5.1 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT A language usually refers to the spoken language, a method of communication. A script refers to a collection of characters used to write one or more languages. A language is a method of communication. Scripts are writing systems that allow the transcription of a language, via alphabet sets. 5.1.1 Indus Script (Harappan Script) After the pictographic and petroglyph representations of early man, the first evidence of a writing system can be seen in the Indus valley civilization, the earliest evidence of which is found on the pottery and pot shreds of Rahman Dheriand. These potter's marks, engraved or painted, are strikingly similar to those appearing in the mature Indus symbol system. Later the writing system can be seen on the seals and sealings of Harappan period. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short (5 symbols), making it difficult to judge whether or not these symbols constituted a script used to record a language, or even symbolize a writing system. The long inscriptions are found in Gujarat, particularly Dholavira where we find slabs of stone inscribed with inscriptions which might represent name plates of the houses with 24 to 34 symbols. The characters are largely pictorial but include many abstract signs too. The inscriptions are thought to have been written mostly from right-to-left (because there are several instances of the symbols being compressed on the left side, as if the writer is running out of space at the end of the row there), but they sometimes follow a boustrophedonic (carphalekhana) style. The number of principal signs is about 400. Since that is consideredIndian Traditio ter . too large a number for each charac » instead to belogo-syllabic | Indus script is non-linguistic, which ., There were arguments that ie ots and are similar to totem pole, ib families, clans, gods, and teliS}O™ © 142 existence of too many > “s the extreme brevity of the ee tm looking sign repetition that is robes rare signs and the lack of the rando! aise typical of language. is a linguistic system and the | "“tastittsy it is a linguistic sys | rah, But others have argued that ™ cssor of Dravidian script | awa" debate shifted to whether it is the pI | Siggy or the Brahmi script. 5 Est i script hi Some scholars have argued that the Brahmi ert bes some (ae connection with the Indus system, but others, suc! | Mahadevan, have argued that the script had a relation to a Dravidian language. This debate has been further fuelled by the emuments of who were the init and original inhabitants of India—the Aryan’s or the Dravidian’. Brahmi Script a Brahmi is the originator of most of the present Indian scripts. | _InoLanus including Devanagari, Bengali, Tamil, and Malayalam. It developed Bea atk into two broad types in Northern and Southern India; the Northern oa one being more angular and the Southern one being more circular. It orga was deciphered in 1838 by James Prinsep. The best-known Brahmi ie inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, ais dated at 250-232 BCE. ieisenaiies Many scholars support that Brahmi was probably derived from Aramaic influen: while others support that the Brahmi language can have some Indus script influence te Bee conforms te the syllabic writing system and was used more‘ writing Prakrit, the language spoken by ordinary people initi nskit alo was url i ster y people initially, and later San According to the epigraphers all Indian seri in i re ale two main famnilies of scripts; Bi aie ge ved from Brahm. The 1. Devanagari, which i : Hindi, Gujarati Berl eee languages of northern and western I" : f s i, Dogri, Panjabi, et 2. Dravidian, which shows eeaheeieen a. a the fc Evolution of various Indian scr Ee poe alee. Kharosthi Script: Itis the sister sensagsn en : Itis the ; te from right to left. It was used ine and a contemporary of Brahmi. twos sometimes also called the Gandhari Serpe pare, culture Of north-western Ind * of Buddhist texts from presentaday Aggro is insetiptions have been foundin te Gupta Script: It is also known ag nistan and Pakistan, cits Sanskrit in the Gupta period, It gave i at $4, 30 to be aphonogram, the script is Senetally gp the Late Brahmi scri for W 5 cript. It was use’ tse'to the Nagari, Sarada and Siddha™ at *ition of Evolution of Languages and Script in india seripts which in t ae ip! urn gave rise to the = 31 ah ns )portant scripts of India, such as Devanagari. the Devanagari script. It bi stern variant of the G . ae e Gupta was used to write both It is the main script at a Present to presently to write Sanskrit write standard Hindi is composed of Deva Mee and is one of the most used Stine aun ae aa poth religious and urbi 1g, God and Nagari mea 1g systems in the world. It : bane or sophisticated, ning city, which meant that it, wa Itis written from left to right, has a sb =i Pe Giiteedkee preference for symmetrical BRE Ieiecitteor, ae seoaisals by a horizontal line that ee ee scripts such as Bangla, Oriya ae oo script appears different from other Indic very similar, except for the angles and ae ay a oe examination reveals they are Geradaleerpe ihe cai Sac at : vada, or S developed around the 8th Perales script, of the Brahmic family of serps, Lr eee eae raids used for writing Sanskrit and Kashmiri. Originally piectog tierce nrminieanci re to Kashmir, and it is now rarely used 1 ceremoni i rene fr Sst he ae remonial purposes. Sharada is another amatrika script (Kutila): i i ee eee Bengali-Assamese script defines a ati \udi script. This eastern Nagari script or e unified usage of Bengali script i Fe hi cof Bengali script and Assamese script ee ba nia i yatiotions within. Its usage is associated with the two main languages — Western India land script: i V pt: The Landa scripts, me i i Punjabi word used to refer to scripts in north India, Pee eat a ee the Sarada script during the {Oth century. It was used to write Punjabi, Hindi, Sindhi. Saraiki, Balochi, Kashmiri, Pashto and various Punjabi dialects. ee Gurmukhi script; Gurmukhi is an alphabetic developed from the Landa script and was standardized during the 16th century by Guru Angad, the second guru of Sikhism. The whole of the Guru Granth Sahib is written in this script, and it is the script most commonly used by Sikhs and Hindus for writing the Punjabi language. _Modi script: Modi is a script used to write the Marathi language, which is the primary language spoken in the state of Maharashtra in western India, Modi was an official script used to write Marathi until the 30th century when the Balbodh style of the Devanagari script was promoted 2s the standard writing system for Marathi, although Modi was primarily used to write Marathi. Gujarati script: The Gujarati script, which like all Nagati writing systems, is a type of alphabet, is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. It is a variant of Devanagari script differentiated by the loss of the characteristic horizontal line running above the letters and by a small number of modifications in the remaining characters. The Gujarati script is also often used to ‘write Sanskrit and Hindi. —a Indian Tradition, Culture and Soe, 32. South Indian grantha script ts to originate from Brahmi. It branched off; It is one of the earliest southern scrip ‘ill used to write those languages. Tamil and Malayalam scripts, which are st! It is also the predecessor of the Grantha called Pallava was taken by development of many south-east Asian script Sanskrit Granthas and hence, was named Grantha. The Grantha script was widely-used between the sixth Ce and the 20th centuties i i ia, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, to write by Tamil speakers in south India, pa ay eenee ° Sanskrit, and is still in restricted use in traditional Vedic schools. It isa rahmic serpy, having evolved from the Brahmi script in Tamil Nadu. The Malayalam script is a direct descendant of Grantha. Vatteluttu script: It was a script derived from the Brahmi and was used in the southern part of India. It was used to write Tamil and Malayalam. It removed those signs from Brahmi, which were not needed for writing the southern languages. Presently, both Tamil and Malayalam have moved on to their own Grantha derived scripts. Vatteluttu is one of the three main alphabet systems developed by Tamil people to write the Proto — the Tamil language, alongside the ancient Granthi or Pallava alphabet and the Tamil script. Kadamba script: It is a descendant of Brahmi and marks the birth of the dedicated Kannada script. It led to the development of modern Kannada and Telugu scripts. It was used to write Sanskrit, Konkani, Kannada and Marathi. The Kadamba script was developed during the reign of the Kadamba dynasty in the 46th centuries. The Kadamba script is also known as Pre-Old-Kannada script. This script later became popular in what is today the state of Goa and was used to write Sanskrit, Kannada, Konkani and Marathi. Tamil script: It is the script used to write the Tamil language in India and Sri Lanka. It evolved from Grantha, the southern form of Brahmi. It is a syllabic language and not alphabetic. It is written from left to right. Kannada script: Kannada script is widely used for writing Sanskrit texts in Kamnataka. Several minor languages, such as Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Sanketi and Beary also use alphabets based on the Kannada script. The Kannada and Telugu scripts share high mutual intellegibility with each other, and are often considered to be regional variants of a single script. Telugu script: The Brahmi scri it it \ishna rive; deta script used by Mauryan kings eventually reached the to contain Lord Buddt Nto Sinhala script used in Sri Lanka. A variant g Indian merchants in Indonesia, where it led to thy ts. It was used in Tamil Nadu to write thecrit in India 33 ae evolution of Languages and g script, but independently, 5.2_ MEDIEVAL AND MODERN SCRIPTS. Urdu script: The Urdu alphabet is the ri jht-to-l : for the Urdu language. Itis a modifeation tthe Geen eae which is itself a derivative ofthe Arabic alphabet, renee The ro Urdu Script is a modified version of the Perso-Arabic script and has its origins in the 13th century Iran. Itis closely related to the development of the Nastaliq style of Perso-Arabic script. ante ae in its extended form is known as Shahmukhi script and is used for writing other Indo-Aryan languages of north Indi i Bee geal ges of no jan subcontinent, like Santali script: Santali is a language in the Munda sub-family of Austroasiatic languages, related to Ho and Mundari. Till the nineteenth century Santali remained an oral language. A recent development has been the creation of a separate OIChiki script for Santali by Pt, Raghunath Murmu in the 1970s which is used exclusively by the Santali speaking people of Singhbhum—Jharkhand and Odisha. Conclusion While India has been a literate culture for millennia, it has also greatly valued oral knowledge. s, the oldest of which dated to around 1500 The ancient Hindu scriptures. the Veda: BCE were memorized verbatim for at least committed to writing. Only a few years ago, thi often known as the Indic or ancestor of modern south and the idespread proliferation of n users would often transcribe In« t and via text. a thousand years, if not mote, before being ings did not seem to be going well for India's various alphabets, Brahmic scripts after the historical Iron Age script thats the south-east Indian writing system. Roman-alphabet keyboards in dian languages using ad hoc Digitalization and the wi India meant that India Romanizations on the internetCHAPTER 6 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS TEXTS ‘e The Vedas, « The Upanishads, « The 6.1 THE VEDAS The Vedas contain the divine wisdom and knowledge of thin: directly seen by the Rishis or seers of hoary arti Oe ae and are called Shrutis, i.e., what is directly heard or experienced by intuition. The Vedas are the earliest books of mankind and occupy ‘a unique position in world literature. All Indian law givers regard the Vedas as the principal source of Dharma and all Hindus look upon the Vedas as the supreme authority in all matters concerning religion, laws and social conduct. ‘Authors of the Veda: The hymns of the Rig Veda were composed by the members of Rishi families like the Kanvas, Angirases, Agastyas, Grtsamadas, Airis, Viswamitras, Vasishtas, Kasyapas, Bharatas and Bhrgus. Some women Rishis who ‘composed the Rigvedic hymns