Unit 31 Indian Languages and Literature
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UNIT 31 INDIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE Structure 31.0 Objectives 31.1 Introduction 31.2 Arabic and Persian 31.3 Sanskrit 31.4 North India 31.4.1 Hindi 31.4.2 Urdu 31.4.3 Punjabi 3 1.5 Western India 31.5.1 %uj& 315.2 Marathi 31.6 Eastern India 31.6.1 Bengali 31.6.2 Asaunek 31.6.3 Ckiya 3 1.7 South Indian Languages 31.7.1 Td 31.7.2 Teluy 31.7.3 Kamada 31.7.4 Malayalam 31.8 Let Us Sum Up 31.9 Key Words 31.10 Answers to Cbeck Your Progress Exercises In this unit, we will discuss the languages and literatme tbat flourished m India during the 16th to mid 18th centuries. Aftea gomg through this unit you will: ,. be able to appreciate the variety and richness of literam produced during the period under study; know about the main literary works in India in the following languages: Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Sanskrit, HiLdi, Punjabi, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada; and .a be familiar wit. some of the main historians, writers and poets writing in the above languages. ' cr 31.1 INTRODUCTION The Mughal rule created some semblance of political unity m India. Further, it not only encouraged an integtated internal matket and an increase m foreign trade, but also generated an atmosphere of creative intellectual activity. Apart from the Empexors, the Mughal princes and nobles, too, patronised literary activity. Tbe regional com.of the Rajput Rajas and the ' Deccan and South Indian rulers also did not lag bebind. Mainly inspired by the Bbaldi .movement, a parallel popular litmature m different veanacnlar languages alsd developed during this period. We have already discussed historical works in Persian and other languages m Block 1. In this unit, we will confine ourselves to literature other th* bistoricd warks. It would not be possible for us to take adcount of all the languages m which litmatun was bemg written. Qur main objective will be to highlight important literary works m tbe different parts of the corntry. Content Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU I fro111 16th to lXtll Century 31.2 ARABIC AND PERSIAN Arabic works under the Mughals were largely confined to religious subjects, though a few poets composed verses in Arabic poetry. Persian was the official language of the Mughal court. Babur, the first Mughal ruler, was an accomplished poet and he wrote his memoirs in Turki which was later translated into Persian hv Ahdur Rahim Khan Khanan. Babur also wrote a didactic work known as Mathnavi Vuhira His chief contribution to the development of Persian literature in India lies in havlng brought with him a number of Persian poets. The major influx of Persian writers into India started with the return of Humayun from his exile in Iran. It was at Shah Tahmasp's court in Iran that he met a number of poets and artists, some of whom he persuaded to accompany him to India. When he later set up his own court, he was able to coordinate the works of the indigenous poets and writers with those of the talented immigrants. The stream of Persian poets who visited India during the 16th and 17th centuries created a rich synthesis in a new genre of Persian literature known as (Sabaq Hindi) (.'Indian style'). The patronage given to the exponents of this particular school continued from Akbar to Shah Jahan, which included notable Indian and Persian writers like Faizi, Urfi, Naziri, Talib Amuli, Kalim, Ghani Kashrniri, Saib and Bedil. The Mughal Emperors and princes often themselves composed poetry in Persian; for example, Humayun composed a Persian diwan. Abul Fazl writes that thousands of poets resided at Akbar's court. Apart from Fazi, there was Ghazali Mashnadi who was known to* have been an extremely talented man. He wrote many rnathnavis. Faizi succeeded Ghazali Mashhadi. His principal work included a diwan named Tabashir a1 Subh, which consisted of Qasidas, Ghazals, Elegies, Qit'as and Ruba'is. He had planned to write a Khamsdh according to the literary fashion of the time, but could complete only a few; for example, Nal Daman. Faizi's prose works included a Persian adaptation of Lilavati, his epistles and Persian translations of Hindu religious books. According to some critics Faizi enjoyed great prestige in Turkey and it was his influence which carried the Indo-Persian poetry beyond the borders of India. Abdur Rahim Khan Khanm, an accomplished'scholar and talented poet, lived during Akbar and Jahangir's reigns. His fame chiefly rests on maintaining a library that contained more than four thousand books. He was known for his patronage extended to numerous writers like Naziri Nishapxi, Urfi Shirazi and Mulla Abdul Baqi Nihawmdi. Shah Jahan has been acclaimed as one of the greatest patrons, who according to the contemporary Persian poet Ali.Quli Salem, enabled the full flowering of Persian poetry in India. Abu Talib Kalim of Hamadan succeedexl Qudsi as Shah