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Indologists
usually emphasize the influence of Sanskritic (often called
"Aryan") culture on Dravidian culture, and indeed this
influence was considerable. Sanskritic influence was already in
evidence in the earliest Tamil
(a principal Dravidian language) literature, perhaps dating from the
1st century AD. At this time in South India the orthodox cults were
aristocratic in character and were supported by kings and chiefs who
gained in prestige by patronizing Brahmans and adopting Aryan ways.
The Tamils were still primarily devoted to the old cults, some of
which, however, were taking on an Aryan complexion. The pastoral god
Murugan was identified with Skanda and his mother, the fierce
war goddess Korravai, with Durga. Varunan, a sea god who had adopted
the name of the old Vedic god but otherwise had few Aryan features,
and Mayon, a black god who was a rural divinity with many of the
characteristics of Krishna in his pastoral aspect, also are depicted
in Tamil literature. The final Sanskritization of the Tamils was
brought about through the patronage of the Pallava kings of
Kanchipuram, who began to rule in the 4th century AD and who
financed the making of many temples and fine religious sculptures.
Similar processes were taking place in the Deccan, Bengal, and other
regions.
Sanskritization
is a term that refers to a style of text that imitates the customs
and manners of the Brahmans. But, although most sacred texts in
Sanskrit were composed by Brahmans, many were also composed by
lower-class authors. Likewise, although some sacred texts in
vernacular languages were written by authors of lower castes, many
others were written by Brahmans. In addition, because Sanskrit
ceased to be spoken as a primary language soon after the Vedas were
composed, it is likely that most of the thoughts underlying all
subsequent Sanskrit literature were first thought in some other
language. Yet Indologists tend to be Sanskritists, and Sanskritists
tend to assume that all texts originated in Sanskrit. Indeed, even
the counterbalancing tendency to acknowledge the flow from
non-Sanskrit to Sanskrit sources has often misfired; far too often
it is merely asserted that anything that appears in post-Vedic
Hinduism and is not attested in the Vedas is "Dravidian,"
or, even worse, from the Indus civilization (about whose religion
virtually nothing is known).
The
issue is further clouded by the fact that, though Sanskrit texts
tend to be written and vernacular traditions are primarily oral,
there are important oral traditions in Sanskrit, too (including the
traditions of the two great Sanskrit epics), and there are important
manuscript traditions in some of the non-Sanskritic languages (such
as Bengali and Tamil). Indeed, written and oral versions of the
epics and Puranas have been, from the very start, in constant
symbiosis.
The
Dravidian languages spoken in southern India have an ancient
literature. This
literature is mostly separate from the Sanskrit tradition, but the
Dravidian languages borrow many words from Sanskrit.
The four languages of the group are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,
and Malayalam. See
INDIA, LANGUAGES OF (Dravidian languages).
The
early classical Tamil literature, Sangam (fraternity), was written
by two groups of poets. One
group wrote romantic poetry. The
other group described the bravery and glory of kings and wrote about
good and evil. The
Sangam classics date mainly from the 300's B.C. They include eight
anthologies of lyrics and ten long poems.
The 473 writers include 30 women, the most famous being the
poetess Avvaiyar.
Two
important Tamil epics were written in the A.D. 200's.
Silappadhikaram (The Story of the Anklet) by Ilango-Adigal
and Manimekalai by Chatthanar provide vivid accounts of Tamil
society. The story of
Manimekalai gives an elaborate exposition of the doctrines of
Buddhism. In the 500's,
Thiruvalluvar wrote Thirukkural, a guide to a noble way of living.
Devotional
religious literature was composed in Tamil from about the A.D.
600's. A group of Tamil
poets called the Nayanars were devotees (followers) of the god
Shiva, and another group, the Alvars, were devotees of the god
Vishnu. The poetry of
both groups had an intense personal quality.
Both groups included female poets.
Many Tamil poems praised the many sacred temples in the
region. A Tamil version
of the Ramayana was written by the poet Kamban between the 900's and
the 1100's.
Literature
in other Dravidian languages followed similar themes, being
influenced by the Tamil and Sanskrit traditions.
Tamil literature reflected mainly Hindu and Buddhist
traditions but Kannada literature was more influenced by Jainism.
Literature in the southern Indian languages originated much
earlier than the regional literatures of northern India, and they
continue to be important literary languages today. writings
of the Indian subcontinent, produced there in a variety of
languages, including Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Bengali, Bihari,
Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi,
Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Sindhi.
The
earliest Indian literature took the form of the canonical Hindu
sacred writings, known as the Veda, which were written in Sanskrit.
To the Veda were added prose commentaries such as the Brahmanas and
the Upanishads. The production ofSanskrit literature extended from
about 1400 BC to AD 1200 and reached its height of development in
the 1st to 7th centuries AD. In addition to sacred and philosophical
writings, such genres as erotic and devotional lyrics, court poetry,
plays, and narrative folktales emerged
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