LIT 2 - WORLD LITERATURE

GROUP 1 REPORTERS

AFRO - ASIAN LITERATURE

A. INDIA

• INDIA- is part of the continent of Asia. Most of India forms a peninsula, which
means it is surrounded by water and three sides. India is the largest country of Asia
in terms of area and population.
*China is number one in terms of area and population*

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Literary Periods.
> The Indus Valley civilization flourished in northern India between 2500 and 1500
B.C.
> Aryans - a group of nomadic warriors and herder
- the earliest known migrants into India. They brought with them a well-developed
language (Sanskrit) and literature and a set of religious beliefs.

Vedic Period (1500 B.C.- 500 B.C.). This period is named for the Vedas, a set of
hymns that formed the cornerstone of Aryan culture. Hindus consider the Vedas,
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.

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Vedas- most ancient hindu scriptures, contain hymns, philosophy, and guidance on
ritual for the priest of Vedic religions.
Aryans- a group of people who were originally from central Asia. They are the ones
who founded the Vedic religions and established a caste system of hierarchical
classes.

CASTE SYSTEM- class structure that is determined by birth; social structure in which
class is determined by heredity.
*hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (religion/means of
duty)

SOCIAL STRUCTURE (least to highest)

1. Dalits - outcastes; street sweepers, latrine cleaners; did all menial jobs
2.Shudras- laborers
3.Vaishyas- farmers, traders and merchants
4.Khastriyas- warriors and rulers
5.Brahmins - priest and teachers

•Rig Veda -Wrote by Vyasa.

•It is a large collection of hymns in praise of the gods, which are chanted in various
rituals.
•It is the earliest of the four vedas and one of the most important texts of the Hindu-
tradition.

•THE FOUR(4) INDO - ARYAN VEDAS

•Rig Veda - contains hymns about their mythology.
•Sama Veda - consists mainly of hymns about religious rituals.
•Yajur Veda - contains instructions for religious rituals.
•Atharva Veda - consists of spells against enemies , sorcerers,and diseases.

Epic and Buddhist Age (500 B.C. – A.D.). The period of composition of the two great
epics, Mahabharata and the Ramayana. This time was also the growth of later Vedic
literature, new Sanskrit literature, and Buddhist literature in Pali. The Dhammapada
was also probably composed during this period. The Maurya Empire (322-230 B.C.)
ruled by Ashoka promoted Buddhism and preached goodness, nonviolence, and
‘righteousness’ although this period was known for warfare and iron-fisted rule. The
Gupta Dynasty (320 -467 B.C.) was the next great political power. During this time,
Hinduism reached a full flowering and was evident in culture and the arts.

Mahabharata is one of the two major epics of ancient India. It is a vast and complex
narrative that tells the story of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapur, a
kingdom in ancient India.

- The Mahabharata is believed to have been composed between 400 BCE to 400 CE.
-The Mahabharata is composed of 18 books, called Parvas, and contains over
100,000 couplets, making it one of the longest epics in the world. The story revolves
around the Kuru dynasty, whose succession was contested by two branches of the
family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas were five brothers, each with
their unique strengths and weaknesses, while the Kauravas were 100 brothers, led
by Duryodhana, the eldest.

• Vyasa is the legendary author of the Mahabharata.

• The Bhagavad Gita - a philosophical dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna that
takes place on the battlefield before the start of the war. The Bhagavad Gita is
considered one of the most important texts in Hinduism and has influenced Indian
philosophy and spirituality for centuries.
- The same way as the Gospels are by Christians.
- Part of the epic story of Mahabharata.

RAMAYANA
•The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit, probably not before 300 BC.
•When we say Sanskrit it is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that is the classical
language of India and Hinduism.
•It consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.
•Ramayana is widely recognized as a first major work of Sanskrit literature.
•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.
•This is a story of a devoted husband and wife separated by evil forces and then
reunited after overcoming great prevails has universal human appeal, this theme has
reached its literary peak in a hindu-tradition.
•It's the story of a god who is born into human form to destroy the forces of evil--in
this case, the asuras, or demons, which are probably the gods of the pre-Indo-
European religion of India.

Rama is an incarnation, or atavar, of the Hindu god Vishnu, the preserver or

sustainer of life.

The Ramayana is also a great love story, of Rama and Sita, who are destined for each
other, since Sita is an incarnation of Vishnu's wife, Lakshmi. Sita is seen by many as
the personification of Indian femininity--beautiful, submissive, passive, and loyal.
When she is carried off, she preserves her purity while Rama almost literally moves
heaven and earth to rescue her.