Jahan's court poet and completed, beside his own diwan, as epic poem entitled Padshahnama describing Shah Jahan's achievements. The greatest Persian poet of this period was Mirza Muhammad Ali Saib of Tabriz, who was known to have created a new style in Persian poetry. On his return to Isfahan, he recorded his indebtedness to Indlia by calling her as a second paradise. Thus, the patronage of the Mughal ruling class not cmly created a new genre of Persian literature, it also increased the excellence in prose writings;. In the South, Persian hterature received generous patronage from the Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur. The court of Ibrahim Adil Shah 1I (1 580-1627) attracted a large nueer of poets and writers both from North India as well as Central Asia Malik Qummi (d. 1640) was o!ie of the best known poets patronised by the Ad3 Shahi dynasty. His contemporary Mulia Zuhuri was decidedly the greatest of the Persian poets who tlourished in the D, pecan. Known to possess a distinct style in both pcx;try and prose, he wrote a book called Saginama based on the model of the Gulistan of Sadi. The Qutab Shahis of Golconda were also known as great patrons of Persian scholarship and literature under whose patronage varied works were executed in Persian. In 1651, Muhammad Hussain Tabrezi's Persian dictionary gurhan Qati was compiled under the parronee of Abdulla Qutab Shah. Bustarni's Hadiqal Salatin - a collection of the lives of Content Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU eminent Persian poets - was completed in 1681. Four historical chronicles of the Qutub Shahi dynasty were rendered into verse during the Indian Languages and Uteratore reign of Muhammad Quli Qutab Shah. An encyclopaedic woik of considerable merit (Abu Imad's Khiraqatul 'Alam)'in six volumes testifies to the interest in and contact with Persian culture that was maintained through the warm hospitality that the Qutub Shahi rulers offered to the Persian scholars visiting their kingdom. ASa result, Persian as the regional court language at Bijapur and Golconda gained a niche in the South. Another category of literary works mostly written in Persian is mystical or sufi literature. Under this category come: the treatises written by the sufis on mysticism; collectiop of letters written by sufis; malfuzat (discourses by sufi saints); biographies of sufis and collection of sufi poetry. Sakinatul Uliya written by Prince Dara Shukoh is a biographical account of the sufi Miya Mir and his disciples. The Majm'aul Bahrain (Mingling of two Oceans) is his other work related to sufism. In this work has compared the Islamic sufi concepts with Hindu philosophical outlook. \ During this period, Persian literature was enriched by the Mughal Emperors by getting classical Indian texts translated into Persian. During Akbar's period Singhasan Batisi, Ramayana and Rajtaringni of Kalhan were also translated. Badauni was associated with all these translations. The Persian literature produced at the Mughal court exercised a tremendous influence in the formation of regional literature, especially those cultivated by the Muslims, the greatest innovation being the evolution of a literary Urdu language. Other languages modelled cn ~ersii'traditionare Punjabi, Pushtu, Sindhi, Baluchi and Kashmiri. All these share a written script with Persian. 31.3 SANSKRIT During this period, Sanskrit ceased to flourish as the q-nh language of the Imperial court nough Mughal Emperom and princes like Dara patronized Sanskrit scholars, it never again gained the same importance in Northern India On the other hand, it.was in the South, particularly due to the inspiring presence of Madbavacarya and Sayanacarya, that Sanskrit literature continued to enjoy the pauonage of the kings of Vijayanagar. After 1565, the rulers of Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties, the Nayakas of Tanjore and the chiefs of Travancore and Cochin kept alive the custom of patronising Sanskrit. The various genres of Sanskrit literature -Mahakavyas, Slesh Kavyag Champu Kavyas, Natakas and particularly historical Kavyas continued. In the field of Mahakavyas mention. should be made of Raghunatha Nayaka, a ruler of Tanjore and his court poets. Among his ' many works the biography of his farher Achyutaraya should be specially mentioned. Srhivasa Dikshit aminister of the Nayakas of Gieewas a prolific $titer: he had composed eighteen dramas and sixty kavyas. Another 1iter;ry figure who flourished at the Nayak Court of Tanjore was Govinda Dikshita. His great works are Sahitya Sudha and Sangitsudhanidhi Another prominent Sanskrit Scholar Appaya Dikshita (1520-92) was patronised by the Nayak chiefs of Vellore. He wrote more than one hundred books on various branches of Sanskrit learning. Niliknatha Dikshit (17th century) was aminister of Tirumalanayaka of ~adura.He wrote a number of Mahakavyas among which two dealing with Siva-leela and the penance of Bhagirath were rated very high by scholars.