were Aditi, Apaalaa, Godhaa, Indraanii, Lopamudra, Romashaa, Urvashi, Yami, Sikataa, Nivaavari and Aatreyi. Classification of the Vedas: In ancient times Vedas meant only one collection of all the mantras numbering about 25,000 or more. Later, for the purpose of study and preservation, the single collection was divided by Veda Vyasa into four overlapping collections ofmantras as Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and ‘Atharva Veda. Contents of the Four Vedas (a) Rig Veda The Rig Veda samhita is in Rik or hymt The Rig Veda has 1028 sooktas containing 10,552 mai received by a human sage (Rishi) during the state of consists of hymns mainly in praise of different gods and n form. A number of Riks constitute a Sookta. tras. A mantra is a poetic revelation deep concentration. The Rig Veda form the immediate source of the36 Indian Tradition, Culture and Socigy ughly classified as terrestrial, atmospheric ang other three Vedas. These gods may be ro' 2500), is addressed to Indra, followeq by celestial gods. The largest number of panes ee Agni with 2000 mantras and Soma eae meee 5 gs b-classified into fo f ; 2sraae Rig Veda nee a hymns that sing the praises of the Rig ee deities, some Die th dra, a heroic deity and the king of the highest eaven call of whom sakalpa who had slain his enemy Vatra, Agni- the sacrificial fire, Soma, peeclaenee or the plant which was a fundamental ating of the Veig sacrifices and Ishwara, the supreme god (just to ne ee (ii) the Aranyakas which constitute the philosophy bel ee ee (iii) the Brahmanas, which in-turn has the commentary of the sacred rituals, and a (iv) the Upasanas, the one that focuses on worship. The Mandalas of the Rig Veda which are ten in number and were composed by poets from different priestly groups over a period of several centuries are structured based on clear principles ~ the Veda begins with a small book addressed to Agni, Indra, and other gods, singing the praises of the Lord (b) Yajur Veda The word Yajus is derived from the root Yaj which means worship. The word Yajna (sacrificial worship) is also derived from it.(Yajus means those Vedic mantras that are neither rik nor Saman). The chief Purpose of Yajur Veda is to'give the mantras of the Rig Veda (appearing in the form of hymns) a practical shape in the form of yajna or worship. The Yajur Veda contains in addition to the verses from Rig Veda. This Veda may be called the book of sacrificial Prayers. Of the ancient Vedic text, it is a com Since the Vedic times, it has been, the | primary source of information about sacrifices and associated rituals, more importantly, i it has served as a practical guidebook for the priest, du dharma who execute religious ceremonies. ncient layer of Yajur Veda, the Samhita includes about 1,875 and built upon the foundation of verses in or the Purohits, as referred to as in Hine The earliest and most ai verses that are disti Primary Upani: ix i Philosophy, These naka ion a the Taittiriya Upanishad, j The Yajur Veda is divided The Shukla Yajur is believed to have leaancient Religious Texts == Samhita of the Taittiriya br: a sgomhta has a total 4773 montane Of Krishna Yajur Veda known as Tatirva Of these rik mantras, 862 » of which 3248 are yajus and 1525 are rik mantras. can be traced t : ig) Sama Veda ‘0 the existing edition of Rig veda samhita Sama means to bring ‘shanti’ gonuns distributed into Ne Wee mind. The Sama Veda consists of 1549 been taken entirely from Rig Veda and Be Ee all other verses of this Veda have teriain fixed melodies during the Soma sacri aoe 4 be recited by the Ugatri priest to ie vi chants Acordia aera Bates a this Veda may be called the By cascarva Vola, the scent aereaate ja Saraswathi, Sama Veda is the basis ly secti 5 ace Saco ae pial begin with singing the hymns of Rig Vedic iho slew his enemy Vatra, Agni- = fing ot ‘the highest heaven called Saudharmakalpa Bichwea 8 ane ay le sacrificial fire, Soma, the sacred potion or the plant be. fering of the Vedic sacrifices and Ishwara, the supreme god- just to mention a few, but in the latter part shifts to abstract speculations and philosophy, the nature and oe of the universe and God himself are questioned and so are the social and religious duties of man in the society. Such has been the influence of Sama Veda on Indian classical music and dance. The ‘essence of classical Indian music and dance tradition is rooted in the sonic and musical dimensions of the Sama Veda itself. In addition to singing and chanting, the Sama Veda, mentions instruments and also the specific rules and regulations of playing them, and to preserve the sanctity of those ancient instruments. If one were to summarize the significance of the Sama Veda in a single line, Sama Veda, in contemporary Hinduism, has been a reminder of the majestic ancient cultural heritage and a point of pride for Hindus; not to mention that it still finds its use in today’s society. (d) Atharva Veda Atharva means a purohit and also a name of a rishi (Atharvana). This Veda has mostly rik mantras with a small number of yajusmantras. According to tradition, Atharva Veda is mainly a contribution of sages Atharvana and Angira. Atharva Veda contains references to various aspects of spiritual and temporal importance like Brahmavidya, kingship, marriage, treatment of ailments, poetics, etc. This Veda is also connected with i ions the significance of Japa or subsequent development of Tantric system and mentions th n Bede of pee: to achieve material or other benefits which form an integral part of Atharva Veda is the basis of Ayurveda, Kamashastra Indian religio-mysticism till today. and Dandanithi. In popular context with being \ Veda is a mixture of hymns, ‘ic formulas, Atharva issues such as— Inga pen $a (Seale eas the black magic and rituaj, healing of illnesses, prolonging life, and 2° : for removing maladies and anxieties. eee dedicated to rituals without magie tharva ‘ aa Pee a Sra Bey etait asserting that the knowledge of Gog d to theosophy, whi a eee ea be achieved through spiritual ae rae 1 tis dbided info 20 bout ith about ©, a s “Up connate the Mundaka Upanishad, Maem pepe Upanlahad) Like other three Vedas, the Sete g pee eee ; (meaning, al regard the Atharva Veda, too as ee Te ris and the verses wets vet and also not belonging to particular author: The HTT Or nt the Vedic hymng by the Rishis (sages) and perhaps the revered Lol h generations by the word of mouth to the sages, who then handed them down through ge — 4 The Samhitas in the Atharva Veda have written accounts of Surgical and medica} speculations; it includes mantras and verses for treating a variety of ailments. For instance, the verses in hymn 4.15 of the recently discovered Paippalada version of the Atharva Veda, it discusses how to deal with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound with Rohini plant (FicusInfectoria, native to India). Speculations have also been made about remedy from herbal medicines, on the nature of man, life, good and evil and even spells and prayers to gain a lover. And some hymns were even about peaceful prayers and philosophical speculations, the origin of the universe, and the existence of God himself. It is indeed a collection of all sorts of speculations that quite often leave us bewildered. 6.1.1 Parts of the Vedas The Brahmanas: Each Veda consists of samhitas which are collections of hymns called mantras. To each Veda are attached a treatise called Brahmanas written in prose. They are the primary source of information about sacrifices, rituals and priests The Aaranyakas: Asa further development of the Brahmanas we get the Aaranyakas There is a list 13 Upanishads tituting thei Sutras’.= CS ancient Religious Texts 39 Of the well-known ten Upani arva Veda (Prashna, panishads, three bs ' ' i , three belong to the Ath Mundaka and Mandukya), two to Shukla Yajur Veda (Isha and Bie i 010 Krishna Yajur Veda ( Katha and Taittiriya); Veda (Kena and Chandogya). aittiriya); one to Rig Veda (Aitareya) and two to Sama Topically arranged, these U; panishads might be classified th Jnanakanda and 62 to Karmakanda while seven deal with aot ezaiuasce i with Karmakanda. 6.1.2 Vedangas—Limbs of the Veda The six subjects com: exes s monly comprehended under the title of Vedangas are: 2 Ta e science of pronunciation of letters and accents. The doctrine of 3 e ce Out of a religious need. As inaccurate pronunciation of Vedic texts was thought to bring disaster to the sacrificer. 2. Chandas is metre. 3. Vyakarana means grammar, the purpose of its study is to avoid incorrect use of words. 4. Nirukta— Etymology, the object of which was to explain or interpret difficult Vedic words. 5. dyotishya— Astronomy; its object was to convey such knowledge of the heavenly bodies as is necessary for fixing the days and hours of the Vedic sacrifices. 6. Kalpa or ceremonial- The Kalpa deals with matters, such as * How a particular ritual should be done + What functions or karma should be performed by men of different castes, and in which stage (ashrama), * Which ritual involves which mantra, * How many Rithviks (priests) should be employed * What vessels of what shape and size should be used The Kalpa shaastra has been compiled by a number of sages. Six sages, Aapasthamba, Bodhaayana, Vaikhaanasa. Satyaashaada, Bharadwaja and Agnivesa have written Kalpa Sutra for Krishna Yajur Veda which is mostly prevalent in south India. The Kalpa shastra has been composed by different sages, as — sage Aaswalayana for Rig Veda, sage Katayanana for Shukle Yajur which materials and which devata Veda, sage Jamini for Sama Veda. Purpose of the Vedas According to Purvamimamsa, Vedic religion is considered first aIndian Tradition, Culture and Society nd Yajur Veda are mentioned togethe, cient hieraticism. But apart from yajnas TI ny methods of meditation and Pray, al d mantras, hardly one-third of them) 5g japa. Several hymns and verses of d speculative. The Veg, i i logical, mystic an‘ id : Jy philosophical, cosmol t speculate the Rigveda are kinds of medical treatment to ensure bea bea and shan eae pacify enemies and to avert the harm Enea os bite a . | SF Anroeindo the Vedas framed in exquisite poeny: are not of ‘wisdom valid for all times, particularly modern times. 40 ‘m. The Rig Veda, Sama Weta Vedatrayi) and conform a iS and methods ofworship, the Vedas also ape Cash (upaasana). The Rig-Veda contains over ain are employed in Vedic rites, the rest are or speculative syste as the triple Veda ( 6.2 THE UPANISHADS are the Upanishads. The Upanishads come towards the end of the Aranyakas. If the Samhita is likened to a tree, the Brahmanas are its flowers and the Aranyakas are its fruit yet not ripened, whereas the Upanishads are the ripe fruits. The last part of the Vedas Nature of Upanishads The Vedas are generally considered to have two portions viz., Karma-Kanda (portion dealing with action or rituals) and Jnana-Kanda (portion dealing with knowledge). The Samhita and the Brahmanas represent mainly the Karma-Kanda, while the Upanishads chiefly represent the Jnana-Kanda or the knowledge portion. The Upanishads, however, are included in the Shruti. They are at present, the most popular and extensively read Vedic texts. The Upanishads are often called Vedanta. Literally, Vedanta means the end of Veda, Vedasyaantah, the conclusion (Anta) as well as the goal (Anta) of the Vedas. Chronologically, they came at the end of the Vedic period. As Upanishads contain difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at about the end of their aos ite een ue ee Upanishads are called the end of the Vedas is that they resent the central aim o} i i e as they deal with Moksha or See ‘hehichest and ultimate goal of the Ved Meaning of the Word “Upanishad” sense of secret teaching or se : cret doct Upanishads are frequently ‘ in Upanishads, that due to impart instruction to a pupil eeanion Religious Texts Be cod a1. yough another definiti : pe eee ition, the word primarily signifies knowledge, yet by implication i also te ook that contains that knowledge ge, yet by implication Number of the Upanishads ‘Theres a good deal of speculation concerning the number of Upanishads. Traditionally, jhe old Upanishads had their place in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas. There is only one instance of @ Samhita containing Upanishad - t! HT i khavasva Upanishad forming the 40th book. he Vela iG in later times, the Upanishads obtained i ‘a more independent position but still the professed to belong more particularly to one or the other of the four ee : ie Itis difficult to ascertain the exact number that should be regarded as authentic Upanishads. A religious system is considered valid in India only when it is supported by Shruti, hence the founders of religious sects have sometimes written books and called them Upanishads in order to give their views scriptural authority. The Allah Upanishad, for instance was composed in the sixteenth century, at the time of Emperor Akbar. Different gaiimates of their number have been given by ‘Scholars and they have been put by some scholars at as many as 200. One hundred and eight Upanishads are enumerated in the Muktikopanishad and a popular edition contains them. However among these Upanishads, ten Upanishads, the names of which have been mentioned in the Muktikopanishad, are considered the most important Upanishads from the point of view of Vedantic philosophy. Ten principal Upanishads known as ‘Dashopanishad’ are: Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Munda, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka. Division of the Upanishads According to the Muktikopanishad 108 Upanishads that are divided according to four Vedas are as follows: 10 Upanishads from the Rigveda 19 Upanishads from the Shukla-Yajurveda 32. Upanishads from the Krishna-Yajur Veda 16 Upanishads from the Sama Veda and 31 Upanishads from the Atharva Veda. The thirteen principal Upanishads, related to (A) Upanishads of the Rig Veda: 1. Aitareya Upanishad, 2. Kaushitaki Upanishad. (B) Upanishads of the Shukl Ne bs Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 2. Isha Upanishad. the Vedas are: , 5ee indian Tradition, Culture ang Se 42 jur Veda: (C) Upanishads of the Krishna-Yajur Ve 1, Taittiriya Upanishad, 2. Katha Upanishad, 3. Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 4. Maitrayaniya Upanishad. (D) Upanishads of the Sama Veda: 1. Chandogya Upanishad, 2. Kena Upanishad (E) Upanishads of the Atharva Veda: 1, Mundaka Upanishad, 2. Manduky a Upanishad, 3. Prashna Upanishad. Thirteen known Upanishads were composed from the middle of the 5th century through the 2nd century BCE, The first five of these—Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, and Kaushitaki—were composed in prose, interspersed with verse. ’ The middle five—Kena, Katha, Isa, Svetasvatara, and Mundaka—were composed Primarily in verse form. The last three—Prasna, Mandukya, and Maitri—were composed in prose form. Major Theme of the Upanishads Upanishads, we get an j mixed with a mass of mythe «nt fh Ss RY : id | lable spiritual insights nature and origi nS and legends and cosmolog; ; 4 lnihess tone igin of the Universe, Besides, Brahman ae Speculations relating to the Tho His creation, are also discussed le principal Contents of the their content ig anti-ritualisticalmost the same, each Upanishad has i = one HS own unique idea or ideas and its own method Importance of the Upanishads 1. The Upanishads occu i rere They hee ee place in the development of Indian Philosophical e highest authority on which the Various dakne of philosophy in India rest, So, tk Upenishacethen RIA Sa peat of Vedanta is directly related to the and objects of thi Philosopher professes his faith in th philosophersel oe a the Sankhya, the Vaisheshika, the Nyava and a 2 ores Upsnetene 6 find in the Upanishads some warranty for their tenets, euler ae Jota ated with the Vedas and make the entire range of Vedic study wit eene a ee pees generally mention the Vedas and their . Certain verses ; sibject SPST from the Vedas, such as the Gayatri, form the 3. Brahmavidya, or the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme Reality is the great kingdom of the principal Upanishads. They give importance to ‘Knowledge’ alone. Anyone having knowledge may be the Guru or Acharya. Even kings approached them for attainment of knowledge. The story of Satyakama Jabala, who though did not know his father's name, was yet initiated into spiritual life, shows this fact. In the Chandogya Upanishad (4.1-3) Raikva, a Brahmana not by caste but by his knowledge, instructed King Janashruti. In the same Upanishad (5.3), the King Pravahana instructed the Brahmana Gautama in the new doctrine of transmigration. This story together with the one in which King Ashvapati Kaikeya instructed five Brahmanas in the doctrine of Atman (Chan. Up. 5.11) shows that for Upanishads knowledgeable person is the most important and not the Brahmana, Kshatriya or anyone else. 4. Each of the Vedas has many Mahavakyas or great sayings. But four Mahavakyas found in the Upanishads related to four Vedas are very important, thought- provoking and powerful. These spell out the non-duality of the jiva and the Brahman-Prajnanam Brahma - Rigveda Aham Brahmasm — Yajurveda Tattuamasi —- Samveda Ayamatma Brahma — Aharvaveda. hear 5. Without understanding the Upanishads, it is impossible to get an insight into Indian 3 history and culture. Every subsequent development of philosophy and religion in India has drawn heavily on the Upanishads. 6.3. THE EPICS—RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARATA (a) Ramayana Ramayana was the work of Va Parts, According to Valmiki hims¢ba) Indian Tradition, Culture ang Sox, % ; us deeds of Ramachandra, Ra, singin the eng of Ayodhya, Dasaratha Whe wn prince, on throne, Ram; old king Dasaratha wanted to place uaa ae eens scone to go to forest for tae banishifent of Rama to forest and made, her Kale ea king Dasaratha in extreme sorrow for Rama's departure; Rama accompanied by his devoted wife Sita and vena sprotaes Laxman a away to forest; a shocked Bharata went to bring Rama back, but on - ma’s re} J brought his foot-wear to place on throne and to rule the country on ehalf Of his el brother; departure of Rama from Chitrakoota to Dandakaranya and staying there ing hug at Panchavati forest; abduction of Sita by the demon king of Lanka, Ravana; construct, a bridge over sea, Rama’s invasion of Lanka; rescue of Sita after destruction of the demons; return of Rama, Sita and Laxman to Ayodhya; after fourteen years of exile Rama's paternal administration of his people; the suspicion expressed by a subject abou, the chastity of Sita while in Ravana’s custody; on report of the matter to Rama bya Rama's order to Laxman to abandon Sita in a forest even though she was pregnant; Sita, stay in Valiniki’s Tapovan where her two sons Kusha and Lava were born; taught and trained by Valmiki; the royal sons grew up as heroic boys; visit of Valmiki to Ayodhya with Kusha and Lava; Kusha and Lava’s melodious song of Valmiki’s Ramayana in front of the assembled gathering; on demands of all Sita’s return; in order to prove her purity before all, her prayer to mother earth to take her back and her disappearance when the earth spl itself to absorb her; and at last, giving Koshala to Kusha and North Koshala to Lava to rule as kings ; Rama’s abandonment of his mortal body in the river Sarayu. This is the story of the great epic Ramayana. ¢ cae ae. ae life in great details. Side by side he added shape. The purpose was to keep mankind 44 by si Vedas to the common people describes the life of Rama, the eldest so I lear ieee ae ofthat time, the spirit of the People, the nature of ideal monarchy, years, the people of nda hava oe a nygcatons in perfect form. For thousands live a nobler and higher life. Patton from the lessons of the Ramayana 0 Origin The original Ramayana wri ieee | written by the i i. 5 . oar Many scholars question he wise Valmiki comprised of seven ‘kanda’ ot uestion the authenticity of the last ceuall n Passages from the first book (Bala = Bala kanda: The Book of ayes ara Kanda) for various reasons. - Ayodhya kanda: adolescence of Rama. 5 tha and the scenesii) Ancient Religious Texts ee that set the stage fo 45 Dasaratha and Kegan Unfolding of the story, includ ind Kaikeyi ry, including the conversation between ohana ed the exile of Rama. 2 of th ife i exile and the abduction of Sita i vor de in the forest during the fourteen year a. 4. Kishkindhya kanda: The i . Book of The i : : Kishkindhya, the quest for Sita, mate aveeee Porras . Sundara kanda: The Boo! esi eh k of the Beautiful (Hanuman), sundara means beautiful, and this porti portion of the book has passages of lyrical beauty; description of the landscapes over which Rai Lanka! ma roams, and the arrival of Rama and his allies in 6. Yuddha kanda: The B tee etre ie Book of War, the. defeat of Ravana, the recovery of Sita, Bee yodhya, and the coronation of Rama. . ari yi re iS _ sa = HPs Book Beyond, the later section, detailing Rama's life in cea . ‘ oe ment of Sita, the birth of Lava and Kusa, the reconciliation a and Sita, her engulfment into the mother earth, and Rama's ascent into heaven. The Lessons Ramayana: teaches us This Hindu epic has given us a number of lessons that we must not forget. These. lessons help us better ourselves and emerge as refined and reformed human beings with each passing day. 1. Truth Triumphs ‘The basic teaching of Ramayana is that no matter how powerful the evil is, it will always be defeated by the Good. Truth always wins, no matter how vicious oF posonous the lie is because even bitter truth oozes with positivity and the sweetest ie has the darkest agenda behind it. The win of good over evil is a universal fete, A person should always have a noble heart and good values. That is how Lord Rama defeated Ravana, the most knowledgeable person in history. duty-bound towards parents 2. Respecting elders and being ther expressed her desire to see the biological son Ram left for vanvas after his step-mot Bharata as the future king ‘of Ayodhya. even during the toughest of times 3. Remaining united with siblings after his father's demise and waited for Rama to Bh fused to accept the throne return ae He wees ‘ana accompanied his brother Rama for the 14-year-long Vvanvas. 4. Being deeply committed to one’s duty ita’ z ‘ing of ya. And the duty of Besides being Sita’s husband, Rama was: also the eT ieot the king is to keep his subjects haPPy: SSTIndian Traaition, VUIUre and So. the masses ai ‘As a husband, he was duty-bound oe fter they questioned her chastity. ui he ma: jects! wi of his per = had to think of his subjects wishes above personal ca his wife. But as a king, he ha a i ousness oe 5. Choosing the path ee of Ravana chose to not a the a ue ai “ s aan tow that his brother had committed a sin by a rel against Rama. Des erful you bec f ining humble no matter how pow ; : : eclanreant have easily rescued Sita from sees aoe ee tec i ’s army. But he to. power to singlehandedly fight against Ravana’s army. i Ram‘s divinity and let him do the needful. 7. Not considering others inferior ; ; ; The mighty prince Rama took the help of Vanarsena (monkey army) to build abridge | (Rama Setu) so that he could reach Lanka to free Sita. The little monkeys not just helpeq him build the setu but also took part in the war against Ravana. 8. All that glitters is not gold ’ Sita got attracted to a spotted deer that looked incredibly beautiful. She wanted Rama to get the deer for her from the jungle. Actually, it wasn't a deer, but Mareech, a demon and Ravana’s accomplice in disguise of the animal. 