‘prakriti’ or a raw material is refined it becomes ‘Sanskriti’ and when broken or damaged it becomes ‘vikriti’

The word ‘Veda’ literally means knowledge.

They treat the whole world as one human family Vasudev Kutumbakam.

As the Upanishads contain abstract and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at the end. That is why they are called the end of Vedas.

There are more than 200 known Upanishads, one of which, the Muktika, gives a list of 108 Upanishads – this number corresponds to the holy number of beads on a mala or Hindu rosary.

They deal with questions like the origin of the universe, life and death, the material and spiritual world, nature of

knowledge and many other questions.

The Ramayana of Valmiki is the original Ramayana. It is called Adikavya and Maharishi Valmiki is known as Adi Kavi.

The other epic, the Mahabharata, was written by Ved Vyas. Originally, it was written in Sanskrit and contained 8800 verses and was called “Jaya” or the collection dealing with victory. These were raised to 24,000 and came to be known as Bharata, named after one of the earliest Vedic tribes. The final compilation brought the verses to 100,000, which came to be known as the Mahabharata or the Satasahasri Samhita.

They are regarded next in importance only to the Vedas and the Epics. There are said to be eighteen Puranas and about the same number of Upapuranas.

Puranas are mythological works which propagate religious and spiritual messages through parables and fables.

The Puranas follow the lines of the epics, and the earliest Puranas were compiled in the Gupta period.

The religious books of the Jains and the Buddhists refer to historical persons or incidents. The earliest Buddhist works were written in Pali, which was spoken in Magadha and South Bihar.

The canonical literature is best represented by the “Tripitakas”, that is, three baskets -Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. Vinaya Pitaka deals with rules and regulations of daily life. Sutta Pitaka contains dialogues and discourses on morality and deals with Dharma while Abhidhamma Pitaka deals with philosophy and metaphysics.

The non-canonical literature is best represented by the Jatakas.

It was believed that before he was finally born as Gautama, the Buddha practising Dharma passed through more than 550 births, in many cases even in the form of animals. Each birth story is called a Jataka.

They also make incidental reference to political events in the age of the Buddha. The Jain texts were written in Prakrit and were finally compiled in the sixth century AD in Valabhi in Gujarat. The important works are known as Angas, Upangas, Prakirnas, Chhedab Sutras and Malasutras.

1028 hymns known as Sukta or “Well said”.

We also have a large body of books dealing with various sciences, law, medicine and grammar. To this class belong the law books called the Dharmasutras and smritis, together known as Dharmashastras.

The Manusmriti tells us about the role of man and woman in society, their code of conduct and relationship with each other.

The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on the works of Panini and Patanjali.

Famous Sanskrit Authors of the Gupta Period

Kalidas:

Vishakhdutta

3. Shudraka: He wrote an exciting play Mrichchha Katikam or the Toy Cart. It is a great source of socio-cultural conditions of that time. 4. Harisena: Among the great poets and play writers of the Gupta period was Harisena. He wrote poems praising the valour of Samudra Gupta. It is inscribed on Allahabad pillar. 5. Bhasa: He wrote thirteen plays which echo the lifestyle of the era along with its prevalent beliefs and culture.

The Kushana kings patronised Sanskrit scholars. Ashvaghosha wrote the Buddhacharitra which is the biography of the Buddha. He also wrote Saundarananda, which is a fine example of Sanskrit poetry.

Books on medicine were written by Charak and on surgery by Sushruta. Madhava wrote a book on pathology. Books written on astronomy by Varahamihira and Aryabhatta and on astrology by Lagdhacharya had all achieved prominence. There is none that can compete with Varahamihiras Bhrihatsamhita, Aryabhatia and Vedanga Jyotisha.

Poets, bards and writers, authors came from various parts of South India to Madurai. Such assemblies were called “Sangamas”, and the literature produced in these assemblies was called “Sangama literature”. The contributions of Tamil saints like Thiruvalluvar who wrote ‘Kural’ which has been translated into many langauges are noteworthy. The Sangama literature is a collection of long and short poems composed by various poets in praise of numerous heroes and heroines. They are secular in nature and of a very high quality. Three such sangams were held. The poems collected in the first sangam have been lost. In the second Sangam about 2000 poems have been collected.

