The Epics


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The Epics

The epics: The two epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana are also considered to be prominent Vedic age literature. Both these epics were composed in Sanskrit and, according to most historians, not before 5th century BCE.

Indian epic poetry

Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent traditionally called Kavya. The Ramayan and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five geat epics of Tamil litreature and Sangam litrerature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.

  • Sanskrit epic
  • The ancient Sanskrit epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata comprise together the or Mahakavya , a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse remained until very recently the preferred form of Hindu literary works. Hero-worship 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. lithasa and Puranas are mentioned in the Atharva veda  and referred to as the fourth Veda.

  • Hindi epic
  • The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas' (1543–1623) Ramcharitmanas, 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 divine character to Rama the Hindu Avtar of Vishnu, portraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king.

    The geographical extent: The Vedic literature contains names of rivers, mountains and regions which indicate the extent of the Vedic civilization. The hymns of the rig Veda mention various rivers like the Sindhu (Indus), Saraswati (now lost), Parushni (Ravi), Vipas (Beas), Shutudri (Satluj), Asikni (Chenab) and Vitasta (Jhelum).

     
     


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