9. Embracing all irrespective of caste, creed or colour Prince Rama ate fruits that were already sampled by Shabri, a poor old woman who had nothing much to offer but pure love. 10. Being loyal to your spouse Ravana tried to lure Sita after abducting her. But Sita never let him succeed in his attempts. Rama didn't remarry after Sita was forcefully abandoned by him even after conducting the ‘Agni Pariksha’. Being a king, he enjoyed the privilege of having many queens, but he chose to remain loyal to his beloved wife ~ Sita, 11. Abandon the following Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (desire), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Ahanker (ego), Irshya (jealousy), Jaddata (insensitivity), Ghrina (hatred), hava (eae) (b) The Mahabharata Great and glorious is the land of Bharata, To describe the deeds of the dynasty of Bharata that Vyasa wrote The Mahabharata, Nowhere on the oaths eno aa 5 long poetic work as the Mahabharata. It contains 1,10,000 shlokas. Mahabharata was viewed in th religi f some authorities, the essence of dif Presented in shape of inte the common people. Asa history. According to religious) text ofancient Religious Texts (ar_} dian thought th i = indi ght through centuries. Man and woman, old and the young, learned and : learned a the illiterate, all sections of people of th i i ioe foe eee Indian sub-continent have known the theme of ‘Wasa’s Mahabharata begins wi pynasty’ at Hastinapur A sly the rule of the kings of the “Lunar Dd Bhishma, who was ever truthful and eve a dynasty named Shantanu had a son rons from his another queen named Satyavati Be et ee pies Tre to his vow Bhishma did not accept the eee Vichitravirya and Chitrangada. Ti ined celebrate for life, The kingdom fees I Ne nbs a2 aking hed to ope eit eee oe was blind by birth, his younger Wothen Bandu escent i aoe the elder Dhrutarashtra, Fe panchi bad ive epee aes ea ira ee after the death of his fay were known as the Pandavas. On the other hima, tire Kaine and Sahadev. ire known as the Kauravas as the descendants of the aise tend ot ies Kuru. Duryodhana was the eldest among the sons of Dhurashie z After the death of king Pandu his five sons were given one portion of the kingdom to mule. Inside a forest called Khandava, the Pandava brothers built their capital and named it Indraprastha. This caused envy in the minds of the Kaurava brothers. With the evil aim of usurping Pandavas miracle kingdom they invited the Pandava brothers to play the game of dice with them with bet over victory or defeat. Playing with trick, the Kauravas defeated the Pandava king Yudhishthira again and again. According to the bet the defeated brothers agreed to live the life of exile in forests for twelve years, and thereafter to spend one more year in disguise to escape detection. As per the terms the Pandavas underwent the exile. ‘At the end of their ordeal for thirteen years the Pandava brothers returned and asked the Kauravas their kingdom back. But Duryodhana refused to give back their territoty saying that he would not give even a tip of a needle of earth without battle. Because of this injustice a fierce battle was fought between the Pandavas and Kauravas in the field of Kurukshetra. Many kings of the Indian joined either of the Kauravas or the Pandavas to take part in the war. The field of Kurukshetra was also described as the Dharmakshetra because it saw the eternal conflict between virtue and vice, righteousness and wrong-doing, between the just and the unjust. At the end of the battle it was seen that all the Kaurava brothers were killed along with most of their supporters. The Pandava side also lost many relations, including Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, the greatest warrior of the battle. Winning the Kurukshetra battle, the Pandavas got the whole kingdom for themselves and Yudhishthira became the king. But, in deep repentance over the death of his kith and kin and in order to do penance, Yudhishthira left the throne in the hands of Parikshita, the son of dead Abhimanyu, and left for the Himalayas with his the With this central theme Vyasa added accounts of other royal dynasties, 2a Ca] systems, customs and manners, moral diplomacy, and faiths and bi | values. liefs of the people. The N I as of the higher i Indian Tradition, Culture and Society political conditions, traditions of war ang Mahabharata described the virtues of deals of the life like truthfulness ang vigour for worldly existence, 95 TT included deeper philosophies and spiritual thoughy, righteousness. At several places Vase to cteate awareness about man’s divi : For ages, the Indian humanity has derive The lessons of this great epic have enab! and misfortunes in his worldly existence. comparable to the Mahabharata. 18 Parvas of the Mahabharata ine existence. d from the Mahabharata much inspirations, led man to overcome sorrows, sufferings, distress In the entire world literature there is no other wor ‘Title “Sub-Parva ner numbers Contents | es 1. | Adi adi means first Parva (The Book of the How the Mahabharata came to be narrated by Sauti to the assembled rishis at Naimisharanya. The recital of the Mahabharata at the sarpasatira of Janmejaya by Vaishampayana at Takshashila. The history of the Bharata race is told in detail and the parva also traces history of the Bhrigu race, The birth and early life of the Kuru princes, Maya Danava erects the palace and court (sabha), at Indraprastha. Life at the court, ‘Yudhishthira’s rajasooya yajna, the game of dice, and the eventual exile of the Pandavas. Beginning) 1-19 2. | Sabha parva (The Book f the Ass of the Assembly Hall) Doge 3. | Vana parva also Aranyaka-parv e 29.44 Aranya-parva (The Bool of the Forest) ‘The twelve years of exile in the forest (aranyal. 4. | Virata parva (The Book of Virata) 5. | Udyoga parva (The Book of the Effort) The year in incognito spent at the court of Virata. vat and efforts to bring about auravas and Pandavas (udyoga means effortcient Religious Tex's = i Hermitage) Mausala parva (The Book of the Clubs) _—=— AM ——T Drona parva (The Book 7 of Drona) The battle continues, with Drona a) 65-72 commander. This is the major book of the a the great warriors on both sides are dead by the end of this book. at arva (The Book a 8 gee) 3 The battle again, with Karna as commander. -— Th 9 cee e Book The last day of the battle, with Shalya oh oy as commander. Also told in detail is the pilgrimage of Balarama to the fords of the 74-77 _ | river Saraswati and the mace fight between Bhima and Duryodhana which ends the war, since Bhima kills Duryodhana by smashing him on the thighs with his mace. 30. | Sauptika parva (The Ashvatthama, Kripa and Kritavarma kill the Book of the Sleeping 38.g0 _|Temaining Pandava army in their sleep. Only Warriors) ‘Twantiors remain on the Pandava side and 3 on the Kauraya side. 11. [Sti parva (The Book of |g, g, | Gandhari, Kuntiand the women (siri] ofthe the Women) Kurus and Pandavas lament the dead. 12, | Shanti parva (The Book The crowning of Yudhishthira a king of of Peace) Hastinapura, and instructions from Bhishma 86-88 for the newly anointed king on society, economics and politics. This is the longest ook of the Mahabharata, 13, | Anushasana parva (The | ggigg) |The final instructions (anushasana) from Book of the Instructions) Bhishma, 14. | Ash nike pare The royal ceremony of the Ashvamedha (the ae ot (oe (Horse sacrifice) conducted by Yudhishthira Sais) 91-92 | The world conquest by Arjuna The Anugita is told by Krishna to Arjuna. || deaths of Dhritarashtra, 15, | Ashramavasika parva oe ee ‘i i fire when the (The Book of the Gandhari and Kunti ina forest v are living in a hermitage in , cua i deceases them: janjava on eee to live in theee Indian Tradition, Culture ang poe (so) _— The great journey of Yudhishthira ang 5, An Mahaprasthanika Pare trothers acrossthe whole countyandfingy| 7. (The Book of the Great their ascent of the great Himalayas Whe 17 | Journey) each Pandava falls except for Yudhishthrs| of final test and th w ha hishthira's final test and the retum Svargarohana parva Yud st 18. Pay book of Ascent to the Pandavas to the spiritual world (svargq) 8. the Heaven) es a That Are Relevant Even Today ing everyone should read at least once in lig K his book will still hold great value in his/her life. from the Mahabharata. Lessons From The Mahabharat: The epic tale Mahabharata !s somethi Even if is not into mythology and religion, t! There are plenty of life lessons one can learn 1. Being kind, humble and generous is no The way Karna’s life moved, we realised, more often than not, that the world isan evil place to survive in. And to ace it, we must understand how it really works. t enough to live life. 6 2. Bad company can ruin your life beyond imagination. q We all hate Shakuni mama, don't we? He literally destroyed everything that the Kauravas owned, and he influenced them to be negative. If it weren't for him, the war wouldn't have happened at all. 3. Unconditional support and loyal friends can take you places. The Pandavas had Lord Krishna, and the Kauravas had Karna. Both of them always ial the two parties, no matter what. In fact, Duryodhana was really weak without rna. 4. You need to fight for what you think belongs to you. The Pandavas never stopped fighti i i i : ighting for what rightfully belonged to them. Theil courage and determination is definitely something to admire and ae 5. Being too emotional can be a bad idea. Dhritarashtra's love for hi i wo ee s son was blind. Throughout the epic, he remained tom gia more evil than what he sels a son happy. Somehow this made Duryodhana eve? 6. Learning throughout life is _ Arjuna grasped whatever science from Drona, but he w Indra, He leant about Yudhishthiara and Krishna to offer.ancient Religious Texts I — 7, Sometimes, enemies come in the form of friends although the Kauravas were more in number, their supporters were not really in favour . Bheeshma, Vi ofthem - = ma, Vidura and Drona secretly admired the Pandavas, Especially Vidura. who was the ultimate guide in everything the Kauraves did. g. Respect Women et ee five ee They were strong and wealthy, but they all became helpless rae ae isgraced by other men. They had everything, but failed to show courage. Draupadi's anger and desire for revenge led to the war and downfall of the Kauravana clan. 9. Half knowledge can be more dangerous than no knowledge ‘Abhimanyu wouldr'thave died. Although we admire him for his bravery end undying courage, he ultimately lost his life because of half knowledge. 10, You cannot be stopped if you are passionate about what you do. Most of us know that Arjuna was the greatest archer in the world. But Eklavya was even better then him, He hid himself behind the trees and grasped everything that Drona taught Arjuna, His passion for archery and hunger for knowledge made him an even better archer than Arjuna. 11. A good strategy is what you need to sail your boat. Had Pandavas not have Krishna and his master plan, they wouldn't have seen the victory they did. Always have a plan. The Bhagavad Gita Bhagavad Gita is one of the greatest religious spiritual books. Considered to be a doctrine of universal truth, it has long been influencing people not only of India but also overseas. As sage Veda Wasa is known: for writing the Mahabharata, Gita being part of it isalso ascribed to him. In the epic Mahabharata, when cousin brothers Pandava and Kaurava stand face to face, ready to fight among themselves for the throne of Hastinapur, the Pandava prince Agjuna feels weak in the battleground as he sees his relatives, teachers and friends in the ‘opposition, And, when the supreme personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna sees him losing strength and willingness to fight, he gives him what is known as —Gita gyan. Teachings of Bhagavad Gita are still applicable in modern times, perhaps even after about 5040 thousand years after it was written. These teachings ate considered to be ultimate. It encompasses each and every aspect of life. One surely can lead peaceful life if the teachings of Bhagavad Gita are followed. Bhagavd Gita shows the path to thelost, considered to be one of the greatest spritualIndian Tradition, Culture and Sog, n of the true nay ealiza\ . uumanity the fan an eae Gitaisto illuminate aa greatest materi perfection isto at jase purpose of the Bhagavi tual conception an” tant teachings are described be a etl e ie most popular and Ate about its result; When we wey the love of God! Some thout worry! ur ea a particular action, we can't really put our best; the result Ir - tilt, We may also feel disheay alot eh tbe outputs, Therefore just doing oy, iour task oration doe! A squt is result should be Our MOMS. work without really tv ‘igus body 18 perishable: Our oy never ie Even 2. Soul Is Immoriel 2 The soul is immortal. The soul just a oe Pe dies after our death, it Sais ‘over, our body is made up of ‘Agni’ (fire), Jal” (water), ie er 2 Peru’ (earth) and it combines with them afer the death. So we “Vayu , should not pay too much attention to our physical body, instead we should wor it’s satisfaction. more for the inner soul and it's sal ere io aieraid ome 3, The world is perishable and w Ea 0 back one day: This world is not immortal. One who takes bi ies one day aa that is the ultimate truth of this world. Nothing exists permanently. No magic can help a person to stay here forever. It is only a matter of time. When his/her time comes he/she has to go. No matter how great one is or how power one possesses. 