There are about 30,000 lines of poetry, which are arranged in eight anthologies called Ettuttokoi.

Thiruvallurar’s work ‘Kural’ is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the epics, the second part with polity and government and the third part with love.

The alphabets during Ashoka’s period were uneven in size but by the time of Harsha, the letters had become of the same size and were regular, presenting the picture of a cultivated

Tulsidas in the Ramacharitamanasa is called Avadhi

Though Khusrau has used Khadi Boli in his compositions

. Urdu as a language was born out of the interaction between Hindi and Persian.

The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar wrote poetry in it.

The earliest Urdu poet is supposed to be Khusrau (1253-1325). He started writing as a poet in the reign of Sultan Balban and was a follower of Nizam ud-din Auliya.

Among the important works composed by him are Laila Majnun and Ayina-I-Sikandari dedicated to Alau-din-Khalji.

Urdu has given us a new form of poem that is called a nazm.

During Shah Jahan’s time there was a well known scholar named Abdul Hameed Lahori. He wrote Badshah Nama.

tuzuk (autobiography)

Akbar patronized many scholars. He got Mahabharata translated into Persian. Jahangir’s autobiography (Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri) is in Persian

Tabqat-i-Alamgïri, shedding light on Aurangzeb. Badauni was another writer who belonged during Akbar’s time.

Prithviraj Raso is supposed to be the first book in the Hindi language.

Though it is said that Tuisidas wroteRamcharit Manas based on Valmiki’s Ramayana,

For example, Sita’s exile is mentioned in Valmiki’s version but it is not mentioned in Tulsidas’s account. Tuisidas has deified his hero while the hero of Valmiki is a human being.

William Carey, who wrote a grammar of Bengali and published an English-Bengali dictionary

uru Gobind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh

has composed two savaiyyas in Punjabi but these are not a part of the Adi Granth.

The most important of these is Heer of Waris Shah. It is the most popular of the early works. It is a landmark in Punjabi poetry. Similar is the popularity of Bulley Shah who was a Sufi saint.

Ramdas (1608-81), who was the guru of Shivaji, is the last of these hymn writers. He was the devotee of Rama. He inspired Shivaji.

The contribution of the Christian missionaries in the development of Indian literature was no less significant. First of all, they published dictionaries and grammar in several local languages. The books written by them were meant for the newly arrived clergymen from Europe.

The second fact is the role of lithographic printing press, which was introduced in India in the beginning of the nineteenth century. The foreigners had established these presses for printing literature in local languages for the benefit of the new, or would-be converts

The third important fact is the establishment of schools and colleges by the missionaries. Here, besides English, the missionaries also taught the local languages. Perhaps their aim was to spread Christianity but they also produced a newly educated class, who had a desire to read their literature. Thus, the role of missionaries cannot be ignored while writing the history of Indian languages and literature.

The Atman is the true source of human’s knowledge, happiness and power. The rishis further found that all individual selves are parts of infinite consciousness which they called Brahman.

The Atharva Veda contained a great deal of animistic beliefs.

However, Buddhism endorsed the doctrine of the Law of Karma and upheld the belief in rebirths of the embodied skandhas and the inevitability of suffering

The worship of Yakshas and Nagas and other folk deities constituted the most important part of primitive religious beliefs, in which Bhakti had a very important role to play.

A Sutra in Panini’s Ashtadhyayi refers to the worshippers of Vasudeva (Krishna). The Chhandogya Upanishad also speaks of Krishna, the son of Devaki, a pupil of the sage Ghora Angirasa who was a sun-worshipping priest.

alvars (a Tamil word denoting those drowned in Vishnu-bhakti) preached single-minded devotion (ekatmika bhakti) for Vishnu and their songs were collectively known asprabandhas.

These Vedic philosophical concepts later on gave rise to six different

schools of philosophies called shada darshana.

