Ancient Indian Literature

Antiquity to Classical Period

 In quest of ‘Indianness’

The term ‘Indian literature’

is of recent origin; the
application of the ‘Indian’
to denote the sum total of
the writings in the many
languages of India
belongs to the
contemporary mind.
 Blame it on the
Westerners!

It is fair that it was the Western writers on

India who coined the term ‘Indian Literature’
but they used it in another sense,- as a
synonym for Sanskrit literature.
 Early Sanskrit Literature
Vedas (Vedic Literature: 1500 – 1000 BCE) – (1)
considered the earliest literary record of Indo – Aryan
civilization and the most sacred books of India; (2)
consist of original scriptures of Hindu teachings
containing spiritual knowledge regarding all aspects of
life; (3) not written by humans but it is believed that
God revealed and taught Vedic hymns to people, who
then passed them down through generations by mouth

Mahabharata “Great India” (Epic Sanskrit Literature:

400 – 100 BCE) – (1) great epic of the Bharata
Dynasty, written/complied by a Brahmin named Vyasa;
(2) regarded as Hinduism’s birth and a code of ethics
for Hindus; (3) ‘longest epic poem ever written’ which
narrates the war between two groups of cousins
during the Kurukshetra War

Ramayana (Epic Sanskrit Literature: 7 – 4 BCE) – (1)

regarded as the most important in Hindu literature
(one of the two major ancient epics), written by
Valmiki; (2) considered to be the adikavya, or first
poem in Hindu tradition; (3) tells the adventure of
Prince Rama as he rescues his wife Sita from the
demon king Ravana, including lessons in morality and
faith for Hindus
 Classical Sanskrit
Literature
Abhijnanasakuntalam (Classical Sanskrit
Literature: 2 BCE – 4 AD) – (1) prominent
surviving Sanskrit literary from the classical period,
famously known as “The Recognition of
Sakuntala” (through a token), believed to be
written by Kalidasa; (2) first ever translation made
of an Indian play into Western languages; (3) the
play was not composed entirely in Sanskrit and
contains elements of a Middle Indian dialect
known as Maharashtri Prakrit

Arthashastra and Neetishastra (Classical Sanskrit

Literature: 2 BCE – 3 CE)– (1) written by Vishnu
Gupta, who authored the ancient Indian political
treaties; (2) Arthashastra discusses monetary and
fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and
war strategies in detail, it also outlines the duties
of a ruler; (3) Chanakya Niti is a collection of
aphorisms, said to be selected by Chanakya from
the various shastras

Kama Sutra (400 BCE – 200 CE) – (1) attributed

to Vatsyayana, an Indian philosopher; (2) an
ancient Indian test which is considered as the
primary Sanskrit work on human sexuality; (3) one
of the first systematic studies of human sexual
behavior in world literature
 Milieu of India
Vedic Period/Age (1700 BC – 500 BC)

Known to be the “heroic age” of the ancient

Indian civilization

“formative period” of the Indian civilization

Hinduism (New Religion)

Mahabharata and Upanishads

Caste System (Social Structure)

Creation of Vedas (oldest Indian texts)

Aryan Invasion (Theory)

Dravidians were pushed south

“India in Greece” Edward Pocke

“Greek language is a derivation of Sanskrit”

Early Vedic/Rig Vedic Period

Formation of kingdoms of ancient

India

Nomadic to settled village

communities

Aryans (Indo-European speaking

people) (Vedas)

Battle of the 10 chiefs

Sudas vs Vishvamitra (priest who

was replaced by sudas) (organized
a confederacy of 10 tribes)

Related to the Rigvedas

Later Vedic Mahanjanadapas “Great Kingdoms”

The Sama, the Yajur, The Atharvaveda, the Brahmanas, and

the Upanishads, the Aranyakas

Contributors of this time

Kuru-Pancala (powerful tribe)

16 monarchies and republics (Indo-Gangnetic Plains)

Historical context – sanskrit epics

Buddhism and Jainism

Maurya Empire the classical age of Sanskrit

Mahabatra and Ramayana

Clan to territorial, Chiefdoms to Kingdoms

Kingdoms were provided with power and status because of

territorial identity

Abhishekha (ceremonies)

Sabha and Parishdad (assemblies)

Caste
500 BC – 300 AD

Varnas (four classes) Hymn in the Rigveda

Oligarchic

Single or confederacy of clans

Agrarian economy

Brahmi (most used script)

Concept of money

Jainism and Buddhism (Major)

Gangnes valley – political activity (6th-5th century

BCE)

Alexander the Great

Mauryan Empire (almost the whole sub-continent)

Decline led to rise of small kingdoms

Indo-Greek rule

Demetrius (Greek) gained control of northwestern

India
Other Kingdoms

Oligarchies

Shunga

Kalinga

Andhras

Southern Kingdoms

Trade
References

Culturualindia.net (n.d.). Indian History Timeline. Retrieved from

https://www.culturalindia.net/indian- history/timeline.html

Timemaps.com (n.d.) The Vedic Age on Ancient India. Retrieved from

https://www.timemaps.com/civilizations/the-vedic-age/

Newworldencyclopedia.org (n.d.). Vedic Period. Retrieved from

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Vedic_Period

Newworldencyclopedia.org (n.d.). Mahanjanadapas. Retrieved from

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mahajanapadas

Wolpert S.A., Alam M., Calkins P.B., Champakalakshmi R., Dikshit K.R, Schwartzberg J. E.,
Percival Spear T.G., Allchin F. R., Srivastava A.L., Subrahmanyam S., Thapar S., The
Editors of Enyclopedia Britannica, Et al. (04 Sept, 2019). India. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/India

https://www.learnreligions.com/what-are-vedas-1769572 https://www.learnreligions.com/the-
story-of-ramayana-1770169 https://www.learnreligions.com/the-ramayana-1770168
https://classicalartsuniverse.com/abhijnanasakuntalam-a-summary-of-kalidasas-play/

http://www.induslibrary.com/arthashastra-and-chanakya-niti/

https://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/