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## Indian Literature ### I. Hindu Literatur * **Sutras:** These are subject matter of Smritis, which can be linked to Vedanga literature. * **Griha Sutras**: They deal with various samskaras required to be performed from birth to death by a family. * **Dharma Sutras**: They deal with civil...

## Indian Literature ### I. Hindu Literatur * **Sutras:** These are subject matter of Smritis, which can be linked to Vedanga literature. * **Griha Sutras**: They deal with various samskaras required to be performed from birth to death by a family. * **Dharma Sutras**: They deal with civil, criminal and moral laws. * **Smritis**: The subject matter of Smritis is same as that of the Sutras, though method of presentation is different. * While Sutras are in form of small sentences or aphorisms, Smritis are presented in the form of metrical verses, as if the composers had brought them to their memory. * **Manu Smriti**, **Vishnu Smriti**, **Narad Smriti** and **Yajnavailkya Smriti** are very famous. * **Manu Smriti** is the oldest and the most important of all the Dharma Shastras. * **Shruti** is a Sanskrit word meaning 'hearing'. Shruti includes those books which were heard by men and transmitted orally for many centuries. In fact, the Vedas fall under this head because according to the Hindu view, they contain eternal truth revealed to rishis by God in the beginning of creation. * **Smriti** means 'remembrance'. It includes those books the contents of which were thought out by the rishis, remembered by the people, passed on from sire to the son and finally reduced to writing. **Manu Smriti** is the best known Smriti. * **The Puranas**: The word 'Purana' means old. The Puranas were written in Sanskrit and are full of historical material that is helpful for the reconstruction of the early history of India. They were written at different periods and the earliest Puranas came into being as early as first century CE. Out of the 18 puranas, the most important ones as the source of history are **Vishnu Purana**, **Vaju Purana**, **Matsya Purana**, **Brahma Purana**, **Shankar Purana** and **Bhavishya Purana**. Each of the Puranas has five chapters. The first four chapters are not as historically important as the fifth one which contains descriptions of royal dynasties. * **The Epics**: The two great epics viz. the **Ramayana** of **Valmiki** and **Mahabharata** of **Veda Vyas**, the sacred books of the Hindus, give us an insight into the social, economic, political and religious conditions of the people of the Epic Age. * **The Ramayana** is the oldest and the most renowned epic of the Hindus composed between the 5th century BCE and the 3rd century CE. * It contains about 24,000 versus (slokas). * It describes the deeds of **Ram Chander** of the **Surya Vansh** of **Ayodhya**, especially the battles between **Ram Chander** and **Ravana**. * **The Mahabharata** is the second great epic which describes the war between the **Kauravas** and the **Pandavas**. * It is the longest poem in the world and has 1,00,000 slokas. * The composition of the Mahabharata is placed between 400 BCE and 400 CE. ### II. Buddhist Literature * The Buddhist Literature is written in Pali and Prakrit language. * It was written in Pali and Prakrit language. * It contains a description of the important events happened during the life of Lord Buddha. * **Tripitakas**: Tripitakas are the most important canonical scriptures of the Buddhists. 'Pitak' refers to a collection of scriptures collected and secured way. These three 'pitakas' are **Sutta Pitaka**, **Vinaya Pitaka** and **Abhidhamma Pitaka**. * **The Sutta Pitaka** is the largest Pitaka because it contains the teachings (Suttas) of the Buddha. * It is comprised of discourses, narratives and verses. * **The Vinaya Pitaka** sets out the rules for the monastic conduct of Bhikshus. * **The Abhidhamma Pitaka** is concerned with psychological and philosophical doctrines. * These Tripitakas furnish not only the teachings of the Buddha, but also about the constitution and social structure of the Buddhist kingdoms and republics. * **Jatakas**: The Jatakas contain the stories of the Buddha's previous lives. From the historical point of view, the Jatakas are important because these stories furnish us with information about the social life, customs and manners of the Indians in the centuries preceding the time of Buddha. The Jatakas are thus valuable in their anthropological interest.