Samkhya System

The Samkhya philosophy holds that reality is constituted of two principles one female and the other male i.e. Prakriti, Purusha respectively. Prakriti and Purusha are completely independent and absolute. According to this system, Purusha is mere consciousness, hence it cannot be modified or changed. Prakriti on the other hand is constituted of three attributes, thought, movement and the change or transformation of these attributes brings about the change in all objects. The Samkhya philosophy tries to establish some relationship between Purusha and Prakriti for explaining the creation of the universe. The propounder of this philosophy was Kapila, who wrote the Samkhya sutra.

The Samkhya philosophy holds that reality is constituted of two principles one female and the other male i.e. Prakriti, Purusha respectively. Prakriti and Purusha are completely independent and absolute. According to this system, Purusha is mere consciousness, hence it cannot be modified or changed. Prakriti on the other hand is constituted of three attributes, thought, movement and the change or transformation of these attributes brings about the change in all objects. The Samkhya philosophy tries to establish some relationship between Purusha and Prakriti for explaining the creation of the universe. The propounder of this philosophy was Kapila, who wrote the Samkhya sutra.

Nyaya Nyaya is considered as a technique of logical thinking. According to Nyaya, valid knowledge is defined as the real knowledge, that is, one knows about the object as it exists. For example, it is when one knows a snake as a snake or a cup as a cup. Nyaya system of philosophy considers God who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Gautama is said to be the author of the Nyaya Sutras.

Vaisheshika Vaisheshika system is considered as the realistic and objective philosophy of universe. The reality according to this philosophy has many bases or categories which are substance, attribute, action, genus, distinct quality and inherence. Vaisheshika thinkers believe that all objects of the universe are composed of five elements–earth, water, air, fire and ether. They believe that God is the guiding principle. The living beings were rewarded or punished according to the law ofkarma, based on actions of merit and demerit. Creation and destruction of universe was a cyclic process and took place in agreement with the wishes of God. Kanada wrote the basic text of Vaisheshika philosophy.

Vaisheshika School of philosophy explained the phenomena of the universe by the atomic theory, the combination of atoms and molecules into matter and explained the mechanical process of formation of Universe. Mimamsa Mimamsa philosophy is basically the analysis of interpretation, application and the use of the text of the Samhita and Brahmana portions of the Veda. According to Mimamsa philosophy Vedas are eternal and possess all knowledge, and religion means the fulfilment of duties prescribed by the Vedas. This philosophy encompasses the Nyaya-Vaisheshika systems and emphasizes the concept of valid knowledge. Its main text is known as the Sutras of Gaimini which have been written during the third century BC. The names associated with this philosophy are Sabar Swami and Kumarila Bhatta. The essence of the system according to Jaimini is Dharma which is the dispenser of fruits of one’s actions, the law of righteousness itself. This system lays stress on the ritualistic part of Vedas. Vedanta Vedanta implies the philosophy of the Upanishad, the concluding portion of the Vedas. Shankaracharya wrote the commentaries on the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the Bhagavad Gita. Shankaracharya’s discourse or his philosophical views came to be known as Advaita Vedanta. Advaita literally means non-dualism or belief in one reality. Shankaracharya expounded that ultimate reality is one, it being the Brahman. According to Vedanta philosophy, ‘Brahman is true, the world is false and self and Brahman are not different, Shankaracharya believes that the Brahman is existent, unchanging, the highest truth and the ultimate knowledge. He also believes that there is no distinction between Brahman and the self. The knowledge of Brahman is the essence of all things and the ultimate existence. Ramanuja was another well known Advaita scholar.

Vedanta philosophy teaches that all these different religions are like so many roads, which lead to same goal. Vedanta (the end of the Vedas or knowledge) refers to the Upanishads which appeared at the end of each Veda with a direct perception of reality. The core message of Vedanta is that every action must be governed by the intellect – the discriminating faculty. The mind makes mistakes but the intellect tells us if the action is in our interest or not. Vedanta enables the practitioner to access the realm of spirit through the intellect. Whether one moves into spirituality through Yoga, meditation or devotion, it must ultimately crystallize into inner understanding for atitudinal changes and enlightenment.

