Knowledge Traditions And Practices Of India: Class 11 — Chapter 1: Language and Literature of India

• Many languages exist without a written script, relying on rich oral traditions to convey creative thoughts, history, and cultural values.
• Kavaad Banchana: A traditional form of oral storytelling where Kavaad refers to a wooden panel of a door, and Banchana means to narrate and show the illustrated story on the panel.
• Phad Singers: Performers who use a scroll (Phad) depicting narratives of folk deities. The Bhopas of Rajasthan are invited to villages to sing and appease these deities.
• Major literary forms such as śruti, smṛti, purāṇa, epics, poetry, and myths remain preserved and active through oral transmission.

• People’s Linguistic Survey of India (by Ganesh N. Devy) highlights India's vast linguistic diversity, noting discoveries like 200 words describing snow in the Himalayan region, an old form of Portuguese near Mumbai, Japanese-influenced speech in Gujarat, and unique languages in the Andaman islands.
• The intermingling of cultures, such as the Mughals with native populations, led to the birth of hybrid languages like Urdu and Hindustani.

• Udant Martand: India's first weekly newspaper, published in Devanagari from Kolkata in 1826 by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla.
• Bangadarshan: A magazine brought out by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya (1838–94) to educate the public on social and political issues.
• Kavivachansudha: A journal edited by Bharatendu Harish Chandra (1850–85) that voiced opposition to colonial atrocities.
• Bengal Gazette: Founded by James Augustus Hicky, it was the first newspaper in India and Asia, serving as a critical forum for public opinion against British policies.

• The scientific study of language was profoundly influenced by ancient Indian grammarians, most notably Panini, whose systematic Sanskrit grammar laid foundational principles for modern linguistics.
• Languages are dynamic and exist in a state of flux, constantly changing as long as they are actively spoken by their communities.

India is home to five major language families, shaped by diverse topographical and environmental conditions:

1. Indo-Aryan (e.g., Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati)
2. Dravidian (e.g., Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam)
3. Austro-Asiatic
4. Tibeto-Burmese
5. Semito-Hamitic

• Sanskrit: Standardised by Panini around the 5th century BCE, serving as the language of religion, philosophy, and learning.
• Prakrits: Colloquial dialects spoken by the common people. Lord Buddha preached in the vernacular, and Buddhist literature was recorded in Pali (a Prakrit dialect).
• Apabhramshas: Spoken dialects that evolved from Prakrits, forming the structural basis for modern regional Indian languages during the medieval period.

• Śruti (Heard/Revealed): Texts of divine origin, including the four Vedas (Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Sāmveda), eleven Brāhmaṇas, three Araṇyakas, and over 100 Upaniṣads.
• Smṛti (Remembered/Recorded): Texts of human authorship, including the six Vedāṅgas, the epics (Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata), and the Purāṇas.
• Puruṣārthas: The four core goals of human life defined in Vedic tradition: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (wealth), Kāma (pleasure), and Mokṣa (liberation).

सङ्गच्छध्वं संवदध्वं सं वो मनांसि जानताम्।
देवा भागं यथा पूर्वे सञ्जानाना उपासते।।

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Translation (Devi Sūktam, Ṛgveda): May you move in harmony, speak in one voice, let your minds be in agreement just as the ancient gods shared their portions of sacrifice.

सत्यं वद, धर्मं चर, स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः...

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Translation (Taittirīya Upaniṣad): Speak the truth, practice righteousness, do not neglect self-study...

• Sanskrit literature diversified into drama, verse, and prose.
• Bhāsa: Renowned playwright with 13 extant plays, including Svapanavāsavadattam, Cārudattam, and Karṇabhāram, drawing themes from the epics.
• Kālidāsa: Widely regarded as the greatest Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Famous works include the lyric poem Meghadūtam, the epic Raghuvaṁśam, and the play Abhijñānaśākuntalam.