Dhammapada - "words/verses of the teaching" the most general advice that this can
give us is to avoid all evil, to cultivate our soul, and to cleanse one's own mind.
In Roman catholic, this is equivalent to the psalms and proverbs.

Classical Period (A.D. – 1000 A.D.). The main literary language of northern India
during this period was Sanskrit, in contrast with the Dravidian languages of southern
India. Sanskrit, which means' perfect speech’ is considered a sacred language, the
language spoken by the gods and goddesses. As such, Sanskrit was seen as the only
appropriate language for the noblest literary works. Poetry and drama peaked during
this period. Beast fables such as the Panchatantra were popular and often used by
religious teachers to illustrate moral points.

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Beast Fables- a prose or verse fable or short story that usually has morals. Animal
characters are represented as acting with human feelings and motives

*The Bible is equivalent to Bhagavad Gita because it contains scriptures and hindu
text. The story of bhagavad gita is the same as the gospels as by the Christians.
The panchatantra- is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated fables in Sanskrit
verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
"Panchatantra" is a combination of the words Pancha- meaning five in Sanskrit, and
Tantra- meaning weave. Literally translated, it means interweaving five skeins of
traditions and teaching into a text.
Sakuntala - a Sanskrit drama by kalidasa,tells as the love between sakuntala and King
Dushyanta.
Sakuntala is a daughter of a royal sage and the nymph menaka.
Sage karnva adopts shakuntala as her true daughter.
Dushyanta - is a king of hastinapur
Bharata- is a son of king dushyanta and sakuntala.
Sage Durwasa - cursed Shakuntala saying that the person who was thinking about it
would forget her.
The Little Clay Cart is a Sanskrit play revolving around a romantic theme of the love
of a high-born man for a courtesan. It contains dramatic developments involving a
dynastic overthrow and contains realistic portrayals of a wide range of characters.

Charudatta – He is the protagonist of the play, and is portrayed as the perfect

human being in terms of generosity, and steadfastness. Charudatta is a Brahmin,
who has lost all his wealth due to the charities and sacrifices he made for others.
In the play, Vasantasena is depicted as a strong character. She is not a conventional
heroine waiting for a hero to come woo her. According to the play, Vasantasena falls
in love with Chārudatta, a young Brahmin who loses all his wealth due to his
philanthropic and altruistic nature and is seriously impoverished.

The main focus of this story is to give value to the lower class people.

Medieval and Modern Age (A.D. 1000 – Present). Persian influence on literature
was considerable during this period. Persian was the court language of the Moslem
rulers. In the 18th century India was directly under the British Crown and remained
so until its Independence in 1947. British influence was strong and modern-day
Indians are primarily educated in English. Many have been brought into the world of
Western learning at the expense of learning about their own culture.

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*Persian was important official language of India during Ghaznavid Period, Mughal
Period and Afghan Period, and Persian influenced many of the Indian languages. The
ancient Persian emperors created art in many forms including metalwork, rock
carvings, weaving and architecture.*

Gitanjali - is a book of poems for "song offerings"

- It is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.

It was originally published in India in 1910 ( Bengali ) and its translation followed in
1912 ( English ).

Rabindranath Tagore - Bengali poet , playwright , writer , composer , philosopher ,

social reformer and painter.
- received the Nobel Prize for Literature ( by translating Gitanjali ) and that makes
him the first non-European to receive the honor

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.

Taj Mahal
An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by
order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, the Taj
Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world's heritage.
The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal
garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh.

Construction started in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the
guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its cloisters
were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD.
Today, it is listed as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Mughal Emperor
Shah Jahan, lost his wife Mumtaz Mahal on June 17, 1631. He was inconsolable and
envisaged a memorial that would benefit his love.
The Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in the
whole range of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Mumtaz Mahal died from postpartum hemorrhage in Burhanpur on 17 June 1631

while giving birth to her 14th child, after a prolonged labor of around 30 hours.

The Black Taj Mahal (Kala Taj) is a legendary black marble mausoleum that is said to
have been planned to be built across the Yamuna River opposite the Taj Mahal in
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan is said to have desired a
mausoleum for himself similar to that of the one he had built in memory of his
second wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

In the later part of his rule, he was imprisoned by his son, it is said that Shah Jahan
decided to build another makbara of black stone which could have cost a lot more
than the Taj Mahal. Fearing it might happen, his son Aurangjeb (after he revolted
and became king) imprisoned him inside the Agra fort in this room.

On Learning to be an Indian. an essay by Santha Rama Rau, illustrates the telling

effects of colonization on the lives of the people particularly the younger generation.
Thewriter humorously narrates the conflicts that arise between her grandmother’s
traditional. Indian values and the author’s own British upbringing.