PELS
English
11/23/11
I.
Classical Indian Literature
Gupta Era (320 C.E.- 550 C.E.)
 Gupta
dynasty
was
founded
by
Chandra Gupta I
 development of Mahayana Buddhism
 Classical Age in north India
 cave paintings at Ajanta
 Sakuntala, Jataka, Panchatantra and Kamasutra were
written
 Aryabhatta’s Astronomy
 Kumardevi and Chandragupta I

minted by their son Samudragupta

335-370 C.E

Gold Dinar

weight: 7.8 gm

obverse: king and queen
 Gupta Empire (400 A.D.)- Ayodhya, Pataliputra,
Simhala
Mahayana Buddhism
 Buddhism split into two sects- Mahayana and
Hinayana (Theravada).
 Mahayana- laid stress on the concept of the
Bodhisattva or `one destined to be the Buddha' and
also conceived of Eternal Buddhas who resemble
gods or deities
 Hinayana- regarded the Buddha as a man and had a
doctrine, Theravada, stressing the salvation of the
individual
 interaction of Mahayana philosophy and Hinduismgave rise to Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana
Ajanta Caves
 during the 4th century C.E. in a remote valley, work
began on the Ajanta Caves to create a complex of
Buddhist monasteries and prayer halls
 as centuries passed, numerous Buddhist monks and
artisans dug out a set of twenty-nine caves,
converting some to cells, and others to monasteries
and Buddhist temples
 these caves are adorned with elaborate sculptures
and paintings which have withstood the ravages of
time
 depict the stories of Buddhism spanning from the
period from 200 B.C.E. to 650 C.E.
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 29 caves were built by Buddhist monks using simple
tools like hammer & chisel
 elaborate and exquisite sculptures and paintings
depict stories from Jataka tales
 also house images of nymphs and princesses
Samskrta- the Language of Classical Literature
 Samskrta: Sanskrit

“perfected, classified refined”

“correct speech”

codified and frozen in the Astadhyahi: the rules of
grammar

considered ideal language for classics
 Prakrta: Prakrit

“original or natural”

dialects that changed and developed with spoken
language
Kavya
 Kavya – the “poetry” of the classical canon
 permeated with the culture of the Gupta courts
 Kavi, learned poets, wrote under the patronage of
kings for audiences of connoisseurs

sahrdaya – “with heart, responsive”

rasika – “enjoyer of aesthetic mood”
 highly formulated norms and conventions
 many works on poetic theory
Kavya Genres
 Mahakavya: great poem or court epic– contains lyric
stanzas with elaborate figures of speech and
emphasizes description
 Natya: drama

employs both prose and verse

includes Sanskrit and Prakrit

wider range of characters

lyrical description more than dramatic action
 Muktaka: short lyric poems

Bhartrhari: pointed epigrams
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Kalidasa: idyllic verses on nature
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Amaru: erotic vignettes
 Katha or Akhyika: narrative tales

Pancatantra: collection of animal fables

Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (Ocean to the Rivers
of Story): picaresque, marvelous tales, romances
Niti
 aims for human conduct, worldly wisdom
 the Nagaraka – gentleman, citizen, courtier –
cultivated life as art with the 4 aims for human
conduct:
 Dharma: religious duty
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 Artha: wealth, politics, public life
 Kama: erotic pleasure and the emotions

Vitsyayana’s Kamasutra
 Moksa: liberation from the chain of birth and death
in which souls are trapped because of Karma

Karma implies fluid relationships between divine,
human and animal worlds

gods become human, humans may achieve
bodhisattva status or may be reincarnated as
animals
Women in Classic Literature
 courtly ideal wives like Sita – chaste, loyal,
submissive, long-suffering
 wives in merchant-class stories – chaste,
independent, powerful
 Courtesans – erotic, beautiful, intelligent, ruthless,
rapacious, independent
 religious contemplatives – figures of authority and
free agents
Visnusarman’s Pancatantra (CA. 2nd-3rd C.E.)
 Pancatantra: The Five Strategies
 collection of folk tales and fables within frame tales
 brought by Arabs into Europe – model and source
for 1001 Nights, Boccaccio’s The Decameron,
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Grimms’ Fairy
Tales, La Fontaine’s Fables, etc.
 central concern is niti – conduct – political
expediency and social values
 Visnusarman allegedly used the fables to teach 3
dim-witted princes the science of politics
The Pancatantra’s 5 Strategies
 Book I : “The Loss of Friends”

