Indian literature information

Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akademi, India's highest literary body, also has 24 recognised literary languages.

The earliest works of Indian literature were orally transmitted. Sanskrit literature begins with the oral literature of the Rig Veda, a collection of literature dating to the period 1500–1200 BCE. The Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata were subsequently codified and appeared towards the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. Classical Sanskrit literature developed rapidly during the first few centuries of the first millennium BCE,^[1] as did the Pāli Canon and Tamil Sangam literature.^{[citation needed]}^{[verification needed]} Ancient Meitei appeared in the 1st century CE with sacred musical compositions like the Ougri,^[2] and heroic narratives like the Numit Kappa.^[3] In the medieval period, literature in Kannada and Telugu appeared in the 9th and 10th centuries respectively.^[4] Later, literature in Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, and Maithili appeared. Thereafter literature in various dialects of Hindi, Persian and Urdu began to appear as well. In 1913, Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore became India's first Nobel laureate in literature.^[5]^{[verification needed]}

^ Narayanrao, H.L. "A Brief on Indian Literature and Languages". Journal of Education and Practice. 2 (3): 46. ISSN 2222-288X.
^ —Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 326. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
—Singh, Khelchandra Ningthoukhongjam. "Ougri". History Of Old Manipuri Literature (in Manipuri). Manipur University Library; North Eastern States Libraries. India: Digital Library of India; Internet Archive. pp. 81, 82, 83.
—Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). "The Early Period (Ritual Songs) : Ougri". A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). India: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9. Again from amongst the songs mentioned above, 'Ougri' and 'Khencho', in view of their more archaic diction and much advanced historical allusions, may be considered earlier than the rest. ... 'Ougri' is referred to as sung at the coronation of Nongdā Lāiren Pākhangbā, which took place in 33 A.D. ...
—Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 329. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
^ —Wouters, Jelle J. P.; Subba, Tanka B. (30 September 2022). The Routledge Companion to Northeast India. Taylor & Francis. p. 473. ISBN 978-1-000-63699-4. ... Numit Kappa, a Meitei text from the 1st century CE, is particularly relevant and insightful in examining this peculiar relationship between power and violence. The text is recited as incantations during chupsaba, a cleansing ritual for 'violent' death...
—"Shooting the Sun: A Study of Death and Protest in Manipur". Economic and Political Weekly. 44 (40). Austin, USA. 3 October 2009 – via University of Texas. ... Numit Kappa gives one such version. Considered one of the earliest known literary compositions in Meitei script, it is dated to the first century AD...
—Singh, Khelchandra Ningthoukhongjam. "Numit Kappa". History Of Old Manipuri Literature (in Manipuri). Manipur University Library; North Eastern States Libraries. India: Digital Library of India; Internet Archive. pp. 95, 96.
—Kshetrimayum, Jogendro (2009). "Shooting the Sun: A Study of Death and Protest in Manipur". Economic and Political Weekly. 44 (40): 48–54. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 25663656.
^ "Kannada literature", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. Quote: "The earliest literary work is the Kavirajamarga (c. AD 900), a treatise on poetics based on a Sanskrit model."
^ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1913". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

[1] Narayanrao, H.L. "A Brief on Indian Literature and Languages". Journal of Education and Practice. 2 (3): 46. ISSN 2222-288X.

[2] —Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 326. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
—Singh, Khelchandra Ningthoukhongjam. "Ougri". History Of Old Manipuri Literature (in Manipuri). Manipur University Library; North Eastern States Libraries. India: Digital Library of India; Internet Archive. pp. 81, 82, 83.
—Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). "The Early Period (Ritual Songs) : Ougri". A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). India: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9. Again from amongst the songs mentioned above, 'Ougri' and 'Khencho', in view of their more archaic diction and much advanced historical allusions, may be considered earlier than the rest. ... 'Ougri' is referred to as sung at the coronation of Nongdā Lāiren Pākhangbā, which took place in 33 A.D. ...
—Ayyappappanikkar (1997). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections. Sahitya Akademi. p. 329. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.

[3] —Wouters, Jelle J. P.; Subba, Tanka B. (30 September 2022). The Routledge Companion to Northeast India. Taylor & Francis. p. 473. ISBN 978-1-000-63699-4. ... Numit Kappa, a Meitei text from the 1st century CE, is particularly relevant and insightful in examining this peculiar relationship between power and violence. The text is recited as incantations during chupsaba, a cleansing ritual for 'violent' death...
—"Shooting the Sun: A Study of Death and Protest in Manipur". Economic and Political Weekly. 44 (40). Austin, USA. 3 October 2009 – via University of Texas. ... Numit Kappa gives one such version. Considered one of the earliest known literary compositions in Meitei script, it is dated to the first century AD...
—Singh, Khelchandra Ningthoukhongjam. "Numit Kappa". History Of Old Manipuri Literature (in Manipuri). Manipur University Library; North Eastern States Libraries. India: Digital Library of India; Internet Archive. pp. 95, 96.
—Kshetrimayum, Jogendro (2009). "Shooting the Sun: A Study of Death and Protest in Manipur". Economic and Political Weekly. 44 (40): 48–54. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 25663656.

[4] "Kannada literature", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. Quote: "The earliest literary work is the Kavirajamarga (c. AD 900), a treatise on poetics based on a Sanskrit model."

[5] "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1913". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

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