Indian literature The Indian Constitution recognizes 14 official languages.

Each has its regional literature, but all owe a debt to a classical culture in Sanskrit. Sanskrit literature has its origins in an oral tradition that produced the Vedic hol te!ts "see #I$%&IS'( so)e ti)e after 1*++ ,C. These ho)ilies and h )ns ga-e rise to )an co))entaries, the )ost fa)ous of which are the &./$IS#/%S. 0ral histor , legend, and )oral tales were later fused into the two great books of #indu tradition, the '/#/,#/1/T/ and the 1/'/2/$/, which ha-e since been used as the sources for countless literar works. 0ther )a3or additions to Sanskrit literature are the .uranas "4++ ,C4/% 14++( and the .ancatantra "/% c.4*+(. ,eginning about 4++ ,C, when ./$I$I produced his Sanskrit gra))ar, there was an outpouring of literature that sought to s ste)atize all learning in the for) of laws for the arts and sciences, called shastras, as well as de-otional, epic, and l ric poetr and st lized dra)a treating either traditional heroic the)es or in-ented plots often set in the 5upta cities of the 4th and *th centur /%. %uring the peak of classical poetr "6th centur /%( )a3or writers such as ,#/1T1I#/1I, 'a ura "fl. /% c.6*+(, and Subhandu "fl. /% c.6*( e)erged. 7/8I%/S/, a poet of note, is better known for his pla Shakuntala. 0ther notable pla wrights include ,hasa "fl. /% c.9++( and ,#/V/,#&TI. Treatises on go-ern)ent, law, and lo-e include /rthashastra, %har)ashastra and 7a)asutra, the last b Vatsa ana "/% c.4++(. The stone inscriptions of the E)peror /soka, )ade in 9:; ,C, showed that Sanskrit was then changing internall and losing its position as the sole -ehicle of cultured e!pression. This change was reflected in the introduction b ,uddhists of the .ali language as a lingua franca co))on to )an regions. The Thera-ada canon, the Tripitaka "*th centur ,C(, and The <ataka Tales and the %ha))apada "both 1st centur /%( are the )a3or .ali te!ts. , the second centur /% se-eral dialects known collecti-el as .rakrits were being used in literature. This de-elop)ent was especiall notable in Sanskrit dra)a, where characters below the rank of ro alt and priesthood often spoke in .rakrits. , /% 1+++ these languages had e-ol-ed to the point of being recognizable as the forerunners of )odern regional tongues. Sanskrit scholars of that ti)e saw the) as e-idence of a cultural decline and labeled the) /pabhra)sa "=decadence=(. %uring the 'iddle /ges Sanskrit was used onl in religious conte!ts b the priesthood. ,engali, 'arathi, and old 5u3arati were a)ong the first $orthern languages to e)erge as literar -ehicles. / )a3or figure of this period was the poet /)ir 7husrou "19*>41>9*(, who included #indi -erses a)ong his .ersian writings. In the south under the e!panding Chola E)pire "1+th41>th centuries( the 7annada, 'ala ala), and Telugu languages achie-ed a literar status pre-iousl held onl b classical literature written in T/'I8. The best4known work of this tradition is perhaps an antholog of lo-e l rics, 7uruntokai "/% c.6*+(. Ta)il and, later, Telugu writing e!ercised a lasting influence on literature in the south, both through its courtl and ) stical -erse and through its )an -ersions of Sanskrit sacred te!ts. In the 6th centur two de-otional sects e)erged in southern India and initiated the ,#/7TI #indu re-i-al. This was a ) stical, personalized )ode of worship that focused on the figures of 1adha47rishna and 1a)a4Sita and produced an abundance of poet4saints of both se!es, philosophers and hagiographers, all of who) wrote in the -ernacular. The )o-e)ent spread throughout India and reached its zenith in the 1:th centur . 'a3or works of the period include the 5itagouinda "c.11?+( of <a adsua "19th centur ( and the Ira)a-atara) "c.19++( b 7a)pan "c.11?+419*+(.