4. Whatever has happened was good, whatever is happening is good and what all will happen in the future will also be good: We should not repent about our past or worry about the future; the present is going on. We should know that God has planned everything for us—good or bad. We should be optimistic and should not stress ourselves too much with these worries of past and future. Do good deeds; only your Karme will sail you through. Just have faith in the supreme personality of Godhead. 5. Progress and development are the rules of this universe: Things may not be the same, as they used to be. Things and circumstances change. We should neither expect people, nor surroundings, not even society to be the same forever. They all cee with time, We move ahead. Universe forgets old things and moves forwards. é = 4 = We should not stick on one point; this will make our life problematic. ; ete fee anything to this world, neither are we going to take ig + We came to this world empty handed, We have made everything ney, love or respect. We cannot take away anything die. Eve i exit things when it crete here. So we should not really 0 concemed about making too much g ict. Nor should we be really 1, We should do 0 for getting fruits oF it, as italso gives us have, as everything stay ted 7. Every action and deed of Whatever we doin the ‘ Personality of God. This should consider rememAncient Religious Texts that God {s there With us and our actions would turn out to be positive. 8. One should devote himself or herself to the God: The supreme personality of godhead is the ultimate support of any human being. Our fellow humans may not care for us or support us, and may even leave us in our bad times but God is always there for us. The person who knows this truth is never really troubled by sadness or arief, s 9. God is supreme: God is the original cause of all causes, He starts everything and ends everything too. He is there everywhere. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. We are just puppets whom He controls: He is divine and transcendental. 10. Desires come and go: Desires come and go, but you should remain a dispassionate witness, simply watching and enjoying the show. Everyone has desires but one should not be moved by them. They should not bother us. People sometimes commit evil actions because of their desires. So one should not come under the sway of desires. 11. Money-minded cannot meditate: Bhagavad Gita talks a jot about meditation and it's importance. Meditation is considered extremely helpful for inner peace and ‘sadhna’. Moreover, a person who all the time thinks about making money cannot concentrate on meditation. 12. Thoughts about big or small, your or mine, etc., should be kept out: We should not think about how big or small we are, or can make things. All this is materialistic and engages people in tensions and greed. It makes one only profit- oriented. Thinking about yours or mine also does the same. All the life we make and collect things for ourselves, but Jeave this world without those possessions. We all are turned into ashes after death, 4 THE PURANAS Classification and Contents of Puranas ‘As a class of literature, the Puranas deal with ancient Indian religion, philosophy, history, geography, sociology, politics; and they supply the material for the study of various branches of knowledge and ancient wisdom. In other words, one may describe the Puranas as a class of literature which deals with the myths of gods, asuras, 4 sages and kings of ancient times. They contains abstracts ‘of works in = - arts, sciences, medicine, grammar, dramaturgy, music astrology and other subjects, affords insight into different phasesand aspects of Hinduism — its mythology, idol worship, theism, pantheism, love ‘of god, etc. In brief, puranas constitute a popular encyclopedia of ancient and medieval Hinduism in its traits. —_ Puranas have been regarded as the fifth Veda. All the Puranas are in the Samhita and the author of all of them is Veda Vyasa. A work Pl7 & indian Tradition, Culture and Soggy 54 warana Samhita which Grew as a.speg Ancie Badarayana Vyasa, was given > thi at teachers, Parasarya : oa eee oe ei ee name from the founder teacher of that particular chara, 2. : rank o! who was Veda vyasa. : ei Yaksa has interpreted “Puranam” as ‘Pura navam’, ie., new in ages gone by.lticg 1 instance where the final letter is dropped. Hence instead of “Pura navam”, We are left wii, i sata Purana. The Puranas are divided into two classes: (i) Maha Purena (ii) Upa Purana. Each class consists of eighteen Puranas. The Maha Puranas have further been sub-divi their preferential treatment to Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. The Puranas glorifying Vishnu are siyled as Sativika, those glorifying Bohmas Rajasika, and those glorifying Agni and Shiva as Tamasika. ‘According to this description the eighteen Maha Puranas may be classified into Saitva, Rajasa and Tamasa. : Sativika: Vishnu, Naradiya, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma and Varaha Rajasika: Brahemanda, Brahmavaivatta, Markandeya, Brahma, Vamana and Bhavisya. Tamasika: Matsya, Kurma, Linga, Shiva, Agni and Skanda In the list of Tamasika Puranas, the Garuda Purana mentions Aditya Purana instead of Naradiya. The Skanda Purana enumerates ten Puranas as describing the greatness of Shiva, four of Brahma and two each of Devi and Hari. fies in the technique of Vedic texts. The original Pi There are 36 Puranas in all. ded into three categories, according to 1. Matsya Purana Ee cet vebuperacs this in the form of fish to Manu, the first king after the oe aa 14000 shlokas. The stories of Kartikeya, Yayati and Savitri wet? Soca Seman shaivites and vaish References of tt purana. Itdescril stotra in Matsya The Matsya P2. Markandeya Purana oo I Elaborate descripti 2 iptions of creat like the sun, fire. gods epee ey Cee : » gods, etc., are available in thi luge (pralay), stories of vedic Gods This Purana is narrated by the sage M is ire a om ‘contains 9000 shlokas. The Devi Mahatyam or Durga Ganon catiasrahah See ig a partof it. Thisis the base for chandihoma Stories of the lord Rama a1 nd Krishna i bythe puna Hehe ae RStE e 3. Bhagavata Purana Z This is the most popular Purana. @ ‘ ae mee in all major Indian lar_uages, it contains 18000 shlokas. ae ‘oks {skandas} in it and the tenth book deseribes the birth of Lord It describes 24 incarnations of lord Vi _ ltd ishnu areand i with high philosophical content are there in at ee cas This Purana is narrated by sa ge Vyasa to s huka, Bo ae age shuka, and shuka narrates it to 4. Bhavishya Purana Talking about the future particularly kaliyuga continues in 14500 shlokas. This Puranas is narrated by the god Sun to Manu. it contains duties of the four castes and methods te worshipping the sun, agni, and nagas. : 5. Brahma Purana This is known as the first Purana, it is also called Surya Purana, and was narratedby the creator Brahma to Daksha Prajapati in 10000 shlokas. It contains greatness o stories of Sri Krishna, rishis Markandeya, f holy places, th Kashyapa, and the descripti ‘on of heaven and hell. It describes the Shiva linga, the m: jage of Shiva and Parvati, the stories of Ganesh to Shiva temples and Kartikeya, pilgrimage qn total 10000 shtokas are narrated by thesage Pulastya to the sage Narada. 6. Bramhanda Purana meee The popular adhyatma Ramayana 4 P ea This purana is narrated Brahma to oe form of dialogue between S - The stories of available in it. It also shlokas. This is in the and Shiva, and areindian Tradition, Culture and (se | s 7. Brahma Vivarta Purana sistelihie eee the whole univer: ation It describes in 18000 Shlokas that | d reme Being Sead Manu narrated this Purana to sage ae ee P In the fourth section of this Purana itis beautifully cae oe con ee = Ra Krishna is the gad and radha is Maya {illusory eo g0¢ Bese per leg 1 him but always controlled by him, Goloka is their abode wl es ae vaikun and the great devotees who have attained same ness of form with lord Krishna stay borg This is the source of Jayadeva's Gita Govindam. ; Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Radha who were known as pancha shaltti are describe, in it. 1 8. Varaha Purana This purana was told to Bhudevi by Mahavishnuin 24000 shlokas. It describes different vratas and glories of lord Vishnu. The stories of lord Shiva—Parvati, and describes dharma shastra and holy places, It describes the daily life of a devotee of lord Vishnu. 9. Vamana Purana Starting with the description of Vamana avatar it proceeds to the worship of Shia linga, the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, the stories of Ganesh and Kartikeya, pilgrimage to Shiva temples in a total of 10000 shokas narrated by the sage Pulastya to the sage Narada. 10. Vayu Purana ‘This Purana was narrated by Vayu deva in 24000 shlokas. It contains the glory of lord Maheswara, describes the universe and the solar system. 11, Vishnu Purana This is the oldést Puray his disciple Maitreya, Stories of various devotees a verses, This Purana is divided in The first part gives an. prakri, > na and was narrated by sage Parashara, father of Veda Vyasa © description of the age of kali etc., are described in 23000Ancient Religious Texts By adhya has 18 adhyayas, fourth has 24 Yvavas, the second contains 16 adhyayas, the third part pert contains 8 adhyayas, achyayas, the fifth part contains 38 adhyayas and the laa In Vishnu Purana we find onh 'y one Lakshmi Stotra (Sreestotra] in th 12. Agni Purana (295 adhyayas) nr Agni, the fire god, narrated this : Purana t i i It describes Siva and Durga cult (Panth) lier This Purana contains many modern topies. Itis almost an encyclopedia dealing with su i ’ y | pocte end polies alsa des ne ape ee It describes grammar and the worship of Shiva, Durga and Ganesh. 13. Narada Purana __ This Purana is also called as ‘Brihannaradiya Purana’, This is of the ‘sattvilt category, itcontains a synopsis of everything, and it describes Purijagannatha, Dwaraka, Badrinatha ete. In this purana there are 25000 verses. Narada Purana comprises 25000 shlokas based on BrihadKalpa Katha. Narrated by Suta Mahamunni to Shounaka muni. The Purana was basically conceived by Brahmarishi Narada himself but preached by Sanaka Brothers to Narada. The earlier part of the Purana dealt with ‘Pravritti Dharma’ and the second part was devoted to ‘Moksha Dharma’. Sanandana described at length the six vedangaas as Moksha Sadhanas and about the illustration of Shukadeva in this context. The thitd part gave ‘Upadeshas’ to Narada by Sanat Kumara about ‘Pashu paasha vimoksha’ and mantras concerning major deities, diksha, puja procedutes, stotfas etc, The fourth partprovided details of t+ ‘hige and mansa-wise (date-wise and mouth-wise) vratas as also an Index of “Ashtedasha Puranas’, The ‘Uttara Bhaga’ of the Purana gives details of Ekadasha Viatas, Vasishtha- Mandheta samvada, King Rukmanga and Mobini, curse to Mohini, her revival and her ‘ras. Sincere study and ‘shravana’ of the Purana on Ashwin pumima exposure to tirtha yai \ Ashwit hie by puja to a Brahmana with gifts of seven cows, clothing etc. to is believed pave the way for salvation. 14. Padma Purana This is a huge pu Bhagavatam. Italso contains the stories of Ramayana, Italso describes the killing of demons Madhu story of Gayatri, and the worship and wors The Padma Purana contains fiv Swarga khanda, Patala khanda ane rana. It contains 55000 verses describing the glory of Srimad story of shakuntala, Ekadasimahatmyam ete. Kaitabha, the greatness of Ganga, the 7 peIndian Traaition, Gurture ang — sacred places of pilgrim, ees ngs, many lage It desctibes the creation, genealogy of kir ae ‘ecadesl Mahatmon'ete! 4 of Shak di ok an explanation of metaphysical (Rachyaiy, ar on Bheeshma and sage Phulastya, mbodiment of Sri Hari. According to Sootji aly s thing but the mediums through which Sri Hari panes Nasal Bray, Eee oad e bee forehead of Sri Hari. It is said to be the | eart, Vishnu Purana iy purana is sad to Be the {Of arm, Srimadbhagavada Purana is his thigh, Narada Py, arm, shiva Purana is ae is his right foot, Agni Purana is his left foot, Bhavish, Purana is the left knee, Linga Purana is said to be his right ae oe is rightankle, Varaha Purana is said to be his left ankle, Skandha a i hair ony body of Sri Hari, Vamana Purana is his skin, Kurma Purana is his bacl atsya Puranas his stomach, Garuda purana is his bone marrow, Bramhanda Purana is his bone, So the Puranas being the manifestation of different parts of Sri Hari’s body are vary Scrat and capable of bestowing salvation. 15. Linga Purana Linga Purana describes the 28 incarnations of lord Shiva and contains the greatness¢ his lingarupa, different types of worships and vratas, It also describes the universe. 