393. DSC 253- History of Indian Classical Literature

History and Genesis of Indian Aesthetics or Indian Classical Literature.

The ancient literature of India reflects the cultural, social, religious, philosophical, and political development.

There have been classical languages like Pali, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil and many others. These worked upon the Indian literary traditions but affected global thought and culture.

Indian classical literature is said to begin with the Vedas which is considered as the oldest and sacred text and composed around 1500-500/300 BC. Its Rig Veda is a collection of poems or hymns that formed the core of Indian spirituality. These texts were orally transmitted which continued for centuries. This vedic period continued in epic literature.

These epic literature of manifested in Mahabharata and Ramayana. They were huge repositories of mythology, philosophy, society, culture, morality, and written in Sanskrit.

Mahabharata written by Ved Vyas is the longer epic and contains around one lakh poems, covering stories of war, duty, righteousness, etc. The Bhagwad Gita is manifested in it.

The epic Ramayan was written by Valmiki. It narrates Lord Rama, his exile, and saving his wife Sita from the demon Ravan. Duty, devotion and morality are its core objectives.

This Sanskrit classical period flourished under royal patronage. Drama, poetry and prose also developed in this period. Kalidas belongs to this time who is regarded as the greatest Sanskrit poet and playwright. Abhigyan Shakuntala, Meghdoot, Kumarsambhava, Barata (prose on dramaturgy and performing Arts) are his masterpieces.

Bhasana, Bhababhuti, Sudraka were the dramatists who also contributed to the beauty of Sanskrit drama. Ramacharita, Mrichkatika were their main texts and fall under classical literature of India.

Development of regional literature also followed. Odiya, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, also started developing from the sixth century BC. Ancient Dravidian literature is a famous example of love, war, ethics, religion and philosophy. Sangam literature is synonymous with it.

Religious and philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism has been intertwining in Indian classical literature. Here, came the Upanishads, Jataka tales, Kritikaka and Jaina Agamana.

The genesis of Indian classical literature developed from the sacred Vedas to regional literatures.

There have been great thinkers in ancient India who developed deep and detailed theories about poetry and literature. The schools of thought like Rasa, Vani and Alankara have been developing then too.

Since knowledge has no boundaries, Indian classical literature also needs studies.

The Rasa Theory and other Indian Poetics are part of this period and ancient literary criticism or Aesthetics. Aesthetics is theory of beauty whether in art or literature. In western philosophy, German Frederick Hegel's philosophy of fine work is the among the earliest literary criticism. Indian Aesthetics concern with three main arts - Rasa Brahma Veda or poetry, Nada Brahma Veda or music, and Vastu or architecture. Among these, poetry or Rasa theory is considered the highest because it can represent life through drama which was mostly in poetry in ancient India. Natyashastra (3rd Century BC) was written by Bharatmuni at this classical literature period. Indian classical drama was mostly influenced by Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bharatmuni, and Boddh and Jain traditions like Shilappadikaram of Tamil literature written during Chola times. Sanskrit drama's end was not tragic like western drama because Hindu philosophy considers life continued even after death.

Bhasa (3rd-4th century BC) wrote Swapnavasavadutta and Urubhanga and Karnabhara and preceded Kalidas. All these were inspired by Mahabharata and Ramayana. He brought the new tragic ends in his reshaped dramas. He rediscovered only in 1913 by T. Ganapati Sastri in Trivandram library.

Sudraka was the poet king of Ujjain and Mrichkatikam (The Little Clay Cart) was his famous play and a complete fiction. He also completed Bhasa's play Charudutta.

Bhavabhuti's Malati Madhava was his main play. It was a prakarana play which meant it was fiction. He focussed on love stories and inspired by Mahabharata and Ramayana. Uttararamcharitam was his another play. There were no comic elements in his renderings.

Kalidas or Kavikulguru (poet of poets) is the writer of seven masterpieces. Abhijnana Sakuntalam, Meghdoot (The Cloud Messenger), Vikramaditya. He possibly belonged to the times of Agnimitra Shunga upon him he had written a play using the same name. He must have belonged to the city Ujjain because his writings have recurring references to this city. He was also influenced by Ramayana, Mahabharata and Natyashastra. Kalidasa's poems were Ritusanhar and Kumarsambhava (Birth of Kumar). His epic was Raghuvamsha. Malvika Agnimitra was his first play. 'The Tears of Kalidasa' has been a famous poem written in honour of Kalidasa, by the 20th century Hindi poet Nagarjun (Mishra).