Literature in Sanskrit, one of India's two oldest languages, and the basis of several modern languages in India. Given its extensive use in religious literature, primarily of Hinduism, and the fact that most modern Indian languages have been directly derived from or strongly influenced by Sanskrit, it is not surprising that the position of Sanskrit in Indian culture is not unlike that of Latin in European culture. Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Hinduism {Sanskrit/Hindi - HindÅ« Dharma, also known as Sanātana (eternal) Dharma, and Vaidika (of the Vedas) Dharma} is the religion of the majority in India. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ...

Sanskrit has a long tradition of literature. This article tries to touch the major phases of Sanskrit literature.

A stone tablet containing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry which attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/hearer/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication... The History of literature begins with the history of writing, in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, although the oldest literary texts that have come down to us date to a full millennium after the invention of writing, to the late 3rd millennium BC. The earliest literary author known by name is Enheduanna... Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. ... // Classical texts Main article: Chinese classic texts China has a wealth of classical literature, both poetry and prose, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 B.C.) and including the Classics attributed to Confucius. ... At the moment this page contains a list of links. ... Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... Center For Arabic Culture (CAC) Christina Campo-Abdoun & Seifed-Din Abdoun http://cacac. ... Persian literature (in Persian: ) spans two and a half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

The Vedic Period

Main article: Vedas

Composed between approximately 2000 BC and 500 BC, Vedic literature forms the basis for the further development of Hinduism. There are four books of Vedas - Rig, Yajus, Sāma and Atharva. Some people consider the first three as the more important ones. Each veda contains four parts - hymns, rituals, meditation and mystical philosophy. The Vedas were not written at any single time, and have been compiled over several centuries by thousands of people. As a result, the Vedas provide an insight into the historical and cultural development of India during this period. In terms of their content, the Vedas are extremely diverse, encompassing extremely different lines of thought and religious beliefs. The Upanishads form a part of the Vedas, and are strongly philosophical in content. The History of literature begins with the history of writing, in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, although the oldest literary texts that have come down to us date to a full millennium after the invention of writing, to the late 3rd millennium BC. The earliest literary author known by name is Enheduanna... Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. ... // Classical texts Main article: Chinese classic texts China has a wealth of classical literature, both poetry and prose, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 B.C.) and including the Classics attributed to Confucius. ... At the moment this page contains a list of links. ... Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Persian literature (in Persian: ) spans two and a half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. ... According to the mediæval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome was the literary cycle made up of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. ... The Matter of France is a body of mythology and legend that springs from the Old French medieval literature of the chansons de geste. ... Arthurian legend or the Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the legends that concern the Celtic and legendary history of the British Isles, especially those centering around King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. ... Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (encompassing the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. ... Center For Arabic Culture (CAC) Christina Campo-Abdoun & Seifed-Din Abdoun http://cacac. ... See also: Pre 13th century in literature, other events of the 13th century, 14th century in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 13th century in literature, other events of the 14th century, 15th century in literature, list of years in literature. ... Renaissance literature is European literature, after the Dark Ages over an extended period, usually considered to be initiated by Petrarch at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance, and sometimes taken to continue to the English Renaissance and into the seventeenth century. ... See also: 14th century in literature, other events of the 15th century, 16th century in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 15th century in literature, other events of the 16th century, 17th century in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 16th century in literature, other events of the 17th century, 1700 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... Modernism is a cultural movement that generally includes the progressive art and architecture, music, literature and design which emerged in the decades before 1914. ... Structuralism is a general approach in various academic disciplines that explores the interrelationships between fundamental elements of some kind, upon which some higher mental, linguistic, social, cultural etc structures are built, through which then meaning is produced within a particular person, system, culture. ... The term deconstruction was coined by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1960s and is used in contemporary humanities and social sciences to denote a philosophy of meaning that deals with the ways that meaning is constructed and understood by writers, texts, and readers. ... Post-structuralism is a body of work that followed in the wake of structuralism, and sought to understand the Western world as a network of structures, as in structuralism, but in which such structures are ordered primarily by local, shifting differences (as in deconstruction) rather than grand binary oppositions and... It has been suggested that postmodernity be merged into this article or section. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Hypertext fiction is a genre of electronic literature found mostly online, characterized by non-linearity and reader interaction. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... This page indexes the individual year in literature pages. ... Jorge Luis Borges Argentine literature is placed among the most important in Spanish language, with world-famous writers such as José Hernández, Jorge Luis Borges, Manuel Puig, Julio Cortázar and Ernesto Sábato. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mexican literature plays an important role in Mexican culture. ... This topic is considered to be an essential subject on Wikipedia. ... Australian literature in English began soon after the establishment of the country by Europeans. ... New Zealand claims as its own many writers, even those immigrants born overseas or those emigrants who have gone into exile. ... Pakistani literature, that is, the literature of Pakistan, as a distinct literature came into being when Pakistan gained its nationhooood as a sovereign state in 1947. ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... Literature in Hindi, the language spoken by the majority of people in India. ... Urdu literature has a long and colorful history that is inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is written. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Indian English Literature. ... This article is about the Bengali language. ... Literature in Marathi. ... Literature written in Malayalam language. ... Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. ... Vietnamese literature is literature, both oral and written, created by Vietnamese-speaking people. ... South Africa has a diverse literary history. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... This article is on science fiction literature. ... The history of ideas is a field of research in history and in related fields dealing with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. ... Intellectual history means either: the history of intellectuals, or: the history of the people who create, discuss, write about and in other ways propagate ideas. ... Hinduism {Sanskrit/Hindi - HindÅ« Dharma, also known as Sanātana (eternal) Dharma, and Vaidika (of the Vedas) Dharma} is the religion of the majority in India. ... The Vedas (Sanskrit वेद, Knowledge, Praising, Truth) are part of the Hindu Shruti -- these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ...

