Indian epic poetry
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Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent. Written in Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi, it includes some of the oldest epic poetry ever created and some works form the basis of Hindu scripture.
[edit] Sanskrit Epics
The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, occasionally termed "Mahakavya" ("Great Compositions"), refer to epic poems that form a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse was and remained until very recently the preferred form of Hindu literary works. Hero-worship was and is a central aspect of Indian culture, and thus readily lent itself to a literary tradition that abounded in epic poetry and literature. The Puranas, a massive collection of verse-form histories of India's many Hindu gods and goddesses, followed in this tradition.
The language of these texts, termed Epic Sanskrit, constitutes the earliest phase of Classical Sanskrit, following the latest stage of Vedic Sanskrit found in the Shrauta Sutras.
The famous poet and playwright Kālidāsa also wrote two epics: Raghuvamsha (Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (Birth of Kumar Kartikeya), though they were written in Classical Sanskrit rather than Epic Sanskrit.
[edit] Tamil Epics
The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics — the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana.
[edit] Hindi Epics
The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas' (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa, also based on the Ramayana. It is considered a great classic of Hindi epic poetry and literature, and shows the author Tulsidas in complete command over all the important styles of composition — narrative, epic, lyrical and dialectic. He has given a human character to Rama, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu, portraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king.
In modern Hindi literature, Kamayani by Jaishankar Prasad has attained the status of an epic. The narrative of Kamayani is based on a popular mythological story, first mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana. It is a story of the great flood and the central characters of the epic poem are Manu (a male) and Shraddha (a female). Manu is representative of the human psyche and Shradha represents love. Another female character is Ida, who represents rationality. Some critics surmise that the three lead characters of Kamayani symbolize a synthesis of knowledge, action and desires in human life.
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