Everything about Itihasa totally explained
Indian epic poetry is the
epic poetry written in the
Indian subcontinent. Written in
Sanskrit,
Kannada,
Tamil and
Hindi, it includes some of the oldest epic poetry ever created and some works form the basis of
Hindu scripture.
Sanskrit Epics
The ancient
Sanskrit epics, the
Ramayana and
Mahabharata, also termed
Itihāsa (History) or
Mahākāvya ("Great Compositions"), refer to epic poems that form a 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.
Kannada epic poetry
Kannada epic poetry mainly consists of
Jain religious literature. The most famous poet from this period is
Adikavi Pampa (902-975 CE), one of the most famous writers in the
Kannada language. His
Vikramarjuna Vijaya (also called
pampa bharatha) is hailed as a classic even to this day. With this and his other important work
Adipurana he set a trend of poetic excellence for the Kannada poets of the future. The former work is an adaptation of the celebrated
Mahabharata, and is the first such adaptation in Kannada. Noted for the strong human bent and the dignified style in his writing, Pampa has been one of the most influential writers in Kannada. He is identified as
Adi kavi. (First poet)
It is only in Kannada that we've a
Ramayana and a
Mahabharata based on the Jaina tradition in addition to those based on Brahmanical tradition.
Shivakotiacharya was the first writer in prose style. His work
Vaddaradhane is dated to
900 CE.
Sri Ponna (939-966 CE) is also an important writer from the same period, with
Shanti-Purana as his magnum opus. Another major writer of the period is
Ranna (949-? CE). His most famous works are the
Jain religious work
Ajita-Tirthankara Purana and the
Gada-Yuddha (The Mace fight), a birds' eye view of the
Mahabharata, set in the last day of the Battle of Kurukshetra and relating the story of the Mahabharata through a series of flashbacks.
Structurally, the poetry in this period is in the
Champu style, essentially poetry interspersed with lyrical prose.
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.
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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Itihasa'.
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