Brihaspati is supposed to be the founder of the Charvaka School of philosophy. It finds mention in the Vedas and Brihadaranyka Upanishad. Thus it is supposed to be the earliest in the growth of the philosophical knowledge. It holds that knowledge is the product of the combination of four elements which leaves no trace after death. Charvaka philosophy deals with the materialistic philosophy. It is also known as the Lokayata Philosophy - the philosophy of the masses. According to Charvaka there is no other world. Hence, death is the end of humans and pleasure the ultimate object in life. Charvaka recognises no existence other than this material world. Since God, soul, and heaven, cannot be perceived, they are not recognised by Charvakas. Out of the five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether, the Charvakas do not recognise ether as it is not known through perception. The whole universe according to them is thus consisted of four elements.

Like the Charvakas, the Jains too do not believe in the Vedas, but they admit the existence of a soul. They also agree with the orthodox tradition that suffering (pain) can be stopped by controlling the mind and by seeking right knowledge and perception and by observing the right conduct. The Jaina philosophy was first propounded by the tirthankar Rishabha Deva.

Mahavira

strongly believed in the importance of celibacy or brahamcharya.

The Jainas believe that the natural and supernatural things of the universe can be traced back to seven fundamental elements. They arejiva, ajivaa, astikaya, bandha, samvara, nirjana, and moksa. Substances like body which exist and envelope (like a cover) are astïkaya. Anastikayas like ‘time’ have no body at all. The substance is the basis of attributes (qualities). The attributes that we find in a substance are known as dharmas. The Jainas believe that things or substance have attributes. These attributes also change with the change of kala (time). From their point of view, the attributes of a substance are essential, and eternal or unchangeable. Without essential attributes, a thing cannot exist. So they are always present in everything. For example, consciousness (chetana) is the essence of the soul; desire, happiness and sorrow are its changeable attributes.

Gautama’s three main disciples known as Upali, Ananda and Mahakashyap remembered his teachings and passed them on to his followers. It is believed that soon after the Buddha’s death a council was called at Rajagriha where Upali recited the Vinaya Pitaka (rules of the order) and Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka (Buddha’s sermons or doctrines and ethics). Sometime later the Abhidhamma Pitaka consisting of the Buddhist philosophy came into existence. Main Characteristics

Realization of Four Noble Truths.

Except for Charvaka school, realisation of soul has been the common goal of all philosophical schools of India.

Rajgir and empathise with the Chinese traveller Fa-hein who visited this place 900 years after the death of Buddha.

The first Buddhist Council was held in the Saptaparni cave in which the unwritten teachings of Buddha were penned down after his death.

Abul Fazl while writing in the Ain-i-Akbari speaks of fourteen silsilahs of the Sufis.

hese silsilahs were divided into two types: Ba-shara and Be-shara. Ba-shara were those orders that followed the Islamic Law (Sharia) and its directives such as namaz and roza. Chief amongst these were the Chishti, Suhrawardi, Firdawsi, Qadiri and Naqshbandi silsilahs. The be-shara silsilahs were not bound by the Sharia. The Qalandars belonged to this group.

The khanqah of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki was also visited by people from all walks of life. Sultan Iltutmish dedicated the Qutub Minar to this Saint.

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti

disciples were Sheikh Hamiduddin of Nagaur and Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.

Baba Farid’s most famous disciple Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325) was responsible for making Delhi an important centre of the Chishti silsilah.

Amongst his followers was the noted writer Amir Khusrau.

Another famous Chishti saint was Sheikh Nasiruddin Mahmud, popularly known as Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Dilli (The Lamp of Delhi).

It must be noted that unlike the Chishti saints, the Suhrawardis maintained close contacts with the state. They accepted gifts, jagirs and even government posts in the ecclersiastical department.

The Sufis believed in the concept of Wahdat-ul-Wajud (Unity of Being)

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUFI MOVEMENT

The Sufi movement made a valuable contribution to Indian society. Like the Bhakti saints who were engaged in breaking down the barriers within Hinduism, the Sufis too infused a new liberal outlook within Islam

had preached a non-sectarian religion based on universal love.

A notable contribution of the Sufis was their service to the poorer and downtrodden sections of society.

The Sufi movement encouraged equality and brotherhood.

