LITERATURE OF INDIA

 || Assamese Literature||  || Bengali Literature|| ||Gujarati Literature||  || Hindi Literature||  
|| Kannada Literature||  || Kashmiri Literature||   || Malayalam Literature||  
|| Manipuri Literature||   || Marathi Literature||  || Oriya Literature||  || Punjabi Literature||
||Sanskrit Literature||  ||Sindhi Literature||  || Tamil Literature||  || Telugu Literature||
|| Urdu Literature||  || Indian Writing in English||  

  SANSKRIT LITERATURE

|| Sanskrit Poetry||   ||Sanskrit Prose|| ||Scientific Literature in Sanskrit||  ||Gems of Sanskrit Literature||

RELIGIOUS TEXTS

The earliest writing is in the form of Rig Vedic poetry in Sanskrit.  The Rigveda consists of 1028 suktas or hymns which are distributed in ten books called mandalas.  The Samaveda consists of hymns taken from the Rig Veda for the purposes of devotional singing during sacrifices.  The Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda are the texts of the post-Rig Vedic times.  The Yajurveda contains hymns and rituals that reflect the social and political milieu of the times.  The Atharvaveda contains charms and spells to ward of evil spirits and diseases. Each of these Vedas is again divided into four parts - Samhitas (the principal text containing the mantras), Brahmanas (their application to religious rituals), Aranyakas (portions meant for deep meditation and for those living in forests) and lastly the Upanishads. The Upanishads form the concluding part of the Vedic literature and are referred to as the Vedanta, the quintessence of Vedic thought, vision and wisdom. They are also called Veda Sirsha, the top-ranking text in the Vedic lore.  The Muktika Upanishad lists 108 Upanishads, of which Adi Sankara commented on eleven -- Isha, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukva, Taittiriva, Aitereya, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka and Narisimhapurvatapini.

The next great texts in Sanskrit were the two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata composed by Valmiki and Vyasa respectively.  The Puranas, which are dated later than the two great Epics, are the epic legends comprising of five main topics: sarga (creation), pratisarga (dissolution and recreation), vamsa (divine genealogies), manvantara (ages of Manu) and vamsanucarita (dynastic history). The five additional topics are vrtii (means of livelihood), raksa (incarnation of gods), mukti (final emancipation), hetu (living beings) and apsaraya (Brahman).  The Puranas are 18 in number viz., Brahma, Padma, Visnu, Vayu, Bhagavata, Naradiya, Markandeya, Agni, Bhavisya, Brahma-vaivarta, Varaha, Linga, Skanda, Vamana, Kurma, Matsya, Garuda and the Brahmanda Puranas.  There are also 18 Upapuranas: Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Nanda, Sivadharma, Durvasas, Naradiya, Kapila, Vamana, Usanas, Manava, Varuna, Kali, Maheswara, Samba, Saura, Parasara, Marica and the Bhargava Puranas.

The Manu Smriti (or Barghu Samhita), belonging to 1^st century BC, is the best illustrator of the Dharma-sastras or Smritis or the Hindu religious laws. It consists of twelve chapters, five of which are devoted to rules of conduct for persons belonging to different varnas and asramas. The other important Smritis include Yajnavalkya Smriti (4-5 century AD), Katyayana Smriti-saroddhara, Brahaspati Smriti and the Narada Smriti. Hemadri's Chaturvarga-cintamani can be described as a 'digest of law' since it deals with various topics of religious significance.

The next important group of religious texts in Sanskrit are the Agama Sastras or the Tantric texts which are subdivided into three categories: the Agamas, the Samhitas and the Tantras, which relates to the Saiva, the Vaisnava and the Sakta sects respectively.

Stotra literature is also an important form of ancient Sanskrit literature. It consists of hymns addressed to Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Surya and Ganapati.  Examples include, Bana's Chandi-sataka, Mayura's Surya-sataka, Shankaracharya's Ananda-lahari, Saundarya-lahari and Carpata-panjari, Muka's Pancasati, Pushpadanta's Sivamahimmah-stotra, Anardavardhana's Devi-sataka, Bhatta Naryanan's Stava-cintamani and Kulasekhara's Mukunda-mala.

Among the Jains, the earliest work in Sanskrit devoted to religious writing is Umasvamin's Tattvarthadhigama-Sutra, which epitomises the whole Jaina creed in about 375 sutras arranged in ten chapters.  There are many commentaries written on this work in Sanskrit, which includes Pujyapada's Sarvartha-siddhi-vrtti (6^th century), Akalanka's Tattvartha-raja-varttika (8^th century) and Vidyanandin's Tattvartha-sloka-varttika (9^th century).  The other important Jain texts in Sanskrit are Subhachandra's Jnanarvana and Hemachandra's Yogasastra, Ravisena's Padmacharita (7^th century), Jinasena's Harivamsa Purana (8^th century) and Mahapurana of Jinasena and Gunabhadra (9^th century).  Harisena's Katha kosa (10^th century) is the best example of Jain short stories in Sanskrit. Hymns and Jain lyrical poetry is best depicted by Bhaktambara-stotra of Manatunga, Kalyana-mandira-stotra of Vadiraja, Visapahara-stotra of Dhananjaya and Jina-chaturvimsatika of Bhupala.

Among the Buddhist texts, the Mahavastu is one of the most important works belonging to the Hinayana School.  It is an encyclopaedia of Buddhist legends and doctrines. The Buddhist texts in Sanskrit were enriched by great writers like Asvaghosa, Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dinnaga, Vasumitra, Dharmapala, Dharmakirti, Santideva and Santaraksita.  The Buddhacharita and Saundarananda are the two masterpieces of Asvaghosa.  The Sariputra-prakarma, a drama in nine acts, is the oldest dramatic work extant in Sanskrit literature. The other great Buddhist texts in Sanskrit are Nagarjuna's Madhyamika-karika and Mahdyamika-sastra, Aryadeva's Catuhsataka, Asanga's Yogacara-bhumi-sastra, Vasubandhu's Vimsika and Trimsika, Dinnaga's Nyayapravesa, Dharmakriti's Nyayabindu, Shantideva's Siksa-sammucchaya and Santaraksita's Tattva-sangraha.