The Sanskrit used in the Vedic period is highly archaic and pithy, and is called "Vedic Sanskrit"; it is almost impossible to understand some sections without the aid of commentaries. Vedic Sanskrit bears a strong resemblance to Avestan, the language in which the scriptures of Zoroastrianism are written. Yasna 28. ... Zoroastrianism (Persian: آيين زرتشتی) also known as Mazdaism by some followers and Zarathustrianism by others, is a monotheistic religion. ...

The Epics

Main articles: Ramayana and Mahabharata

The period between approximately the 12th and the 2nd centuries BC saw the composition of the two great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. They are known to Hindus as itihaasa, or "that which occurred" and are both collective works, having evolved through the centuries before finally being put into writing sometime in the 2nd century AD. The Rāmāyaņa (Sanskrit: रामायण (a sandhi form of rāma-ayana = march or journey (Āyana) of Rāma) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

The Ramayana

While not as big as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is still twice as big as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together. Traditionally, the authorship is attribued to the Hindu sage Valmiki, who is referred to as Adikavi, or "first poet." Akin to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is also a collective work and evolved through several centuries before being put into writing. Like its larger but younger counterpart, it has been instrumental as a seminal text of the Hindu faith and contains many passages of central importance to Hindu philosophy and tradition. It includes tales that form the basis for modern Hindu festivals and even contains a description of the same marriage practice still observed in contemporary times by people of Hindu persuasion. Maharishi Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The Hindu religion has many festivals. ...

On a lower level, the story deals with Prince Rama (Indian vernaculars: Raam or Sri Ram), his exile and the abduction of his wife by the demon Ravana, and the Lankan war. Similar to the Mahabharata, the Ramayana also has several full-fledged stories appearing as sub-plots. Lord Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ... A dipiction of Ravana, Hindu Demon King of Lanka In Hindu mythology, Ravana (Devanagari: रावण, IAST Rāvaṇa; sometimes transliterated Raavana and as Ravan) is the principal antagonist of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. ... Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the evil king Ravana in the epic Ramayana. ...