• Saṅgama Literature: The earliest body of Tamil literature. Key works include Agastyam and Tholkapiayam (a foundational treatise on Tamil grammar).
• Akam and Puram: Two main genres of Sangam poetry, representing 'interior landscape' (love, emotions) and 'exterior landscape' (valor, war, society).
• The Five Tinais (Landscapes): Kurinchi (mountain), Mullai (forest), Marutam (agricultural field), Neytal (coastal sea), and Palai (arid desert).
• Tamil Epics: Cilapathikaram (story of Kannagi, detailing Tamil culture, music, and town planning) and Manimekalai (composed by Chithalai Chathanar, following the story of Kovalan and Madhavi's daughter who became a Buddhist nun).
• Kavirājamārgam: The earliest extant literary work in Kannada (9th century).
• The Three Gems of Kannada Literature: Jaina poets Pampa (author of Pampa Rāmāyaṇa), Sri Ponna, and Ranna (10th century).

• Rāmāyaṇa: Composed by Sage Vālmīki (known as the Ādikavi) in 24,000 verses. It serves as a cultural symbol of righteousness (Rāmarājya).
• Mahābhārata: Composed by Sage Vedavyāsa, containing 100,000 verses, making it the largest work of literature in world history.
• Bhagavad-Gītā: A 700-verse philosophical dialogue located within the 6th book (Bhishma Parva) of the Mahābhārata, outlining the three paths to salvation: Karma Yoga (action), Jñāna Yoga (knowledge), and Bhakti Yoga (devotion).

The Government of India accords classical status to languages meeting strict criteria established by the Sahitya Academy (high antiquity of 1500–2000 years, original literary tradition, and distinctness from modern forms):

• Tamil (Declared in 2004)
• Sanskrit (Declared in 2005)
• Telugu (Declared in 2008)
• Kannada (Declared in 2008)
• Malayalam (Declared in 2013)
• Odiya (Declared in 2014)

• Composed by Vishnu Sharma around the 1st century CE.
• A collection of animal fables designed to teach moral lessons, practical wisdom, and the consequences of human actions. It heavily influenced global fable traditions, including Aesop's Fables.

• Stories depicting the previous incarnations of the Buddha in both human and animal forms.
• They capture authentic accounts of daily life, trade, and social structures in ancient India, emphasizing moral lessons and practical wisdom.

• A book of worldly wisdom (nīti-vidyā) structured into four distinct books:
1. Mitralābha (Winning Friends)
2. Suhṛdbheda (Loss of Friends)
3. Vigraha (War)
4. Sandhi (Peace)
• Features condensed, memorable verses interspersed within prose stories to illustrate ethical principles.

• Originating in South India (Tamil Nadu) around the 6th century CE, the Bhakti movement expressed intense personal devotion to God, bypassing rigid ritualism and caste hierarchies.
• Alvars: Twelve Vaishnavite poet-saints (devotees of Vishnu), including the female mystic Andal.
• Nayanmars: Sixty-three Shaivite poet-saints (devotees of Shiva).
• Vacanasāhitya: Kannada poetic prose style popularized in the 12th century by social reformers like Basavanna, Akkamahadevi, and Allama Prabhu.
• Maharashtra Saints: Jñānadeva, Nāmadeva, and Tukārām composed devotional poetry in Marathi.
• North Indian Saints: Kabir (propounded Nirguna Bhakti through simple, honest couplets) and Guru Nanak (founder of Sikhism, who composed devotional hymns emphasizing equality and devotion).
• Kashmiri Mystics: Lal Ded (Lalleshwari), creator of the mystic poetic style called Vakhs.

Aisi vāni boliye, mana ka āpā khoye
Apnā tan śital kare, auran ko sukh hoye.

Translation (Kabir): Speak such words, sans ego's ploy; Body remains composed, giving the listener joy.

• The medieval period saw the emergence of Urdu as a language of confluence between Persian and Hindustani.
• Popularized classical poetic forms such as qasida (panegyric), marsiya (elegy), and masnavi (narrative poem).
• Mirza Ghalib: One of the most prominent Urdu and Persian poets of the late Mughal era, renowned for his complex and deeply philosophical ghazals.