Like the Bhakti saints, the Sufi saints contributed greatly to the growth of a rich regional literature.

Khusrau

created a new style called sabaq-i-hindi.

Kabir used it extensively.

Bhagavata Purana

Centered around Krishna’s childhood and youth

A more effective method for spreading of the Bhakti ideology was the use of local languages. The Bhakti saints composed their verses in local languages. They also translated Sanskrit works to make them understandable to a wider audience.

The Bhakti saints believed that salvation can be achieved by all. They made no distinction of caste, creed or religion before God.

They advocated social reforms too. They opposed sati and female infanticide. Women were encouraged to join kirtans. Mirabai and Lalla (of Kashmir) composed verses that are popular even today.

His disciples called themselves Sikhs (derived from Sanskrit sisya, disciple or Pali sikkha, instruction).

a sakar form of God had also developed. This movement, called the Vaishnavite movement, centered around the worship of Rama and Krishna, who were seen as incarnations (avatars) of Lord Vishnu.

Surdas (1483-1563) was a disciple of the famous teacher, Vallabhachara. He was a blind poet, whose songs are centered around Krishna. His Sursagar recounts the exploits of Krishna during his childhood and youth with gentle affection and delightfulness. The love for Krishna was also expressed through the songs of Mirabai (l 503-73).

Vishistadvaita of Ramanujacharya Vïshistadvaita means modified monism. The ultimate reality according to this philosophy is Brahman (God) and matter and soul are his qualities. Sivadvaita of Srikanthacharya According to this philosophy the ultimate Brahman is Shiva, endowed with Shakti. Shiva exists in this world as well as beyond it. Dvaita of Madhavacharya The literal meaning of dvaita is dualism which stands in opposition to non-dualism and monism of Shankaracharya. He believed that the world is not an illusion (maya) but a reality full of differences. Dvaitadvaita of Nimbaraka Dvaitadvaita means dualistic monism. According to this philosophy God transformed himself into world and soul. This world and soul are different from God (Brahman). They could survive with the support of God only. They are separate but dependent. Suddhadvaita of Vallabhacharya Vallabhacharya wrote commentaries on Vedanta Sutra and Bhagavad Gita. For him. Brahman (God) was Sri Krishna who manifested himself as souls and matter. God and soul are not distinct, but one. The stress was on pure non-dualism. His philosophy came to be known as Pushtimarga (the path of grace) and the school was called Rudrasampradaya.

Jotiba was given the tile of ‘Mahatma’ for his work for the cause of the oppressed. In 1873, he founded the Satya-Shodhak to give strength to his movement and make it popular.

Arya Samajis opposed child marriages and encouraged remarriage of widows.

he Muslim upper classes had tended to avoid contact with Western education and culture and it was only after the revolt of 1857 that modern ideas of religious reform began to appear. The beginning was made by the Muhammedan Literary Society founded in Calcutta in 1863 founded by Nawab Abdul Latif 1828-1893. It promoted discussion of religious, social and political questions in the light of modern ideas and encouraged upper and middle class Muslims to adopt Western

. For preventing child marriage, the Sharda Act was passed in 1929. According to it a girl below 14 and a boy below 18 could not be married.

The Vishnudharmottara purana (7 th century A.D.) has a section on painting called Chitrasutra which describes the six organs of painting like variety of form, proportion, lustre and portryal of colour etc.

Akbar also encouraged the art of making portraits.

Mansur, Bishan Das and Manohar were the most gifted painters of Jahangir’s time.

Dara Shikoh patronised painting like his gradfather.

Amrita Shergil, a great painter received education in Paris and Budapest. Considered a prodigy from a Sikh father and Hungarian mother, she painted on Indian themes in bright colours

The literal meaning of Kalamkari is a painting done by kalam (pen). This art got enriched as it came down from one generation to another. These paintings are made in Andhra Pradesh

Subjects are adopted from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Hindu religious mythology.

These paintings are made on cloth. T

The artists use a bamboo or date palm stick pointed at one end with a bundle of fine hair attached to the other end to serve as brush or pen.

Phad is a type of scroll painting