The Ramayana has also played a similar and equally important role in the further development of Indian culture as the Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata

The Mahabharata (Great India) is one of the largest poetic works in the world. While it is clearly a poetic epic, it contains large tracts of Hindu mythology, philosophy and religious tracts. At 100,000 stanzas, it is 8 times as big as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together. Traditionally, authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to the sage Vyasa. However, Vyasa's historical veracity cannot be verified by independent sources. Also, it is clear that the Mahabharata was not written by any single person at any single time. Indeed, the first stanza of the Mahabharata mentions that the name of the book is Jaya ("victory"), even though the book is now called Mahabharata. Scholarly estimates are that the epic had about 10,000 stanzas when it was first composed (by Vyasa?). It was orally transmitted for several centuries, making it easy for anyone to add a few lines here, remove/modify a few lines there. Over several centuries, the work expanded in size, several sections being added or existing sections being elaborated upon. Thus, the Mahabharata simply evolved alongside Indian culture and is a veritable storehouse of cultural mores, mythology and religious and philosophical schools, reaching its zenith of philosophical sophistication in the seminal work of the Hindu religion, the Bhagavad Gita, which appears in the tenth Parva (chapter) of the Mahabharata. The finished product is the 100,000 stanza Mahabharata as we now know it. The Iliad (Ancient Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) is, along with the Odyssey, one of the two major Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre For other uses, see Odyssey (disambiguation). ... Veda Vyasa(Contemporary painting) Vyasa (Vyāsa in IAST transliteration) is an important and much revered figure in the Hindu tradition and its literature. ... Bhagavad Gīta भगवद्गीता, composed ca the fifth - second centuries BC, is part of the epic poem Mahabharata, located in the Bhisma-Parva chapters 23–40. ...

The broad sweep of the story of the Mahabharata chronicles the consolidation of Aryan/Vedic culture in India. On a lower level, it is the story of the conflict between two families for control of Hastinapur, a city in Ancient India. It also contains numerous sub-plots, which are independent stories in their own right. Aryan is an English language word derived from the Indian Vedic Sanskrit and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Sanskrit and Old Persian languages both pronounced the word as arya- and aryan. ... The Vedic Civilization is the Indo-Aryan culture associated with the Vedas. ... In the epic Mahabharata, Hastinapura is the capital of the Kauravas, the desendents of Kuru, which include the Pandavas In the present world Hastinapura is a small town called Hastinapur, 37km from Meerut and 120km from Delhi. ...

The impact of the Mahabharata on India and Hinduism cannot be stressed enough. Having been molded by Indian culture, it has in turn molded the further development of Indian culture. Thousands of later writers would draw freely from the story and sub-stories of the Mahabharata. The epic has inspired numerous later works, leaving a huge imprint on Indian literature, religion, folklore and philosophy.

At once grand and encyclopedic, the Mahabharata summarizes itself as: "What can be found here, may be found elsewhere; what cannot be found here, will not be found elsewhere."

Other major works from the same period include the Brihat-katha, Panchatantra, Jataka Tales, and the Puranas. The Panchatantra (also spelled Pañcatantra, Sanskrit पञ्चतन्त्र Five Chapters , Kelileh va Demneh or Kalilag and Damnag in Persian) is a collection of Sanskrit fables in prose and verse. ... The Jataka stories are a significant body of works about the previous lives of Gautama Buddha. ... The Puranas (Sanskrit पुराण, purāṇá ancient, since they focus on ancient history of the universe) are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss varied topics like devotion to God in his various aspects, traditional sciences like Ayurveda, Jyotish, cosmology, concepts like dharma, karma, reincarnation and many others. ...

