INDIAN LITERATURE History and culture is the heart of literature.

A. Country Facts ( India the origin of Yoga and Martial Arts)

Population: Has an estimated population of 1.13 billion. It is the seventh largest country by geographical area and the second most populous country in the world. Geography: It is located in South Asia. The Indian subcontinent is a huge, terrestrial break between Africa and Indonesia. Religions: The major religions: (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam) Hinduism is the dominant faith in India comprising 80% of the population. Ten percent worship Islam, five percent are Sikhs and Christians; and others are Buddhists, Jains and Bahais. Government: Parliamentary form of Government Secular democratic constitution Worlds largest democracy since 55 years 4th largest economy Fastest growing IT super power Indian Railways ,the biggest employer in the world. 325 languages spoken 1,652 dialects 18 official languages B. Literature - One of the worlds oldest and richest - Oral traditions storytellers present traditional Indian text - Literature is influenced by: A religious doctrine karma the chain of good and bad action and their inevitable consequences, which result to the repeated birth and death of the soul. - Mythology of the dominant Hindu deities 1. Sanskrit Literature Sanskrit ( ancestral language of India) Text were produced about 16th century BC by people known as Aryans (were cattle herders who were originally nomadic) who established kingdoms in north India

 Religious Texts A. VEDAS ( Book of Knowledge) 1. The Four Vedas 1.1 Rig-Veda anthology of 1080 hymns to various gods ex. Creation Hymn 1.2 Sama-Veda Book of Chants consists of liturgies. 1.3 Yajur-Veda Prayer Book which consists of liturgies and repetition of Rig-Veda but contains many original prose formulas 1.4 Atharva-Veda Book of Spells which contains some hymns, spells, incantations, and notions about demonology and witchcraft. B. BRAHMANAS the book on the observance of religious rites.
C. ARANKAYAS - instructions for hermits in the forest and their

performance of religious rites. D.UPANISHADS instructions of a father to his son. - consists of 108 dialogues between teachers and their students about the individual souls unity Sanskrit Language most suitable for computer software Heroic Texts A. The Ramayana ( Way of Rama) is written by the poet Valkimi and tells the story of the hero Rama, prince of Ayodhya and incarnation of the god Vishu. B. Mahabharata - (The Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty) Written by the poet Vyasal A tale of dispute between two branches of the Bharata clans over the right to rule the kingdom. the longest Indian epic 2. Classical Literature - great achievements in philosophy, sciences and arts - reflected values of Hinduism Literature was nurtured by the caste system: 1. Brahman scholars and priest 2. Kshatriya the warriors 3. Vaisya merchants 4. Sudra laborers

Kavya was the major form of classical literature in Sanskrit. Kalidasa - the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit, and occupies the same position in Sanskrit literature that Shakespeare occupies in English literature. He also wrote poems and long and short epics Panchatantra (The Five Strategies) - a collection of stories in prose and verse, which feature animals as the characters, teach lessons about human conduct. Rabindranath Tagore - A Bengali poet, philosopher, artist, playwright, composer and novelist. The first non-European winner of the Nobel Prize award for literature in 1913. Gitanjali - (Song Offerings, 1910) His best known work, which is a collection of poems. Three Famous Plays 1. Vikramorvashiyam (Vakrama and Urvashi) 2. Malakavikagnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra) 3. SHAKUNTALA (Shakuntala and the Ring of Recollection) - poetic drama, tells the story of a love affair between a king and a woodland maiden Shakuntala - A universal drama of the passion, separation, suffering and reunion of lovers. Great Indian Personalities 1. Aryabhatta invented the zero 2. Mahatma Gandhi embodiment of non-violence 3. Swami Vivekananda Champion of humanitarianism 4. Ramanujam - Great Indian Mathematician (Postulated and proved 3,542 theorems) 5. Mother Teresa 1979 Nobel Prize in Peace