In the latter part of the 'iddle /ges the courts of the 'ogul e)perors "see '05&8S( produced .erso4 /rabic writing, which inspired a literature in &rdu. The )a3or artistic for) was the ghazal, a st lized for) of l rical folk song, and notable e!ponents of the for) include 'uha))ad @uli @utb Shah "c.1**+4 1:11(, Vali "1::?41644(, Sauda "16+6416?1( and 'ir "169>41?1+(. 'irAs protege, 5halib "16;641?:;(, carried the tradition into the 1;th centur . The beginnings of )odern Indian literature can be traced to the establish)ent of ci-il ser-ice training schools and printing presses earl in the 1;th centur . Bhile -ernacular language and culture was taught to ,ritish colonial officials, an awareness of an Indian heritage as well as new Bestern literar and philosophical writing produced a cultural renaissance. In 1?>*, Tho)as ,abington '/C/&8/2, then an ad-isor to the ,ritish go-ern)ent on Indian affairs, scornfull dis)issed the entire Indian literar heritage, thereb inspiring a reaction in fa-or of Indian literar works and the -ernacular a)ong Indians. 'acaula established English4language schooling for IndiansC conseDuentl , English beca)e a )a3or tool for political pole)ic and social refor), as well as for literar e!pression, and its literature began to shape -ernacular writing. .ioneers such as 1a3a 1a))ohan 102 "166941?>>(, 'aha-ir .rasad %-i-ed "1?:441;>?(, and /runacala 7a-i "fl. c.16?+( de-eloped a utilitarian prose st le, whereas 'ichael 'adhusudan %utt "1?9446>( and <a ashankar .rasad "1??;41;>6( introduced blank -erse and the sonnet into Indian poetr . 'adhusudan %utt wrote the first pla s )odeled on Bestern dra)a, and Sir 1abindranath T/501E introduced the short stor to -ernacular writing in India. The no-el was pioneered in India b such writers as ,anki) Chandra C#/TTE1<EE and #ari $ara an /pte "1?:44 1;1;(. The )a3or poets of the period include 8aks)inath ,ezbarua "1?:?41;>?( and 'uha))ad I@,/8 "c.1?6:41;>?(. Twentieth4centur writing has kept ali-e the senti)ental ro)anticis) of the 1;th centur . The social realis) of earlier works de-eloped first under the influence of nationalist leaders such as 'ahat)a 5andhi and later under 'ar!ist ideolog . 1eaction to the figureheads of the Indian =renaissance= led to e!peri)entation with surrealis), s )bolis), and the st le of Ezra .ound and T. S. Eliot. Conte)porar writing see)s to de)onstrate a general trend toward introspection, an interest in ps cholog , and e!peri)entation with new for)s of writing within a general e!istentialist fra)ework. 'uch significant writing has been published in English. .ioneers in this field included 'ichael %utt "1?9446>( and Sudhindranath %utt "1;+14:+(, Tagore and Sri /&10,I$%0. Saro3ini $/I%& achie-ed fa)e both as a poet in English and a patriot. /nd such influential works as the autobiographies of 5andhi and of <awaharlal $ehru were written in English. /lthough English language literature was -iewed with )i!ed feelings in post4Independence India, )an conte)porar writers ha-e achie-ed fa)e44both in India and internationall b choosing to write in the language all educated Indians understand. So)e leading conte)porar figures in /nglo4Indian poetr include $issi) E!ekiel, %o) 'oraes, .ritish $and , 7a)ala %as, and /. 7. 1a)anu3an. /)ong the outstanding writers of fiction are 1. 7. $/1/2/$, 1a3a 1/0, /)ita- 5hosh, and /nita %esai. ,ibliograph E ,asha), /. 8., / Cultural #istor of India "1;?4(C Clark, T. B., ed., The $o-el in India "1;6+(C %i)ock, Edward, ed., The 8iterature of India "1;64(C 7ripalani, 7rishna, 'odern Indian 8iterature "1;61(C 8al, .., The Concept of an Indian 8iterature "1;6>(C 'ukher3ee, 'eenakshi, The Twice ,orn FictionE The)es and TechniDues of the Indian $o-el in English, re-. ed. "1;64( and 1ealis) and 1ealit E The $o-el and Societ in India "1;?*(C $ahal, C., The $ew 8iteratures in English "1;?:(C .rasad, '., ed., 8i-ing Indian4English .oetsE /n /ntholog of Critical Essa s "1;?;(C 1a)a)urti, 7.S., 1ise of the Indian $o-el in English "1;?6(C Tiwar , 1.S., Critical /pproach to Classical Indian .oetics "1;?:(C Billia)s, #a dn '., ed., Studies in 'odern Indian Fiction in English, 9 -ols. "1;6*(C Binternitz, 'aurice, / #istor of Indian 8iterature, > -ols., re-. ed. "1;?14?*(.

Mahabharata, The G)uh4hah4bahA4ruh4tuhH The 'ahabharata, a classical Indian epic written in Sanskrit, is traditionall ascribed to a legendar sage, V asa, but was actuall co)piled b )an anon )ous poets and #indu priests between the *th centur ,C and the 4th centur /%. The poe) is co)posed of )ore than ;+,+++ couplets that relate the turbulent histor of the ancient kingdo) of 7urukshetra and contains the teaching of the god 71IS#$/, the ,#/5/V/% 5IT/. Bith the 1/'/2/$/, the 'ahabharata is the principal source of #indu social and religious doctrine. %irector .eter ,rookAs epic stage adaptation of the 'ahabharata, first produced in France in 1;?*, was fil)ed in 1;?;. ,ibliograph E Carriere, <.4C., The 'ahabharata, trans. fro) the French b .eter ,rook "1;?6(C %utt, E. $., trans., The 'ahabharata "1?;*41;+*C repr. 1;:+(C 8al, .., The 'ahabharata "1;?+(C Van ,uitenen, <. /., ed. and trans., The 'ahabharata, 9 -ols. "1;644?1(. Bhakti GbahkA4teeH In #induis), bhakti, a Sanskrit word, )eans =de-otion to 5od= or =lo-e of 5od.= ,hakti in-ol-es a surrender to 5od freDuentl intensified b the continuous repetition of his na)e. In the ,haga-ad 5ita, a religious classic of #induis), the discipline, or path "205/(, of bhakti is one of three that are taught as )ethods of gaining liberation, the highest goal in )an t pes of #induis). %uring what historians call the ,hakti period, fro) about the ?th centur until the present, de-otional )o-e)ents within #induis) ha-e celebrated bhakti to the e!tent, in so)e cases, of -iewing ser-itude to 5od as superior e-en to liberation as classicall concei-ed. %e-otion )a in-ol-e s )bols or i)ages, or it )a be the worship of 5od as all4per-ading, for)less spirit. 7arl #. .otter