Module 5 Hindu Literature PDF

MODULE 5: HINDU LITERATURE EDENG 210 : Survey of Afro-Asian Literature Instructor: Dr. Joram C. Ausente Learning Objectives: At the end of this module, you must have: 1. surveyed the outstanding characteristics of Hindu literature; 2. compared and contrasted the forms of Hindu prose and poetry;...

MODULE 5: HINDU LITERATURE EDENG 210 : Survey of Afro-Asian Literature Instructor: Dr. Joram C. Ausente Learning Objectives: At the end of this module, you must have: 1. surveyed the outstanding characteristics of Hindu literature; 2. compared and contrasted the forms of Hindu prose and poetry; and 3. organized an annotated reading list of selected Hindu literature. What do you know about India and the Hindu Culture?  India, a land overflowing with religion and religious spirit, has a written literature that started with Vedic holy texts some time after 1500 BC.  These homilies and hymns gave rise to the Upanishads, a body of religious prose writings philosophical in nature and dealing with the basic problems of existence. The Upanishads tell about the basic tenets of Hinduism, the dominant religion in India. Later, oral history, legend, and moral tales were fused into two great books: the Mahabharata, considered the national epic of India, and the Ramayana. Other major additions to the literature of India are the Puranas (400 BC – 1400 AD) and the Pachatantra (450 AD), which is a collection of five books of fables and short tales interspersed with poetry. Another form of literature was the shastras, which sought to systematize all learning in the form of laws for the arts and sciences. The seventh century AD saw the peak of classical poetry. Drama and lyric poetry abounded. During this period, Kalidasa emerged as a poet and writer of note. He produced three master-pieces of which Shakuntala, a play, is the most celebrated. In the latter part of the Middle Ages, the courts of the Mogul emperors, which produced Perso-Arabic writing inspired a literature in Urdu. The major artistic form was the ghazal, a stylized form of lyrical folk song. Selection #1: Salutation to the Dawn by Kalidasa Author’s Background Kalidasa, great poet and dramatist of India, wrote in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. He is sometimes called the Shakespeare of India. Many of his plays and poems have romantic themes. They are remarkable for their description of nature, the elegant style in which they are written, and the powerful imagination of their author.  Many historians think Kalidasa was one of the groups known as nine gems. These were men of genius at the court of the Indian king Vikramaditya. This king was probably Chandragupta II who reigned from AD 30 to 415.  How can you use your past in defining your future? How do you prepare for a good future? Sharing Insights 1. What advice is given in the poem? Live in the present and do what you can to have a brilliant future. The lines go: “Look well, therefore, to this day! Such is the salutation to the dawn.” 2. What concept is the advice based on? Do you agree with this concept? Explain. The advice is based on the concept of living in the present. It guides you to act in the living present. 3. Can you make use of the advice? Explain your answer. Yes. Practically, this is how people should live their lives. 4. How will one act if he or she believes in the ideas expressed in the poem. One lives by what the present has to offer. 5. In what way does the title fit the contents of the poem? Salutation means giving welcome while dawn means a new day. It is welcoming a new day and living in it as a way of life. Selection 2 – Gitanjali (Song Offerings) Excerpts: Rabindranath Tagore What song offerings do you know? For whom are song offerings usually made? Author’s Profile: Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941) was a poet, philosopher, and supporter of freedom for India. He stirred national pride among his fellow Hindus in his poems and songs. A mystical and religious poet, he saw God in all beauties of nature. In 1913, Tagore received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his Gitanjali (Song Offerings). Tagore’s writings blends traditional and modern elements. Although universal in its themes, his art has a strong Bengali flavor. Sharing Insights (Quiz): 1. What values are reflected in the first song offering? 2. What qualities are emphasized in the second song offering? 3. What concepts of a free country does the poem bring to mind? 4. Do you think our country has this kind of freedom? 5. In the last song offering, what attitude about death is revealed? 6. How can you apply to your life the message in the first song offering? 7. What can you offer death when the time comes? Elaborate: Modern Indian literature began with the establishment of civil service training schools and printing presses in the 19th century. A colony of Britain, India became even more aware of its literary heritage when the British advisor on Indian affairs scornfully dismissed the entire Indian literary heritage. This disdainful attitude inspired among the people a fervor for Indi-an literary works and the vernacular. Awareness of their Indian heritage and the exposure to the Western literary and philosophical writing produced a cultural renaissance. The pioneer writers of this period include Raja Rammohum Roy, Mahavir Prasad Dvivedy, and Arunacala Kavi, Micahel Madhusudan Dutt and Jayashankar Prasad, Sir Rabindranath Tagore, and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Hari Narayana Apte. The first plays modeled on Western drama were written by Madhusudan Dutt. Nationalist leaders like Mahtma Gandhi influenced the social realism of the early works. Today, the writers of post-Independence India experiment with surrealism, symbolism and other new forms of writing while keeping alive the sentimental romanticism of the 19th century. And many writers have achieved fame - not only in India, but also in the international community.