Panini and Ashtadhyayi

Main articles: Panini_(scholar) and Ashtadhyayi

Arguably, no grammarian has had as much influence over the grammar of any language as much as Panini has had over Sanskrit grammar and phonetics. Panini was a grammarian from approximately the 5th cent BC. The Ashtadhyayi is the name of his grammar and is a masterwork of brevity and completeness. The book completely standardized Sanskrit grammar and phonetics. Panini's grammar became widely accepted and is still the standard (a common way to classify ancient Sanskrit books is to classify them as Pre-Panini or Post-Panini). The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... The Ashtadhyayi (Ạṣtādhyāyī, meaning eight chapters) is the earliest known grammar of Sanskrit, and one of the first works on descriptive linguistics, generative linguistics, or linguistics altogether. ... Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ...

However, Panini's stroke of brilliance lies in the fact that the grammar he wrote, in addition to being a descriptive grammar, is also a generative grammar. Panini used metarules, transformations, and recursion in such sophistication that his grammar has the computing power equivalent to a Turing machine. The Backus-Naur Form or BNF grammars used to describe modern programming languages have significant similarities with Panini's grammar rules. In applying his rules to Sanskrit verse he used such texts as the Shiva Sutras, thereby establishing principles of harmony and linguistic wholeness. In mathematics, a transformation in elementary terms is any of a variety of different operations from geometry, such as rotations, reflections and translations. ... A Sierpinski triangle —a confined recursion of triangles to form a geometric lattice. ... An artistic representation of a Turing Machine . ... The Backus-Naur form (BNF) (also known as Backus normal form) is a metasyntax used to express context-free grammars: that is, a formal way to describe formal languages. ...

Sanskrit Plays

India has a rich tradition of theatrical arts, much longer than that of the western world. The theatrical tradition of India was not born out of the Greek invasion as believed by several scholars. Theatre has existed as an indigenous institution at least since the Vedic period. Later Hellenistic influences on Sanskrit theatre however cannot be denied.

The earliest forms of theatrical arts could have existed in the form of dance-dramas as evidenced by iconography from the Indus Valley Civilisation. As the Indus Valley Civilisation died out, the old theatrical tradition, if it did exist probably died out along with it. Its place was however supplanted by the dramatic forms of the Vedic Age. Vedic drama like Greek drama owed its origins to religion. The Yama-Yami episode in the Rig-Veda for instance presents one of the earliest forms of drama in Indo-European literature. This drama was probably enacted by the brahmanas as part of ancient Vedic ritual.

Drama eventually developed into a tradition that was independent of religious ritual. Hellenistic influences following Alexander the Great's invasion of India also greatly enhanced Sanskrit drama. The curtain used in Sanskrit theatre for instance was called the Yavanika, which was derived from the word 'Yavana', the Sanskrit word for 'Greek'. Despite the Hellenistic influences, Sanskrit plays often greatly differed from their Greek counterparts. The nature of the plays ranged from tragedy to light comedy. Dramatists often worked on pre-existing myothological or historical themes that was familiar with the audience of the age. For instance many plays, drew their plot lines from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the great epics of India.

Famous Sanskrit dramatists include Sudraka, Bhasa, Asvaghosa and Kalidasa. Though numerous plays written by these playwrights are still available, little is known about the authors themselves. This is mainly because of the reticence that Sanskrit writers displayed about writing about themselves in their forewords. Most of the information about these playwrights has been available by the references made to the writers by other writers of the same or later periods.

Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart)

One of the earliest known Sanskrit plays in the post-Vedic age, this play is thought to have been composed by Shudraka in the 2nd cent BC. Rife with romance, sex, royal intrigue and comedy, the juicy plot of the play has numerous twists and turns. The main story is about a young man named, Charudatta, and his love for a rich courtesan, Vasantasena. The love affair is complicated by a royal courtier, who is also attracted to Vasantasena. The plot is further complicated by thieves and mistaken identities, and thus making it a greatly hilarious and entertaining play.It invited widespread admiration when staged in New York in 1924. The play was made into a 1984 Bollywood movie Utsav, directed by Girish Karnad. Typical Bollywood movie poster—Devdas (2002) Bollywood (Hindi: बॉलीवुड, Urdu: بالیوُڈ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry in India. ...

