew from the epics
Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Puranas poetic tales about the gods
Vishnu and Shiva;
2. Prakaranas, which were plays about the domestic life of mortals, their
virtues, and their weaknesses;
3. Prahsanas, which were plays of the upper class, were vulgar farces of the
lower castes which ridiculed the upper caste; and
4. Yatra, which originated in Eastern India and began as a form of a religious
entertainment, later on adopted by travellings bands who dramatized the
amorous escapades of the god Krishna.

Sanskrit Shakuntala, a Sanskrit play dramatizing the story of Shakuntala as told in the
epic Mahabharata and written by Kalidasa, is known for its lovely poetry,
playfulness, and uninterrupted humor, chiefly represents Sanskrit drama.
Drama
It possesses the theory of "rasa" or flavor, sometimes translated as sentiment.

One views rasa as "pleasant sentiment belonging to the reader whose

dominant emotions, derived derived from experiences or inherited instincts are
evoked by the reading of poems into an ideal or impersonalized form of joy; an
appreciation or enjoyment, consisting of a pleasant mental condition. The
sentiment thus evoked is essentially universal in character, and the aesthetic
pleasure resulting from it is not individuall but generic and disinterested, being
such as would be common to all trained readers."
 • Performed on a simple platform in the hall or
courtyard of the royal palace amid sumptous
hangings and impressive architecture and made no
pretense to realism.
• Actors made no great attempt to create the illusion of

Indian reality. A curtain sufficed to conceal them as they

dressed for their parts, waited for their cues, and
supplied the appropriate sound effects.
• There was no proper scene, except for decorations

Theater and props like seats, thrones, and chariots. One

concession to realistic staging was the employment
of real animals for drawing a chariot across the
platform.
• Female roles were generally assigned to women, but
boys and young men would substitute for parts which
required too much exertion.

Modern • It does not carry on the tradition of Sanskrit drama.

• It is strongly influenced by British colonization which
brought out numerous well-equipped theaters in
Indian Calcutta.
• Original modern plays are patterned after English

Drama models; however, the Indian People's Theater

Association is trying to evolve a distinctly Indian
theater form based on indigenous folklore.
 Most Notable
Writer
Ranbindranath Tagore
• He was born in Calcutta on May 7, 1861 and died on August 7, 1941.
• He was a Bengali poet, short story writer, song composer, playwright,
essayist, and painter.
• He introduced new prose and verse poems and the use of colloquial
language into Bengali literature, thus freeing it from traditional models
based on classical Sanskrit.
• He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice
versa.
• He is regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century
India.
• He became the first non-European artist to receieve the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1913 for his best and most famous work, Gitanjali ( a
collection of poems about spirituality and real-life complexities).
• Some of his famous quotes are: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke
and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."; "Faith is the
bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."; "You can't cross the sea
merely by standing and staring at the water."; "The butterfly counts not months
but moments, and has time enough."

References:

Reyes, D. D. (2011). World literature: literary gems of the East and West (1st ed.) Rex Book Store, Inc.
People and Lifestyle. Retrieved from https://knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/festivals.php
Robinson, W. (2020). Rabindranath Tagore Bengali poet. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabindranath-Tagore
Wolpert, S. (2020). India. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/India

Suggested Reading:

Doshi, T. & Rushdie S. (Novelists). (2020 February 27). Novelists Tishani Doshi and Salman
Rushdie on fiction, poetry, and India [Audio podcast].
https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/asia-depth-podcast-novelists-tishani-doshi-andsalman-
rushdie-fiction-poetry-and-india