16, Kurma Purana This Purana is narrated by Vishnu in his incarnation as a tortoise. The avataras of varaha, narasimha are described. It contains the conversation between Krishna and Sun god, Dhanvantari and it describes the Lakshmi kalpa in 17000 verses. It also describe the holy places like Varanasi, Prayaga etc., and the worship of Shiva and his incarnations 17. Skandha purana This is a very large purana and consists of 81000 verses narrated by Skandha. It describes the story of Shiva the birth of Skan 5 dha. Based on this purana the Poet Kalidasa composed Kumara Sambhava. The Purana describes so ae sone jayana. contains the stories of Ramayan The first part (Srishti kh knowledge in a dialogue style be Padma purana describes the é right is his navel, Markandeya Pradosha, ete.Ga 7 rrenarune1w Paty : PRAKRIT AND SANSKRIT # [ink oo thashastra, e Evolution of Sanskrit, North Indian Languages & Lit » Jainand Buddhist Literature, « Kautilya’s Al Kannada, Malayalam and Sangama_ Literature, . (Persian, Urdu and Hindi) 7.1_JAIN AND BUDDHIST LITERATURE Religion has played an important role in the lives of the Indians from the earliest times, as in the case of many other ancient cultures of the world. The most important teachers of ancient times on the Indian soil were Mahatma Buddha and Lord Mahavira, who were the founders of Buddhism and Jainism, respectively. The early Jain adopted Prakrit language of the common people to preach thei doctrines. The Jain literature contains epics, Purrnas, novels, dramas and gramma etc. The personality of Buddha and the method adopted by him to preach his religion helped the spread of Buddhism, The use of Pali, the language of the people contribute! to flourish the literature. Pali, the leading language of Middle Indo-Aryan group, is te language of the holy texts of Buddhists. (a) Jain Literature Jain literature begins with Lord Mahavira; last Tarthankar as of Jainism in the si century BCE. The Jain Canon took its present shape i f o Bao) ot VERB Arig tees eae eae cecetuc counel (Ce oY divided into six groups, called the: 1. Aagas 3. Prakimaka 5. Mulasutras: Literature in Pali, Prakrit and Sanskrit om ie es ome peti ten peti in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Kannada ee Te ualean ae scholar, who existed in the later half of the eighth knowledge. He provides reliable HERE Be SALI ‘of higher studies and vvasvakavriti (¢, 725 CE) avira’s life in his work named The Jain literature is classified into two major categories— Agm and Non-agams (i) Agam es preaching Was methodically compiled by his followers into many tex. TR exts are collectively known as Agams, the sacred books of the Jain religion. Agam literature is also divided into two groups: ang agams and ang-bahya agams. Ang-agamas: These texts contain direct preachings of Lord Mahavira. They were compiled by Ganadharas. Lord Mahavira’s immediate disciples were known as Ganadhara. All Ganadharas possessed perfect knowledge (keval-gyan). They compiled the direct preaching of Lord Mahavira orally into twelve main texts (eutras). These texts are known as Ang-agams. Ang-bahya-agams (outside of Ang-agams): These texts are expansions of Ang- agams. They were compiled by Shrutakevalin. Monks who had the knowledge of a minimum of ten Purvas were known as Shrutakevalin. Shrutakevalin wrote man! 1y texts (sutras) expanding the subject matter defined in the ‘Ang-agams. Collectively, these texts are called Ang-bahya~ ‘agams, meaning ‘outside of Ang-agams’. : “The twelfth Ang-agam is called Drastivad, The Drestivad consists of 14 Purva tex's, also known as Purvas or Purva-agams. Among Ang-agams, Purvas wore the oldest sacred texts. They are written in the Prakrit language. (ii) Non-agam Literature This consists of commentary and explanation of Agam. literature and some independent i nks, nuns, and scholars. They are written in many Janguages Se Sach Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, German, and such as Prakrit, Sanskrit, Old Marathi, Gujarati, ae Dhi jaya (Digambara), who probably Anot! I-known personality was ananjaya (Diga i \ fect ie eighth century CE. He was the author of the Reghavepandcve = Dvisandhana, which is an epic in eighteen antes, Dhananjaya was probal : Bee monk but a Digambara layman. vet ding a flourished around 900 CE have prai ;= Indian Tradition, Culture ang 8 62 yetambara scholar Udyotanasuri in c. 778 CE. This work is written in Prake, ee us useful historical information and ey Pie ost iteteing complex Jain literary text of the th century CE. eee ee rari earliest Jain epic (composed in 783 CE) on the subject a re Mal oe arata, the oy heroes of which were the 22™ Tirthankara Neminatha and his cousin Krishna Nara It contains very valuable information of historical importance in the concluding \etig (b) Buddhist Literatue ie j A Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang's account gives us reliable information about condition of Buddhism in India in the seventh century CE. In Kashmir, he was rere with great honour by the king who gave him 20 panditas to make copies of Bud i work besides a few monks to help him in his mission. The most important Budani monastic centres in the early medieval period were located in Kashmir, Bihar, Bo which were the great ceniues of literary activities, Nalanda was the oldest and had attaineg worldwide fame by the seventh century CE. Many original works of Buddhists were burnt in the library of Nal be a great source to cons Vikramashila founded by surpassed Nalanda, Janda, which cou ‘truct the history of India and Buddhism. The Monastery of Dharampala was the greatest institution of the age and eve, Pular among the Buddhist ight Sanskrit through this grammar. itury CE wrote Sragdharastotra, in 37 5, akirti was another famous the first half of the eighih the important works Dharmakirti and @ of the eighteen few independent works Sects of early Buddhism.Literature in Pali, Prakrit and Sar anskri Shivasvamin, a Kash in the ninth century CE, 'miri Buddhist during the ‘i This is based on a tale Lua Us an epic eee Aventvanman ot Kachinis Neha. He Wes het Wwaclanashataka, He was highly in Bhyudaya in 20 cantos. a ae on Sela ston ot Soja, ee oe ae diporal Tibetan baneinione Pienaar eee Se ete oa nettle of Keshnirernpadalthueaen eae oe ae nce Reiee waya-chudamani, the ), Bhavyaraja (c. 1090 CE) who bor emendra who compased He Had ee ‘ mong the Keshoii:Buadhe teeny ane es Se eae Buh avant ofthe aoe pee at Pe acti a : Siamese = fo the Amarakosa is th: parts, containing 1050 a Buddhist, This work i pies pars conaing 1050 vsti herrea Ge ei ny but is not in common use. e work is in two parts on synonyms and ea ‘i 1 use. He says that he yms and homonym words. ry thie watiod We Ree oe had worked on this book for 12 years, Le. See elon aie Words from literature. This work is considered flourished probably in th ne wort fig Ver edo bane pe h lv alan connec 7 prose. The author Lee oemey cherie aoe . Most of literatures of early Buddhist sects 1 enn Ccatal Apa aan 1m. Tibetan and Chinese translations of Tripitakas a A ee eee that ths literature existed at one time. collections of translations of Indian ete Jee Lies ere are found iee time, there was a vast Buddhist literature in Pali aaa er cate Sanskrit, But “not a single Buddhist work ate See has been found within the borders of Indi ie ee aie a iatbes ‘ rs of India.” Probably due 1o the passage of ugh desecration of and vandalism in the monasteri A pais te ‘and ¢ monasteries, innumerable manuscripts were ge The Buddhist literature that we study today has come to us from monaster outside India, in Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Fe ec om Tet eee ‘and Nepal and in translations from Tibet, During his lifetime Buddha encouraged his monks i to follow his teachings i vemacular. After the death of Buddha, the Buddhist canon wes eiiel ae by oval tradition and after that it was written down in the ‘Qnd and Ist centuries BCE. The main division of Buddhism is Pitakas. i Pali canion, also’ known as Tripitaka in Sanskrit, is the mat book of Buddhism, For allthe Buriat seriptures this traditional term is used, The three pitakas of Buddhism are Abhidhamma pitaka, Sutta pitaka and Vinaya pitaka. Abhidhamma pitaka + This pitaka is comp: & ‘Abhidhammapitakaisclvidedintoseven books Patthana, Kathavatthu, Vibhango, | osed of the doctrine and philosophy of Buddhism. namely, Dhatukatha, Dhammasangani, Yarnaka.Indian Tradition, Culture and 64 ae tras relate oe ie pitaka consists of more than 10,000 sutra: eee ed he following sections: ,d to Buddha and aly hy + Sutta pitaka is divided under t ‘ises igha nikaya, which compris ieee comprises the numer h Anguttara nikaya whicl : : ia © Majjhima nikaya, which comprises the middle lengt i © Khuddaka nikaya, which comprises the minor caller ion. 25 © Samyutta nikaya, which comprises the connected discourses of Buddha. the long discourses ical. Vinaya pitaka ee * Vinaya pitaka is also known as a book of discipline. : + Vinaya pitaka deals with monastic rules for nuns and monks. It is further divided into three books Khandhaka, Suttavibhanga and Parivara. Contribution of Buddhism to Indian Culture + The concept of ahimsa was its chief contribution. Afterwards, the ahimsa teaching, came to be recognized as among the most cherished values across the country, * The teachings of Buddhism contributed to the development of languages like Pal and some other local languages. ! + Ithas a remarkable role when it comes to the architecture of India, | Literature } * There are two types of early Buddhist literature: Canonical and Non-canonicd writings. 4 * Canonical texts are books that set outa religion or sect's basic tenets and values. * Tipitaka; (“Pitaka” literally means the basket) Sutta, Vi ic : are the three books belonging to Tripitaka. rene ane eT * The Sutta pitaka contains dialogues of Buddha's di G Y a's discourses on various doctrind los Sutta (from the Sanskrit sutra) refers to Buddhist texts that are believe contain what the Buddha himself said. i * The Vinaya pitaka has th ‘ ‘i falowedby ons — a the rules of Conduct and discipline that a® eae ca : ig ei monastic life. It contains the PatimolLiterature in Pall, Prakrit and Sanskeit i mt The three pitakas ate divided into bo. + The Sutta pitaka, for exam; Samyutta, Anguttara, Oks known as nikayas. ple, is divided into five nikay the ee and Khuddaka nikayas. aa gatha (a collection of short poems by Bhikkunis) and Theragatha (verses attributed to seni : wiiadee ior monks) are respectively the eighth and ninth books of the se ‘aNikaya which in turn is the fifth of the five divisions of the Pali Sutta Non-canonical Buddhist texts + Milinda panha: The literal meaning in Pali is ‘Questions of Milinda’, was composed ai 100 BCE. The book has the SS yecibe that took place febieen the ndo-Greek King Menander I, or Milinda of Bactria, and the sage Nagasena where Milinda asks Nagasena about Buddhism. + The Neitigandha or Nettipakarana (The Book of Guidance) is from the same period and provides a comprehensive account of the Buddha's teachings. + Commentaries on the Tripitaka include a 5th-century work by Buddhaghosha. * The Nidanakatha (1st century) contains the Buddha's first connected life story. + The Dipavamsa (4th-5th centuries) and Mahavamse (5th century) are historical- mythical accounts of the Buddha’s life, Buddhist councils, Maurya emperor Ashoka, Sri Lankan kings, and the advent of Buddhism on the island. Buddhist texts in Sanskrit 3 Er cise Ashwaghosh Buddha Chara, Saundarananda, Sutralankara, Sariputra Prakarana and Vajra Shuchi Negarjuna “T Madhyamika Siddhanta, Medhvamika Sutalankara, Saddharma Pundarika, Shubhalekha and Rasaratnakara ‘Amarasimha “Amarakosha, the first dictionary in Sanskrit Vasubandhu Abhidharmakosha, first dictionary on Buddhist philosonby. Buddhaghosta __| Visuddhiniagse, Sumangalvasini end Athakathayen. Dignaga (Introducing the theory of logic) Pramanasmuchaya. Dharma Keerti _ | Nyaya Bindu “Impact of Buddhism After the death of Buddha, by oral tradition and after that it was wrt main division of Buddhism is Pitakas Afterwards, the ahimsa teachings values across the country: The ee -ddhi non was transmitted and formulated he Ee ies BCE. TheF indian Tradition, Culture and goo, 66 of languages like Pali and some other comes to the architecture of India. local languages. It has a remarkable role When, i 7.2 KAUTILYA’S ARTHASHASTRA = believed