Bhasa's plays

The plays written by Bhaasa were only known to historians through the references of later writers, the manuscripts themselves being lost. Manuscripts of 13 plays written by him were discovered in an old library in 1913 by the scholar Ganapati Shastry. A 14th play was later discovered and attributed to Bhaasa, but its authorship is disputed. Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Literature stubs ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Literature stubs ...

Bhasa's most famous plays are Svapna Vasavadattam (Swapnavāsadatta) (Vasavadatta's dream), Pancharātra and Pratijna Yaugandharayaanam (The vows of Yaugandharayana). Bhasa is considered to be one of the best Sanskrit playwrights, second only to Kalidasa. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Kalidasa

Indian postage stamp showing a passage from Kalidasa's Meghaduuta

Main article: Kalidasa

Kalidasa (3rd-4th cent AD) is easily the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit, and occupies the same position in Sanskrit literature that Shakespeare occupies in English literature. He deals primarily with famous Hindu legends and themes; three famous plays by Kalidasa are Vikramorvaśīya (Vikrama and Urvashi), Mālavikāgnimitra (Malavika and Agnimitra), and the play that he is most known for: Abhijñānaśākuntala (The Recognition of Shakuntala). The last named play is considered to be greatest play in Sanskrit. More than a millennium later, it would so powerfully impress the famous German writer Goethe that he would write: Image File history File links Meghdut. ... Image File history File links Meghdut. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Meghaduuta (which translates literally as cloud-messenger) is a lyrical poem written by Kalidasa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... This play by Kalidasa is about the love story between Pururava and Urvashi. ... Malavikaagnimitra (Malavika and Agnimitra) tells the story of the love of Agnimitra of Vidisha, king of the Shungas, for the beautiful handmaiden of his chief queen. ... The Recognition of Sakuntala is a Sanskrit play by Kalidasa. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ...

"Wouldst thou the young year's blossoms and the fruits of its decline

And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted, fed,

Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sole name combine?

I name thee, O Sakuntala! and all at once is said. "

Kalidasa also wrote two large epic poems, Raghuvamsham (The Genealogy of Raghu) and Kumarasambhavam (Birth of Kumara), and two smaller epics, Ritusamhaara (Medley of Seasons) and Meghadutam (The Cloud Messenger), another 'perfect' work. Ritu Samhaaram is a short epic in Sanskrit by Mahakavi Kalidasa. ...

Kalidasa's writing is characterized by the usage of simple but beautiful Sanskrit, and by his extensive use of similes. His similes have earned him the saying, Upama Kalidasasya (Kalidasa owns simile). A simile is a figure of speech in which the subject is compared to another subject. ...

Other important plays written in this period include Ratnavali and Nagananda, by Sri Harsha in the 7th century.

Sanskrit Theatre

All Sanskrit plays were much popular and were staged in ancient times all over India. Now the only surviving ancient Sanskrit drama theatre is Koodiyattam. All major Sanskrit plays such as that of Bhasa, Sri Harsha, Shaktibhadra etc. are performed in Koodiyattam. Noted Natyashastra scholar and the authority of Koodiyattam, legendary actor Mani Madhava Chakyar choreographed and directed plays like Kalidasa's Abhijñānaśākuntala, Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra ; Bhasa's Swapnavāsadatta and Pancharātra for the first time in the history of Koodiyattam. He popularised Koodiyattam and rejuvanated the only surviving Sanskrit drama theatre in India. Koodiyattam Koodiyattam is a traditional performing artform from Kerala, India. ... Mani Madhava Chakyar ( 1899 - 1990 ) Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar ( 15 February 1899 - 14 January 1990) was a performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, South India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times. ... The Recognition of Sakuntala is a Sanskrit play by Kalidasa. ... This play by Kalidasa is about the love story between Pururava and Urvashi. ... Malavikaagnimitra (Malavika and Agnimitra) tells the story of the love of Agnimitra of Vidisha, king of the Shungas, for the beautiful handmaiden of his chief queen. ...

