Indian literature
Because of the variety of languages that are spoken and written in India, one can speak of Indian literature only in the plural. The Indian literatures are among the oldest literary traditions in the world. The classical Sanskrit poetry was replaced by several spoken by the people medium Indian Prakrit languages in the Middle Ages.
Under Mughal influence came from the 16th century, mainly in Urdu Islamic wrote poetry of the ghazal added.
The romantic literature of the Indian National languages learned with the country's independence in 1946, a modernist counter-movement, now social issues came to the fore with the.
Works and authors of Indian literature can be found in the following categories:
- Category: Literature ( Vedic )
- Category: Literature (Sanskrit )
- Category: Literature (Tamil )
- Category: Literature ( Urdu )
- Category: Literature (Hindi )
- Category: Literature ( Bengali )
- Category: Literature ( Marathi )
- Category: Literature ( English )
The contemporary book market in India is developing so rapidly that the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1986 invited India as the host country, and again in 2006., The international publishing group Random House represents mainly the English-language literature of India, which also dominates within the country. Literature in regional languages applies - often wrongly - as provincial; one reason why only few translations are available in Western languages .
According to figures from the National Book Trust India, there are 16,000 publishers with more than 80,000 new books per year, implement the 1.6 billion euro - over half in teaching and education. Opened in 2008, a German Book Office, among others, to convey literature.
Sanskrit literature
The oldest texts of Indian literature were written in Vedic language and oral tradition. The earliest text is the Rigvedasamhita, a collection of hymns to the gods, which were written between 1200 BC and 900 BC and later combined. Many ancient texts have been transmitted orally only in the first centuries of Indian literature before the first writings have been invented.
Vedic Sanskrit is derived from the period 1200-500 BCE, literary works are religious in the first place, they form the most important sacred texts of Hinduism. They were anonymously created by many scholars and priests. The four Vedas ( Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda ) constitute the Vedic literature. This includes the Brahmanas ( ritual texts ), Aranyakas ( " forest texts ") and the Upanishads ( philosophical doctrines ). For a correct understanding and translation of the Veda Vedangas were written, writings on phonetics and grammar.
Sanskrit evolved from the Vedic language. Often also referred to as Vedic Sanskrit and the later classical Sanskrit (from 500 BC). Their heyday was the Sanskrit literature in Sanskrit poetry.
The best-known works in classical Sanskrit epics Mahabharata are the two and Ramayana. Also, they were handed down orally over a long period and expanded before they are recorded in writing. Part of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad-Gita ( a spiritual poem ), which today perhaps the most important text for Hindus. The Puranas are an indispensable source for the popular Hinduism. The most famous Purana is the Bhagavata, which is important for the Krishna worship.
Also of great importance are the Arthashastra (which is often compared to Machiavelli's Il Principe ). It is a state textbook that describes the duties of the king and strategic principles. The Manusmriti, the " Code of Manu " is a moral guide that establishes ethical rules and norms of social life. Become known in the West is also the Kamasutra.
Significant Sanskrit poet Kalidasa were, Amaru and Bhartrihari. Kalidasa's Shakuntala drama enchanted Goethe, who wrote his work Schakuntala result of this stimulation.
Many writers were scholars and philosophers. Foremost among these is to call Shankara, who further developed the philosophy of Vedanta.
From the 11th century AD, the importance of Sanskrit as a literary language took off, it was replaced by the Indian languages . Sanskrit is not entirely extinct, many authors wrote occasionally in Sanskrit, but these works are only a few Indians understand.