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The
Vedas. Indian
literature begins with the Vedas (Veda is a Sanskrit word meaning
knowledge). The Vedas
were a series of sacred texts used in religious rituals and
sacrifices and composed in an early form of Sanskrit (Vedic
Sanskrit). Even in
modern times, the Vedas are regarded as the cornerstone of Hinduism
(see HINDUISM). The
oldest Vedic texts are those of the Rig Veda, dating from about the
1300's B.C. These are mostly mythical poems to the great Vedic
gods--Indra the Warrior, Agni the god of fire, Surya the sun god,
and Varuna the upholder of heaven and earth.
The later books of the Vedas are the Yajur Veda (mainly
formulas for sacrifice), Sama Veda (poetry from the Rig Veda adapted
to melodies as priestly chants), and Atharva Veda (verses dealing
with peace and prosperity and the daily life of human society).
Several
prose sequels to the Vedas were written in the period before the
Christian era. First
were the Brahmanas (Priestly Explanations of Doctrine) and the
Aranyakas (Forest Treatises), which discuss the function and purpose
of sacrificial rites and consider the relationship of man and the
universe. A later group
of texts, the Upanishads (Spiritual Teachings), written in
prose and poetry, continues this enquiry into the nature of life.
The Upanishads are great classics of spiritual and
philosophical thought.
The
Great Epics. Early
Indian literature after the Vedas is dominated by two great Sanskrit
epic poems, the Ramayana (The Story of Rama), and the Mahabharata
(The Great War of the Bharatas).
The poet Valmiki is known as the poet of the Ramayana.
But both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were composed over
long periods by many poets. Poets
wrote these epics for oral transmission by singers and storytellers.
These two epics of ancient India have universal appeal.
They have been translated and retold in all the Indian
languages.
The
Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses divided into seven books,
called kandas. Its form, kavya (epic poetry), means that it
instructs while it entertains. The Ramayana tells the story of
the righteous king Rama and his battle with the demon Ravana.
The demon steals Rama's wife, Sita, and holds her captive in Lanka
(now Sri Lanka). Rama, helped by the monkey army of Hanuman,
rescues Sita. His victory over Ravana symbolizes the triumph
of righteousness over evil. Rama was originally a folk hero
but was later portrayed as an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
The
Mahabharata is the world's longest poem, consisting of nearly
100,000 verses. It took shape gradually between about 400 B.C.
and A.D. 400. Hinduism developed into its classical form
during the same period. The main story of the Mahabharata is a
war over succession to the throne between the Pandavas and the
Kauravas, two branches of a royal family. The god Krishna
sides with the Pandavas, who are themselves depicted as gods in
later additions to the story. Embedded within the Mahabharata
is the Bhagavad Gita (The Song of the Lord), the most influential of
all Hindu texts, in which Krishna explains to the Pandava prince,
Arjuna, the meaning of dharma (religious duty). Krishna
teaches Arjuna, who is dejected at having to fight his own relatives
in the war, that everyone must follow the course of duty without
thinking about its results.
The
Puranas Following
the two great epics, the texts called Puranas are the next major
collection of Hindu lore and religious debate.
Purana means that which renews the old.
The Puranas use popular legends and mythology to illustrate
and expound the philosophical and religious ideas of the Vedas.
Together with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas are
the origins of many of the stories and anecdotes of the social,
religious, and cultural history of India.
The
main Puranas are 18 encyclopedic collections of legend and myth.
They were probably compiled between about A.D. 500 and 1000.
They develop the ideas of classical Hinduism through stories
of gods and heroes set in the sacred plains, mountains, and rivers
of India.
The
main Puranas have five subjects:
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The
creation of the universe,
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The
cyclic process of destruction and re-creation,
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The
different eras or cosmic cycles,
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The
histories of the solar and lunar dynasties of gods and sages,
and
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The
genealogies of kings.
Each
Purana adds other details of religious practice.
These Puranas are a meetingpoint of diverse religious and
social beliefs and represent a synthesis of various cultural
traditions from the Indian subcontinent.
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