“Leap and Creep”
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“The Blue Jackal”
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“Forethought, Readywit and Fatalist”
 Book II : “The Winning of Friends”
 Book III: “Crows and Owls”

strategies of alliance and war

“Mouse-Maid Made Mouse”
 Book IV: “Loss of Gains”
 Book V: “Ill-Considered Action”

“The Loyal Mungoose”
Natya: Drama
 Drsyakavya: poetry to be seen as opposed to
sravyakavya: poetry to be heard
 Bharata’s Natyasastra – authoritative text on
dramatic aesthetics and theory
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 Abhinaya: “a symphony of languages” – verbal text,
stylized gesture, facial expression, eye movement,
music, dance
 8 fundamental emotions, bhava, expressed in 8
major rasas, stylized representations of the
emotions – universal rather than particular
 no tragedy in Indian drama – impossible in the
Hindu and Buddhist conception of the universe of
karma linking humans with nature and the cosmos
through networks of volition, action and response –
open-ended cycles of time
Dramatic Conventions
 performed at seasonal festivals and celebrations
such as weddings, the dramas were regarded as rites
of renewal and order
 characters are types, not individuals
 contrasts and complements among diverse
elements:

lyric verse and prose dialogue

erotic and heroic moods

heroic king and gluttonous buffoon

Sanskrit spoken by noblemen, Prakrit spoken by
women, children and men of lower caste

domestic and public worlds; worlds of the court
and of nature; worlds of the human and divine

emotional universes of men and women
Kalidasa (fl. 4th- 5th C.CE.)
 the dramatist and poet is regarded as the greatest
figure in classical Sanskrit literature
 three surviving plays are Abhijnanasakuntala
(Sakunatala and the Ring of Recognition),
Vikramorvasi, and Malavikagnimitra
 these court dramas in verse, nataka, relate fanciful
or mythological tales of profound romantic love
intensified and matured by adversity.
 in Kalidasa's two epics, Raghuvansa and
Kumarasambhava, delicate descriptions of nature
are mingled with battle scenes
 other poems of Kalidasa are shorter and almost
purely lyrical.
Sakuntala
 Nataka: heroic romance – play about love between a
noble hero and a beautiful woman
 dominant mood: the erotic rasa: tension between
duty, dharma, and desire, kama
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 King Dusyanta falls in love with Sakuntala, daughter
of the nymph Menaka and foster daughter of the
ascetic hermit-sage, Kanva.
II. Indian Culture and Music
People
 people with different clothing
 people with different religions
 people with different foods
 people with different celebrations
Government
 India is the world’s largest democracy
Famous Indians
 Gandhi, India’s greatest peacemaker, who influenced
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Where people live
 many Indian people live in villages in rural India
 oher people in India live in large cities, like
 New Dehli, the capital
 Mumbai (West)
 Home of Bollywood, India’s Hollywood
 Kolkata (East)
 Deccan (Southern Plateau), with cities like
Bangalore and Chennai
 Mughal Empire- last and the strongest Islamic
empire in India
Agra and the Taj Mahal
 Agra is a large city in northern India
 home of India’s greatest historical monument, the
Taj Mahal
Transportation
 Planes
 Trains
 Cars
 Rickshaws
 Camel & donkey carts
 Bicycles
 Walking
Traditional Music

Hindustani means classical music of North India

Carnatic means classical music of South India
 Traditional Elements of Indian Music

Melody (raga)

Drone (harmony)

Rhythm (tala)
 Indian Instruments
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String

Wind

Percussion
Food




rice
vegetables
seafood
meat-however, cows are considered sacred by
Hindus, many of whom are vegetarian
 Masala-spices
 tea-common drink
Religious Beliefs
 Hinduism
 Buddhism
 Islam (Muslims)
 Sikhism
 Christianity
 Judaism
History
 Indian civilization is ancient
 Indus Valley Civilization- one of the first civilizations
on earth
 Vedic period- a time in Indian history when the
7yHindu religion and caste system began in India
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