INDIAN

LITERATURE
 INDIA
• known as “THE
LAND PRAYER”
• the world's most
populous country
in 2023.
 INDIAN LITERATURE

• considered as the oldest literature in the

world.
•  the earliest works of Indian literature were
orally transmitted.
• based on piety, a deeply religious spirit
• Old writing system is called “PICTOGRAPH”
• they believe in reincarnation
 INDIA’S SANSKRIT LITERATURE

•  an ancient and classical

language of India 
 ROOTS OF
INDIAN
LITERATURE
 RIGVEDA
• a large collection of
hymns in praise of the
gods, which are
chanted in various
rituals. 
 UPANISHADS
• consists of a group of
sketches, illustrations,
explanations and critical
comments on the religious
thoughts suggested by the
poetic hymns of Rig-Veda.
 RAMAYANA AND MAHABARATA
• most important
epics of India.
RAMAYAN
•about the
reincarnation of the
creator god Vishnu in
the person of Rama,
who is the hero of the
epic.
 MAHABARATA
• deals with the other
reincarnation of Vishnu
in the person of Krishna.
It is considered as the
greatest epic of India
 SHAKUNTALA
•a story of a king who
goes hunting in the
woods and meets a
beautiful maiden
named Shakuntala with
whom he falls in love.
 PANCHATANTRA
•a book that said
to contain the
first fables ever
written.
 INDIAN
CONTEMPORARY
WRITERS
Suzanna Arundhati Roy
• an Indian author best known
for her novel The God of
Small Things, which won the
Booker Prize for Fiction in
1997 and became the best-
selling book by a non-
expatriate Indian author.
 Vikram Seth
• an Indian novelist and
poet. He has written
several novels, poetry, as
well as non-fiction and
children's fiction.
Noted works: A Suitable Boy, The Golden Gate, The
Humble Administrator’s Garden, Beastly Tales and
 Amitav Ghosh
• One of the most prolific and
highly-regarded authors of
modern Indian literature, he
has written numerous works of
fiction and non-fiction.
Noted works: The Circle of Reason, The Glass Palace, The
Hungry Tide, Sea of Poppies, and The Calcutta
 Khushwant Singh
• Writer, journalist, lawyer and
politician, Khushwant Singh
was a maverick personality in
the Indian literature world.

Noted works: Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the

Nightingale, Truth, Love and a Little Malice, Delhi: A
Novel, and The Company of Women.
Salman Rushdie
• one of the most influential and
acclaimed writers not only in
South Asia, but around the world.
His works touching on topics such
religion, life, and death,
intertwining of Western and Eastern
cultures, and a lot more.
Noted works: Midnight’s Children, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The
Ground Beneath Her Feet, The Enchantress of Florence