Indian literature
South Asian texts
Indian literature encompasses the written and oral traditions of the Indian subcontinent, spanning thousands of years across dozens of languages.
Ancient Sanskrit texts like the Vedas, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana form its classical foundation.
Modern Indian literature flourishes in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Urdu, English, and many other languages: She studied Indian literature from the Bhagavad Gita to Tagore to Arundhati Roy.
Hindu canonical texts
- UpanishadsVedic philosophical scriptures
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
Sanskrit war epic
Language of Bangladesh
- TamilSouth Indian language
- MarathiWestern Indian language
- KannadaSouth Indian Dravidian language
- MalayalamDravidian language of Kerala
Telugu · Gujarati · Punjabi · Assamese · Urdu · Hindi · Kashmiri · Tagore
Culture passed by speech
- fableMoral tale with animals
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
- street performanceEntertainment in public spaces
- bardPoet of epics
Scattered population sharing origins
- identityWho someone is
- partitionBarrier separating spaces
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
hybridity · subaltern · Anglophone · cultural memory · displacement · migration · feminist writing · decolonization
Hindu god of creation
Vedas
Hindu canonical texts
- UpanishadsVedic philosophical scriptures
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
Mahabharata
Sanskrit war epic
Bengali
Language of Bangladesh
Malayalam · Telugu · Gujarati · Punjabi · Assamese · Urdu · Hindi · Kashmiri · Tagore
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
- fableMoral tale with animals
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
- street performanceEntertainment in public spaces
diaspora
Scattered population sharing origins
- identityWho someone is
- partitionBarrier separating spaces
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
nationalism · hybridity · subaltern · Anglophone · cultural memory · displacement · migration · feminist writing · decolonization
Salman Rushdie
Controversial novelist, knighted
Brahma
Hindu god of creation
Vedanta
Hindu philosophy of ultimate reality
Moksha · Karma · Dharma · Samsara · Buddhist texts · Nirvana · Bhakti
Doha
Qatar's governmental seat
Indian literatureWestern literature
Euro-American written tradition
European literature · British literature · Western canon · English literature · American literature