to be instrumental in etablsting the ean of he ea! King Chandregupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE). He then took the position of chief minister in the king's court. Chandragupta ee was a contemporary of Alexander and the first great emperor of India who ruled the subcontinent in the 4th century BCE. Kautilya is considered the author of Arthashastra, meaning a text on wealth. Historically, Kautilya’s work carties a great significance because it is an important SOUutce for the history of Mauryas. The book Arthashastra contains about 6000 hymns is a comprehensive manual on how a state ought to be ruled and administrated by a king and his officers, It is very detailed and systematic in Prescribing solutions to the various problems associated with monarchieal form of governance. Several of the administrative suggestions prescribed by Kautilya are still relevant and practicable in the modern administrative world. Arthashastra is an comprehensive treatise on politics, economics, military strategy, the functions of the state, and social organization. It is thought to have been written as. a handbook for Chandragupta instructing him how to reign over a kingdom and encouraging direct action in addressing political concerns without regard for ethical considerations, ge name of the work comes from the Sanskrit words Artha (“aim" or “goal’) and Shastra “teatise” or “book and the goal ofthe workisa comprehensive understanding of statecraft which will enable a monarch to rule effectively. The title has therefore been that the king is notto by the majority by concern for the greatest good for a gre; and advancement of this good * King: who Served the r hat he should subject his decisions at a : Policies should reflect a of his subjects. The preservation Liter aeLiterature in Pali, Praktit and Sanskrit = ri 67 + Ministers/Counsel lors + Farmlands/Countrysi ee served the king. + Fortresse: which provided resources. hich Protected resources and extended control. + Treasurt hich sustained the gov. Military: whi government and fund 'y: which defended the state and expan oa ied expansion. + Allies: potential enemi achieve common goals. mies who could be i ie made friends to achi The king’s strength an public image and thisisb . ae ee Ne re paren oe of his Be vs political powen The Avinash tsouah the concept of warfare as an extension of oF the econicraide tone ate fo ets that a king may wage wars of expansion resources in tough economic periods, Pee a that one will have a reserve of jevel at all times and military campaigns Seite aid Be maintained at a comfortable one cannot afford a prolonged engagement. Pe: pool whatever the provocation, if Fecal beacons ee a ace is preferable to war, the text asserts, and drain the state’s resources. Biers a a = ene Ge ee ae 2 ative white Ras meee Ne So, war's a fact of life. Kautilya defines three types ngage in and be wary of: * Open war — full engagement in battle by the military. » Covert war ~ engagement through political manipulation. + Silent war - Economic/Personal attacks including espionage and assassination. In any of these types of wats. Kautilya emphasizes the importance of spies since intelligence is power and the more one knows of an enemy's motivations, strengths, and weaknesses, the better is one’s position. ‘The king should employ those in the most ‘common professions as spies who could insinuate themselves easily into any level of an enemy's social structure to gather 25 much information as possible. lled with their goods between regions were considered good spices as were vagabond troupes of entertainers, prostitutes, dancers, cooks, servants, and others of the lower classes who provided services, at Kautilya notes their ability to i i i ies in th Women were considered especially skilled spies in i ) A id suspect any ulterior motive i Jovers so casually that no one woul ” ots jiscord among snembers of a foreign court by feigning and, further, are able to Sow di oa affection for first one and then another of the male ey a oe oe to women Kautilya’ jption of the occupations open : Cee aoe served as the elite podyguards to the king, could own and farm land, and work independently as 2 Economy and Society ; . Bi ccutenions and The economy was bas so Kautilya emphasizes © Merchants who trave!—_ indian Tradition, Culture ang £ 1 Taxes, however, mug a te's treasury. hatvests which will go toward ing the sates Sane ee to all and easily understood by the Bet ty tah wore age bette Pe oe tx ae and operated and others were ee oa above or outside of the law, whether in | onside : one, Kautilya ce us ee 2 of society, so that people can feel confident that th, ie to taxation or al ane bared ob t and they are protected an : ae adigm is clearly seen in the law code eo o : i su, ihe ganehonentraudl Othe etiae too fenton serves as no deterrent, butagiag deeeesrnis Fucsiaeth Hectce wil ce mde ceed accordance with dnd escblished ley eri eisiorn €3 thai t understood a4 the jee consequi tablis! Ww a in defiance of that law and with full knowledge of what one Must ex, for beens Book Th atthe ee outlines civil law while Book IV deals with ering lav: Any infraction which fell under criminal law was pursued with the stat as plain since such crimes were considered injustices perpetrated against the state (and 50 thy People as a whole) with state officials serving also as the prosecution, The social customs addressed adhered to Hindu traditions but the Arthashastra goq to some lengths in stipulating how marriages should operate. According to tradition ould arrange a marriage with an acceptable by of the same caste who showed Promise of financial stability and a bright future. Book ind receive the Maximum in proj rights and gifts from their parents, i The text also stipulates that people should undertake jobs in accordance with theit Caste (varna): * Brahmana varna: te, * Kshatriya varna: * Vaishya varna: * Shudra varna: These castes were treatise Manusmriti (Lau achers, Priests, intellectuals warriors, police, protecto merchants, farmers, banke servants, labourers, unskill not legally codified of Manu) but exi. "Ss, Quardians, and the king rs, clerks led workers Until the 2nd century BCE by the nly @ custom. Adherence to the vane The proper by haviour of ; to pursue these aj ims withinLiterature in Pal n Pall, Praktit’and Sanskrit Ce) = ' Arthashastra, it is made clear that ca functions and so th 1@ king is solely responsible for how well the kingdom e king must be wil matter how seemingh willing and able to purs fe i auiestionable ar peseretlt Cate ue any course of action, no a fe. ly distasteful, to ensure the stability and ‘The Arthashastra is tho ght to hai ge wollas that of hi ve paved the way for Cl : © ccidered lest, ts Se ae the Great (r. Mes 52 BC) The ie Fe aecovered by See y; known through references to it in later pieces, until it ee 1905 CE. Shamasasiry published the work in 1909 that brought Ahonen in Esnajish version which Wes published in 1918 CE and Bel es cra tte ote ann of a world-wide audience. It has since been philosophy. portant works on statecraft in the genre of political 7.3 EVOLUTION OF SANSKRIT Gansicit is an ancient and classi suche ese el ae dated by different scholars from 6500 BCE to once ‘ It is believed that the language used in Vedas was prevalent in the form of different dialects. It was some what different from the present Sanskrit. It is termed as Vedic Sanskrit. Each Veda had its book of grammar known as Pratishakhya. The Pratishekhyas explained the forms ‘of the words and other grammatical points. Later, so many schools of grammar developed. During this period a vast literature- Vedas, Brahmana-Granthas, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Vedengas came into existence which could be termed as Vedic Literature being written in Vedic Sanskrit. Panini (500 BCE) was a landmark in the development of Sanskrit language. He, concise about ten grammar chools prevalent during his time, wrote the master book ied Ashtadhyayi which served as beacon for the later period. jt and spoken Sansiait both followed Panini’s system of language. ess of Sanskrit language is tested upon the touchstone of Panini's of grammar nam Literary Sanskri Today the correctn Ashtadhyavee. Sanslerit is said to bel Jong to Indo-Aryan oF Indo-Germanic family of languages se i i "William Jones, who was already inch Latin and other similar languages. ee ae a eet Latin, coming in contact with Sanskait, remarked that Sanskrit ate ee i han Latin and more refined than either. is more perfect than Greek, more ee - Bie a guage”. r Hescis Sansiait 6 9 0 cvadd ‘assical, Sansisitis still used as medium Itis noteworthy that, th Soe vd somewhere in other paris of the world x modern Indian ough itis anc! of expression by scholars thr! aut such as the Americas, an ee Languages in the eighth scheSE — Indian Tradition, Culture 20 Sos 70 Eminent Sanskrit Authors 2. Maharishi Veda Vyasa 1. Adikavi Valmiki ee 3, Kalidasa et : megs 8. Adi Shankaracharya atanja 9. Kalhana 10. Jaideva 1. Adikavi Valmiki 7 s a sage of excellent power of pen and wisdom. Narada advised to ae a the anu poetic meter the life and deeds of Rama. Accordingly, Val; wrote Ramavana, the Adikavya, in seven sections and 24000 couplets full of the Mog compelling imagery, idioms and metaphors, wisdom and nobility. He gave birth toa unique literary and philosophical masterpiece, one of the works in world literature. Valmiki loved and respected life in all its splendor and di the birds, the trees, the rivers, the seasons, forests and even scientific inventions, Very little is known about the personal life of this sage except that before becoming: saint strongly, he was earning his livelihood as a decoit. One day Rishi Agastva met hm and asked him why he committed such crimes. ‘To support my family’ replied Mrigavyadhs the decoit. ‘But are you sure if they will be sharing your sins also?” questioned Agastya Mrigavyadha was deeply disappointed when he asked this of his parents, wife and other: of his family and they said no. Shocked and under deep sense of remorse, he started meditating and went into Samadhi, So deep was his meditation that he lost sense of hit ion Ants built their nests around him and his body took the shape of an ant E Hn 2 was very much moved by his condition and his austere Penance and washed off the mud and cured his wounds. There after he was called Valmiki out of Valmika, an ant hill. God blessed him and called hi aoe teaching of the Ramayana is the sanctity of the institution seine oe enemenl fn tntelatines 2 institution of the family which is sociely ian aaa rings eh i by Kritibas, Romavana in Moc amese by Madara an, Mulla Rom ee ae by Eknath, Kariba Ramanuja Edutachhan ae a ee also in many other Indian and Kandali, Ramayana in Bengali Ramayana in Tamil by Kamb: Ramayana in Malaylam by foreign languages, 2. Maharishi Veda Vya, e Maharishi °Literature in Pali, Prakrit and Sancta = 'skrit in an island and hence w; Bh : i "2 was called : acquired the title of Krishna and Bea a His was dark complexion and thus he Samhitas, he got the title of Vode Vea cite the available knowledge of Veda into Y ase hot Gil compiled is ae is was Satyawati. ee ae and the Bhagwat Purana — the a ie eighteen Puranas. He also wrote aoe e abharata the great epic which sl = stone of human knowledge. He it has been written in Mahabhorale felt saree the encyclopedia of knowledge. (aeoos and Unsbita on eee who knows the Vedas with all its Geholar (Mabotharala, Adigaran) Fie ae i ae cannot be called a leamed wo goup «cons bt ban oe npetootss Hoses oe of anecdotes, subhashitas and is a grand treatise on Toni nah oe ed oC Itis said that Vyasa dictated the script of Mahabh: ee \Ggies by breakin cnet ees arata to Ganesh who wrote it on bark i a i Powasthetalher a! Unmieesiteee Tere fee aE figure in the Mahabharata, ee born on Shukla Purnima of Ashadha month which is worshipped even today in Indian homes as Guru Purnima. He is worshipped as Guru because of his greatness and vastness of knowledge. It is said that this whole world is pervaded by ‘Vyasa (Vyesehchhisiiarn Jagat Sarvam) and there could definitely be no better an adjective for him. 3. Kalidasa Kalidasa was the national poet of ancient India and the brightest star in the firmament of Indian poetry. He has been unanimously acclaimed as the greatest Sanskrit poet. His genius has been acknowledged, appreciated and ‘admired by poets, critics and the literary public