Bharata's Natyasastra

The Natyasastra (literally "Scripture of Dance," though it sometimes translated as "Science of Theatre'") is a keystone work in Sanskrit literature on the subject of stagecraft. Almost nothing is known about its author, Bharata. Bharata is also the name of a character in Hindu mythology; though the author of the Natyasastra bears no relationship to the mythological character. The Natyasastra was written somewhere between 500 A.D. and 300 B.C., though it is usually thought to have been composed around the second century A.D. The title is sometimes Anglicized as Natyashastra or Natya Shastra. Hindu mythology is a term used by modern scholarship for a large body of Indian literature that details the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... The Natya Shastra or Nātyaśāstra is the principal work of dramatic theory in the Sanskrit drama of classical India. ...

The Natyasastra specifically describes the proper way one should go about staging a Sanskrit drama. It addresses a wide variety of topics including the proper occasions for staging a drama, the proper designs for theatres, the types of people who are allowed to be drama critics and, most especially, specific instructions and advice for actors, playwrights and (after a fashion) producers.

While the Natyasastra primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence music, dance, and literature as well. Thus, an argument can be made that the Natyasastra is the foundation of the fine arts in India. Music is conceptual time expressed in the structures of tones and silence. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Literature is literally acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction... Fine art is a term used to refer to fields traditionally considered to be artistic. ...

One of the most important concepts in the Natyasastra is the experience of rasa (translated sometimes as 'emotions,' 'sentiments' or 'flavor'). Rasa are the emotional states that the refined and educated Sanskrit Drama audience members experiences as they watch a play. Each rasa experienced by the audience is associated with a specific bhava portrayed on stage. For example, in order for the audience to experience srngara (the 'erotic' rasa), the playwright, actors and musician work together to portray the bhava called rati (love).

The Natyasastra identifies eight rasa and eight corresponding bhava:

The Natyasastra identifies eight rasa and eight corresponding bhava:

 Rasa Bhava Adbhuta (Marvelous) Vismaya (Astonishment) Hasya (Comic) Hasya (Mirth) Srngara (Erotic) Rati (Love) Bibhatsa (Odious) Jugupsa (Disgust) Vira (Heroic) Utsaha (Energy) Karuna (Pathetic) Soka (Sorrow) Bhayanaka (Terrible) Bhaya (Terror) Raudra (Furious) Krodha(Anger) 

A ninth rasa, called Shaanta (Peace), was later extrapolated from the eight identified in the Natyasastra.

A ninth rasa, called Shaanta (Peace), was later extrapolated from the eight identified in the Natyasastra.

Classical Poetry

This refers to the poetry produced from the 3rd to approximately the 7th centuries. Kalidasa is the foremost example of a classical poet. While Kalidasa's Sanksrit usage is simple but beautiful, later Sanskrit poetry shifted towards highly stylized literary accents: stanzas that read the same backwards and forwards, words that can be split in different ways to produce different meanings, sophisticated metaphors, and so on. A classic example is the poet Bharavi and his magnum opus, the Kiratarjuniya (6th-7th century). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The greatest works of poetry in this period are the five Mahakavyas, or great epics:

• Kumarasambhavam by Kalidasa
• Raghuvamsham by Kalidasa
• Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi
• Shishupala Vadha by Sri Maagha
• Naishadiya Charitam by Sri Harsha

Other major literary works from this period are Kadambari by Bana Bhatta, the first Sanskrit novelist (6th-7th centuries), Kama Sutra (कामसूत्र) by Vatsyayana. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Modern translated version of the original Sanskrit. ... Vatsyayana is a scholar (Rishi) from India. ...

Later Sanskrit literature

Some important works from the 11th century include the Katha-sarita-sagara and the Geeta Govinda.

