INDIAN LITERATURE

INDIA:

The Land of Prayer

As early as 300 B.C., India had already produced a considerable body of literature written in several Indian tongues derived from a common ancestral language-Sanskrit.

Their literature is also known as Sanskrit Literature.

VEDAS

- Contains hymns addressed to the Indian gods, who are very numerous.

- They also contain stories about these gods.

Two great epic poems:

• Ramayana• Mahabharata

Mahabharata

• The Mahabharata is an important source of information on the development of Hinduism between 400 bce and 200 ce and is regarded by Hindus as both a text about dharma (Hindu moral law) and a history.

Ramayana

• The Ramayana by Valmiki tells about life in India around 1000 BCE and offers models in dharma. The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of dharma; in fact, that was why Indian consider him heroic.

Characters in the Story

C:\Users\EnglishArea\Documents\cheska\SAA\MAJOR CHARACTERS_RAMAYANA.docx

Swayamvara

• a practice of choosing a husband, from among a list of suitors, by a girl of marriageable age.

• Swayam in Sanskrit means self and vara means choice or desire

How do we choose between good and evil? What is God’s

role in our decision?

In each of us, two natures are at war – the good and the evil. All our lives the fight goes

on between them, and one of them must conquer. But in our own hands lies the

power to choose – what we want most to be we are.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson

Story Analysis

A. Read “The Breaking of the Bow” in your book on p.

B. Answer Comprehension Check A on p. 452 of your English Textbook.

C. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the nature of Rama's mission to this world?

2. To what extent is the Ramayana a morality tale of good versus evil? To what extent does Rama himself divide the world into "good" and "evil"?

3. What characters did you find to be the most interesting? Why?