HINDU LITERATURE

INDIA - World’s 7th Largest Country located in South Asia - “India” and “Bharat” are both official names - Derives from Indus river used by “Greek” - India civilization grew up in the Indus Valley 4000 to 2000

BC

3 MAIN TOPOGRAPHIC REGIONS

TOPOGRAPHIC - It means “Land”

3 MAIN REGIONS:

HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS SYSTEM ON THE NORTH

NORTHERN PLAIN DRAINED BY THE INDUS, GANGES and BRAHMAPUTRA RIVERS IN NORTH CENTRAL INDIA.

PENINSULAR INDIA IN THE SOUTH - has a different “Belief”

The Earliest Indians may have migrated from Australia and the Pacific Islands,.

Language: More than “200 languages” are spoken in India

4 MAJOR LANGUAGES

4 major Languages are:

INDO-ARAB BRANCH OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN GROUP - The Major Linguistic Family in Europe

DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGE GROUP

HINDI - The Fourth most widely spoken language in the world

INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGE

RELIGION

4 Major Religious traditions have emerged from this area:

HINDUISM - Adherent to the

proscription against violence toward living things can escape from the cycle of “Rebirth” and the doctrine also form a basis for vegetarian

JAINISM (and ISLAM) - Non-violence is a core religious duty and followed so strictly

that the most “Orthodox” devotes cover their faces with mask to prevent accidentally harming insect.

BUDDHISM - Non-violence is manifest in the Buddha’s emphasis on

compassion and is also part of the faith’s moral codes.

SIKHISM

INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM - Major social system that groups people according to birth

CASTE - It means “States”

Man in India need to buy a women in their parents

Caste System are:

BRAHMINS: Priest, the Highest caste KSHATRIYAS: Warriors and Kings VAISHYAS: Merchants SHUDRAS: Manual Labourers

DALITS or UNTOUCHABLE (HARIJANS) - The most lowest caste, where the people not fall to any caste

and traditionally tasked with work such as cleaning streets and working with human

GANDHI - He is Vaishyas - Born in Pobandan India on October 2,

1869 - His father was a chief minister - His mother was a devout “adherent

JAINISM” - He stated that he was the most

influence by his mother - He married by arrangement at 13 - He went to London to study Law

- He works for an Indian Firm is South Africa. - He experience racial discrimination - He assumed leadership of protest campaign - He also fought to improve the status of the lowest classes of

society, the castles untouchables, whom he called “HARIJANS” - He believe in manual labor and simple living

LITERATURE

SANSKRIT LITERATURE - Oral Tradition - Vedic Holy Text

MAHABHARATA and RAMAYANA - Two great books

400 B.C - “PANINI” - Produced his sanksrit grammar

SECOND CENTURY AD - “Prakrits” is being used in literature

MIDDLE AGES SANSKRIT - Used in religious context by “priesthood” GHAZAL - Stylized form of “lyrical folk song” and “notable exponents

of the form

MICHAEL MADHUSUDAN DUTT and JAYASHANKAR PRASAD (1889-1937)

- Introduce “Black Verse in Sonnet into Indian Poetry.

ARUNACALA KAVI - Developed a “Utilitarian Prose Style”

MADHUSUDAN DUTT - Wrote the “First Plays Modeled on Western Drama”

SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE - Introduced by the Short Story to Vernacular writing in India

LAKSMINATH BEZBARUA and MUHAMMAD IQBAL - Major Poets of the Period

2 PERIODS OF INDIAN LITERATURE

2 Periods are:

The “VEDIC PERIOD”

The “SANSKRIT PERIOD”

poetry

Religious Works

Religious Poetry Work are:

RIG VEDA - A Book of “Sacred Hymns”

YAJUR VEDA - A Book of “Knowledge and Melodies for the hymns”

SAMA VEDA - Descriptions of the materials for sacrifice

ATHARVA VEDA - Contains Magic spells and other Folk Knowledge

THE BRAHMANAS

THE UPANISHADS

THE MAYA

THE SUTRAS

EPICS

Secular works

Secular Epic Works are:

THE MAHABHARATA

BHAGAVAD GITA

NALA and DAMAYANTI

THE RAMAYANA

DRAMA

Secular Works

Secular Drama Works are:

THE TOY CLAY CART

SAKUNTALA or THE FATAL RING

THE JATAKAS

THE PACHATANTRA

ROMANORUM

THE HITOPDESA

THE SUKASAPTATI

BELIEFS

4 GOD’S OF INDIANS

They are:

GANESH - God of Good Fortune

BRAHMA - God of Creator

SHIVA - God of Destroyer

VISHNU - God of Preserver

BRAHMA, VISHNU, SHIVA - They are the “Trinity God” of Indians

KARMA - A Force that determines their quality of each life, depending

on how well one behaved in a past life.

REINCARNATION - Is the Belief that the soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of

being born into a body, dying, and being reborn again in a new body.

MOKSHA - Each time a Hindi soul is born into a better life, it has the

opportunity to improve itself further, and get closer to ultimate liberation

SACRED WRITINGS

The “Vedas Collections of Sanskrit Hymns” The “Upanishads” which means “Inner or Mystic teaching

MAHABHARATA - Sanskrit for the “Great Story - One of the Great Epic poems of ancient India

THE BHAGAVAD GITA - (Song of God) - Contained in the Mahabharata

KRISHNA and AJURNA

RAMAYANA - Was written in 3rd Century BC, and tells story of Rama, and

his wife Sita - They are generally seen as ideal examples of great manly

heroism and wifely devotion - Considered as Religious Act, and scenes from the Epic

portrayed throughout India and Southeast Asia

HINDU LIFE GOALS

Hinduism is about the sort of life one should lead in order to be born into a better life next time and ultimately achieve liberation

4 Legitimate Goals in Life:

DHARMA (Appropriate Living) ARTHA ( Pursuit of Material gain by Lawful means) KAMA (Delight of the senses) MOKSHA ( Release from rebirth)

HINDU DUTIES Each Hindu has 4 daily duties:

Revere the deities

Respect Ancestors

Respect all Beings

Honor all Humankind

THANK YOU !!! Prepared By:Cabardo, Reicheal Ann C.BSEd- English II