The Katha-sarita-sagara (An Ocean of Stories) by Somadeva was a poetic adaptation in Sanskrit of Brihat-katha, written in the 5th cent BC in the Paishachi dialect. The Paishachi manuscript of the Brihat-katha has not been found. The thousands of short stories embedded in this book inspired numerous later stories, most notably several stories of the Arabian Nights (note that the Arabian Nights was first compiled in the 9th century and that this book was written only in the 11th cent. However, the stories in this book have existed since the 5th cent BC). One of the famous series of stories in this work is the Vikrama and Betaala series, known to every child in India. Somadeva, 11th century CE, from Kashmir was the author of a famous compendium of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales - the Kathasaritsagara. ... Paisaci, also known as Paisachi, or Paishachi, is an extinct language of classical India, its existence as a medium of debate and literary expression is recorded in various Theravada Buddhist sources, and mentioned in Prakrit and Sanskrit grammars of antiquity. ... Queen Scheherazade tells her stories to King Shahryar. ...

The Geeta Govinda (The song of Govinda) by Jayadeva is the story of Krishna's love for Radha, and is written in spectacularly lyrical and musical Sanskrit. A central text for several Hindu sects in eastern India, the Geeta Govinds is recited regularly at major Hindu pilgrimage sites such as Jagannath temple at Puri, Orissa. The Ashtapadis of the Geeta Govinda also form a staple theme in Bharatanatyam and Odissi classical dance recitals. Jayadeva Goswami was a composer of Hindu hymns and poetic works, including especially the Sanskrit work, the Gita Govinda, a now-famous work on the divine love of the Hindu god Krishna. ... This article is about the Hindu deity. ... Jagannath(far right) with his brother Balarama(far left) and sister Subadra (center) in Radhadesh, Belgium Jagannath is a Sanskrit term used to describe a deity form of Krishna. ... Orissa (2001 provisional pop. ... Stamp issued in honour of Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam (also spelled Bharathanatyam, Bharatnatyam or Bharata Natyam) is a classical dance form originating in India. ... Odissi (or Orissi) is the traditional style of dance which originated in the temples of the state of Orissa in Eastern India, where it was performed by the devadasis. ...

Beyond the 11th century, the use of Sanskrit for general literature declined, most importantly because of the emergence of literature in vernacular Indian languages (notably Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu). Sanskrit continued to be used, largely for Hindu religious and philosophical literature. Sanskrit literature fueled literature in vernacular languages, and the Sanskrit language itself continued to have a profound influence over the development of Indian literature in general. Hindi (हिन्दी hind), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in North, Central, and West India, is the official language of the Indian Union. ... Marathi is one of the widely spoken languages of India, and has a long literary history. ... Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) belongs to the Dravidian language family but with ample influence from the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Indian literature is generally acknowledged, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the world. ...

References

• Richmond, Farley P., Darius L. Swan and Phillip B. Zarelli (1990). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance (3rd ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-1190-9.
• Natyakalpadrumam (Theatrical Study) by Mani Madhava Chakyar,1975

Mani Madhava Chakyar ( 1899 - 1990 ) Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar ( 15 February 1899 - 14 January 1990) was a performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, South India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times. ...

External links

Sanskrit literature edition of Wikipedia

Wikibooks has more about this subject:

Sanskrit

• Sanskrit-English dictionary list of 13.000 basic-terms
• Sanskrit, Tamil and Pahlavi Dictionaries Monier-Williams dictionary online
• Harivenu Dâsa - An Introductory Course based on S'rîla Jîva Gosvâmî's Grammar a vaishnava version of Pânini's grammar: (pdf-file)
• Vedabase.net vaishnava literatures with word for word translations from Sanskrit to English.
• Sanskrit Quotes Archive
• Clay Sanskrit Library publishes classical Indian literature, including the Mahabharata and Ramayana, with facing-page text and translation. Also offers numerous downloadable materials.
• GRETIL: Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages a cumulative register of the numerous download sites for electronic texts in Indian languages.