alike. Kalidasa enjoys a high rank among: global poets like Dante, Goethe, Shakespeare etc. Scholars are of different opinions regarding his date. Different theories place him anywhere between 200 BCE to 600 AD. Tradition mentions Kalidasa as a contemporety and court poet of King Vikramaditya who founded an era known after his name, ‘commencing with 57 BCE. Hence, most of the scholars opine that Kalidasa flourished in the First Century BCE. Works of Kalidasa attributed to Kalidasa but the following seven world famous works are undoubtedly composed by him: Ritusamhara and Meghadoto; avam and Raghuvamsham;- hakuntalam. e arasambhi Two mahakavyas: Kum Vikramorvasniyam and Abhijnans a . .g poet. Here, Three plays: Malavikagnimitram, ai Ritusamhara, @ lyrical poem Bug 1 oe Deaaaria the natural, scenic and loral be There are about 41 works which are Two lyric poems:(72 (rainy), sharad (autumn), hemanta (dewy) i ly. Ror a newieediot Wricel posty neva mee Mandakranta mei 7 ing residing in Alakapuri (in mountain Kaj his sandesha (message) to his Sa eae Titatlen of Meshadost aad a hrough a cloud — messenger, :d mostly in Mandakranta metre gre hundred Sandesha-Kavyas have been compose by none equals the Meghadoot f Parvati to win Shy described the penance o: in Shiva, In Kumarasambhava, the poet has descr a ‘ dove thei wedlock finally resulting in the birth of Kumara Karttikeya, the warrior gy who killed the demon Taraka, : In Raghuvamsha, the poet has dealt with the heroic deeds of the solar dynasty Of the ancient Indian barons in 19 cantos. It begins with the description of King Dilip and with the narrative of Agnivarna. It abounds in beautiful descriptions and Narratives, name a few, go-seva by Dilip, Raghu’s digvijaya, Indumati-svayamyara, Aja-vilapa, ete Malavikagnimitram is an intrigue drama which is based on the love story of Malaviks end King Agnimitra. Viktamorvashiyam is based on the love story of the celestig nymph Urvashi and King Pururavas. Abhijnana-shakuntalam is the best amongst a the plays written in Sanskrit till today. Its plot has been taken from Mahabharata ang Pedmapurana, Kalidasa through his fancy and adeptness in introducing new elements in the main plot, adds the episode of the curse on Shakuntala by sage Durvasa which lends additional charm to the love story of Shakuntala and King Dushyanta. This also elevates the character of the hero. Kalidasa, a peerless poet par excellence, was @cquainted with and affluent in various systems of Philosophy, several schools of religious beliefs law and Polity, economics, eanatinay, ne sixty-four arts including Music and fine arts, Zoology and plant science ‘00. Numerous references to all the aforementioned vid las at ici i it his works that they bring forth the f eee olently inchideds Kelidasa's poetic genius brought: igh expertise of the poet, ’ Sansleit poetry t. His style is pure and chaste, It is una eo and easy flowing language chara rtificial and marke Sea unparalleled for thei = Indian Tradition, Culture and gq. ), shishira (winter) and vasanta (spring), - According to one eulogy the first) occupied the lat ‘anamika = nameless), since his of li and the * dise deel well mer Pro! epic prol Kar one Bril anc suc sucLiterature in Pali, Prakritiand Sanskrit el rit 4, Bhasa Bhasa was the first great dramati e world. In the year 191| ist whose’ com Mecovered a collection of S a Pie lattes ate iow avaliable to declared them as the compositions of one si well known dramatist was a predecessor et ev author, Bhasa. It is certain that this mentions his name with respect in the prelud lidasa, The greatest Sansktit poet Kalidasa Some scholars place him in 2nd or 3rd cer lude to his first drama, the Malavikagnimitrarn. probably Bhasa was a devotee of Lord a CBthetuten dshwaghasta and Kalidasa. epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, from ne ay derives his plots from the great tpobably rom Brihatkatha of aaa eee Shrimadbhagavata and most The thirteen plays o: Werabheri ore ee areas ae The one act plays, based on Karnabharam and Urubhangam. yam, Madhyamavyayogam, Dutaghatotkacham, Dramas, based on Ramayana are: Praitimanatakem and Abhishskanatalom one is based on Shrimadbhagavatam is Balacaritam and the others based on Brihatkatha are Pratijnayaugandharayanam and Svapnavasavadattam Avimarakam and Daridracharudattam are based on Lokakathas. Bhasa was a born-dramatist. He has presented various models of Sansiit drama, such as Prakarana and Bhana (one-act plays) ete. In al his smal dramas, the poet has Succeeded in making them extraordinarily dramatic, Bhasa’s Svapnavasavadattam is a masterpiece of Sanskvit literature. According to dattam was the only drama which proved itself Acharya Rajashekhara, Svapnavasavat non-combustible in the fire of ctiticism. Svapnavasavdattam, means ‘the Dream of Vasavadatta who meets her husband Udayana ina dream’. The plot has probably been f Gunadhya. From the point of view of stage performance, taken from the Brihatkatha © Bhasa’s plays are magnificent. 5. Harsha Harsha, also known aS Harshavardhana. the second ich cP sce younger brother of Raivavardhana etary se Buddhism. Emperor Harsha G87 CE, He was an orthodox Hind Ou ae opsored many oes Banabhatta himself wai great echolen yee peel! pope famous work Harshachariten know his life histor ‘er, Harsha and Mayura. We come to a i composed by Banabhatta, : of three Sanskrit works: N® @ nataka, whereas the te and describes the self-sac 7] Indian Tradition, Culture an, mi there is an in erasing eu th hich the hero’ Se sub-plot in the drama in wi inn there is an interesting 5 jain theme, epicted, " ts; it deals wit} Malayavaii has been ne ee is a natika in four act h the Harsha's The Ratnaval, ete ter of the king of Sri ‘ Udayana and Rainavali, the daughter aa wile lark of the union of king {s, like Dhananjaya regard Ratnavali and Priv; shang Later dramaturgists, : . ‘ its theme the un) Sanskrit dramas. ka in four acts, having for i ic shika is also @ nati th these 2 The vases daughter of King Dridhavarman. In bo tel , Ee ie dace ator enter Gil ales rein of Kale isnot only a si ee ; Priyadlarshika is the effective intiod i teworthy feature of the 2 ; afspey onic analy called garbhanka, as an integral part of the action, a ee illustrations from both the natikas (Ratnavali and Privadarshika) lu been amply cited by later dramaturgists and are popular amongst teachers and studen, of drama and dramaturgy. 6. Panini Panini is, today, recognized all over the world as the greatest model of h intelligence. Though India has a long tradition of grammarians but the final codificatig, ly fo Panini whose grammar has remained normatix matical works. Panini himself has mentionel the names of ten grammarians — Apishali, Kashyapa, Garaya, Galava, Chalravenmen Bharadwaj, Shakatavana, Shakalya, Shonaka ana Sphotayana. Panini’s Ashtadhyayi contains 4000 sutras Presented in eight chapters of four quarten c2ch. Itis remarkable that the texi has come down to us intact without any interpolation. Ashtadhyayi is weitten in sutra siyle. A sutra has to be brief, precise and unambiguous The sutras have to be intenpreted ‘within their shated context. Thus sutra is not ar independent statement, Panini’s many sutras contain references to a living speech. He has discussed the peculiarities in the sage of the language by easterners anid northemers The starting points of this great w ara Sutras in which the /ork are the famous Maheshw, lly divided into three sounds have been broa lese sounds have yl » £very toot can be conjugated into ‘almost all the les, aspects and voices: Toots are grouped Constitute similar forms, The no / Literature gender Pe word is lz There are with the been the As re sources tl village ne be anyw! origin to 7. Patas The whom tt sage an etc, Acc was an and ayt Anz speech toward: Pate angasa Yoga’ the che Pat comme remair of seri vartike Panini with b is pres lis q gravit Tt as the Sc ~ sare Pa= in Tradition, Culture and go” part of Kashmir. Nothing i known abo If Patanjali is accepted as contery, ents at Pataliputra, : s to King Pushyamitra r 4 Poray, 8. Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankaracharya was not just energy combining in him a mystic, eee | waists tiene 1 Rec. Vertue dares ae f Shankara was born in Kala y villag i Arvaribn gitar pious etc at of existence as 509 BC to 477 BC. His mot! ve Ng Log Shiva. His father Shiv Guru left him when he was only three years o| the age five only he had studied all the Vedas and Vedangas. Staying at ere once ww he went to beg alms the lady of the house was so poor that she could only ive a Amla and she felt very sorry for it. Shankara prayed for her fo Goddess Lakshmi showered gold coins in the shape of Aimla. This stotra is known as Kanakadharastoir, At the age of seven he returned ftom Gurukul and wanted to renounce the world, by his mother forbade him to do so. Playing a trick he entered a river and shouted thats crocodile had caught him and would only release him if he is permitted to renounce the world. The helpless mother granted him the permission for renunciation with the promise that he would perform her last rites. Thus Shankara left and on the way crosseq ‘vers, his, forests, towns, meeting varied personalities and limitless varieties of the creation experiencing the Brahman the ultimate reality in every tiny living and non-living creature. He came across a cave in which Govinda Bhagwadpad was deeply engrossed in Samadhi. The cave was on the bank of the tiver Narmada and its flooding waters: started entering the cave, Shankara adjusted a bot in such a way that the water could not enter the cave. Ultimately Govinda initiated him into Sanyasa and taught him the four Mahavakyas — Tat tvamasi, Prajnanam Brahma, Aham Brahmasmi and Ayamatma Brahma. Here, Shankar attained Siddhis through Yoga and meditation and obtained supernatural powers. From here he visited Kas! a philosopher or a scholar, He was.a man of a a saint, a scholar, a poet and above all a pra a hi and from there went to Badari Dham and wrote the eee Bhashya. From here he was Proceeding towards Kedar — ashram whet? e saw Kum: himself in fire as a tevenge for his own act of orth, Govardhan math atLiterature in Pali, Prakrit Lxeret eS and Sanskrit Puri in the east. Shringeri may es! th in Ki ro Ni he aes established Kanchi Kanan Poetetth 2nd Dwvartka math in Gujarat Shankara in the short span of hi Peetham at Ki fis life ( s ‘anchi as his abode. and Gita. He also com, « tonly 32 year DijadehSsham, Weenie es Dialarangrarian mossy te ah adamant Ast aranaranthas, introductory books such Hie spent his last momente ae ets APaokshenubhut ete —in-al eighty books ft his th a Se ot dian of Bhagwati Kamalchi at Kanchipuram -two only. fact, he was the first torch-bearer philosophical and religious plan over the Indian landmass. 9. Kalhana Ae a) Post who. composed the first and the best historical Kavya Rajatarangini y ory of Kashmir. It covered the entire period 1300 BCE to 1150 CE. re period of devyetorsnarms fom Rajatarangini contains: eight tarangas (waves). He surveyed the royal collections with the kings, puranas, various inscriptions, anthologies, seals and coins to make his work more authentic. The Kavya starts with one King Govinda of 1300 BCE and contains the most authentic chronological descriptions of various prominent incidents. He not only mentioned the qualities of the kings but also their immoral acts. The main objective of this work is the propagation of morality. He has appreciated the prevalent religious tolerance in the various sects of Kashmir. Hindus and Muslims worked together without ever having a tinge of enmity. He specially opposed the kings who ever tried to disturb this unity, He has bitterly criticized the greedy pries's, indisciplined soldiers and wicked officials. He has showered praise on the pious ambitions of Rani Chidda. This poetic work contains beautiful figures: ‘of speech and is written mostlyin Anushtubh meter. Kalhana was a resident of Kashmi Harsha of Kashmir. After the a Kalhi deprived of the royal grace. ; pe ne but also appreciated Buddhism. He started writing this work in 1148 CE and completed itin neatly HME rt : A 3 Kalhana spared no pains in collecting deserves all credit for being the comPO ofsueh an ee pis farnous geetikawya Geeta Govinda Jaideva is an extremely His father Champak was a true follower of King ‘on of the King, Champak left politics and thus jous material and evidences. He excellent historical Mahakavya-