Lecture 12

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:20]Uh welcome viewers, students uh for this new lecture in continuation of the previous one where we discussed the Vic literature uh as a basis of Indian knowledge traditions. Now in this uh particular lecture we are going to discuss literature of Pali, Prait and Tamil languages, Jan, Buddhist and SAM eras basically your philosophies. So agenda for today's discussion is like that what is the importance of Janna and Ba literature. Uh then role of sum literature, place of literature in postvic uh content and subject matter.

[00:00:54]So these are the primary points for discussion. Just let's have a look the timeline of this particular literature.

[00:01:00]First renaissance 6th century BC as in the previous lecture we discussed uh that 6th century BC starts with the emergence of Janas and Buddhist schools of thought and they gave their ideas as a contradictory to the uh philosophical ideas of the pedic period. However, they uh did not reject entirely the Vedas.

[00:01:22]Rather, they just gave their uh uh uh uh nonassessment or non consensus on certain aspects of Vic ritualism or over exorcism. Otherwise, they adopted many of the things of the uh uh Vic ideologies or Vic philosophies. Charvaka was against uh the uh dharma and moka but he was not against the ara and kama.

[00:01:46]So in one sense he is also not discarding the entire Vic ideas in in in complete manner. So he's also adopting at least the half of the Vic ideas. So in that way that's called the renaissance. That's not entirely revolution against Vedas rather. It's just a philosophical uh awakening. Then Moras and Guptas and then SAS the 3rd century BC and 3rd century C. So this is the time period on the map of India you may see from Cambo Gandhar was actually that time the part of India and today whatever a map of India we see that was entirely different at that time there was no question of geographical or political boundaries at that time India was divided into many uh uh sections or divided we cannot even at that time what could be the nature of geographical idea of India or the political ical idea of India or the uh uh nationalist idea of India we cannot even uh imagine today. So uh on the basis of the records what are available in uh these resources even uh also you see puranas also one of the puran also talks about the vishnu puran also talks about uh uh this uh the name of this nation and aigan shakuntalam also mentions so at that time uh that this nation was known by the multiple names uh these are the 16 mahajanpads they emerged after the late later vic period And these Mahajanpadas were uh basically the units of political administration.

[00:03:24]Aanti, Matsi, Kuru, Panchchal, Koshala, Kashi, Magada. Magad emerged as the most powerful kingdom out of the 16 and in and around all the Mahajanas were uh just uh under the political administration of Magada later on because he emerged as a central power, center of power. So Kashi and uh that koshala or uh these are the capilasu these were the places which were associated with the Buddhist and Janna philosophy uh both or Jan literature the importance of this literature is basically Buddhist literature profoundly influenced Indian knowledge uh traditions across philosophy, logic, ethics and sciences.

[00:04:09]uh it introduced new concepts, fostered a rational spirit of inquiry and created an extensive body of text. Its impacts challenged and enriched existing system promoting dialogue or prompting dialogue and refinement in other philosophical schools. teaching of Mahatma and Mahavir Jan basically and their sermons were offered in the language of the masses that was Pali and Prait to its uh that's why it became very popular because Vedas were offered in the Sanskrit language that was not the language of the masses that was the language of the uh uh uh high cast or high uh uh status people who were involved in uh acquisition of learning rishies and Manishis and the Brahman as and the language of Pali and Prait were the language of the people.

[00:05:01]So later on Buddhist literature was also written in Sanskrit. Uh it was not so that Sanskrit was discarded by Buddhism.

[00:05:08]Rather many good text are there in Sanskrit. Rejection of cast system text like Ashwa Gosh's vajra uh Shuchi presented a direct critic of the cast system advocating for social equity and promotion of medicine. like medicine was an important subject of study in ancient Buddhist universities like Nalanda and Takshila. Buddhist monks carried ayurvedic knowledge to other countries and physicians like jiwaka uh uh gained renown for their skill. Jivvaka was one of the very important name in ancient India who was also the Raj to the uh Bimbasar. Vimisar was a king of I think Hariana dynasty and storytelling traditions were introduced by the Buddhist literature like Jataka tales conveyed complex ethical teachings through uh relatable moral fables. So that's why Buddhist or Jan literature uh have a specific importance in Indian knowledge traditions. uh how they are different from Vic literature language and transmission. One difference is there because Vic Sanskrit and Pali and Prait are the main language of Jan and Buddhist uh uh literature.

[00:06:18]Buddhist literature is in Pali and Jan literature is in prait and Vic literature is in Sanskrit. Then origin and authorship Vic literature is basically considered as embedded in priestly ritual traditions him attributed to seers rishies and compiled by ritual legionist. They are considered as aparouche. Some divine source are responsible for the creation of these uh uh uh vedas. But Buddhist and Janas they centered on uh founders teaching like Buddhas and Mahaviras are the founders of these philosophies and their teachings are compiled in the literature uh offered by Buddhism and Janism and religious focus on goal. Vic emphasizes on sacrifice, yag, rit or cosmic order and correct ritual to secure prosperity and divine favor. While Buddhist and jen emphasize on liberation, nirvana, moka through ethical conduct, renunciation, meditation or strict acestism and nonviolence by janism. Then literary genre and style. Vic basically uh offer the hymns uh that is suttas or the brahmanas or the aronas or the obanish poetic and ritual pros. But Buddhist and jan literature they are in the form of sutras or the the shastras agamas or the vinaya monastic rules or the uh abidharma or the analytical work like jatakas and dedactic stories more dialogical and dedactic dedactic pros.

[00:07:47]So multiple pedagogical methods were applied in the Buddhist and Jen literature. And again you see philosophical method. Vic upanishads vic or upnachic uh literature offer speculative metaphysics and symbolic ritual interpretation while Buddhist and jan philosophy or jan literature systematic psychological analysis logical debate or the epistemology and rigorous ethical psychology. Then accessibility and audience that's very important aspect of the difference. Vic initiated initially restricted ritual knowledge transmitted among Brahmans specialist later Sanskrit commentarial culture. Brahmans were only uh entitled to interpret the meaning of uh or explain the meaning of any vic mantra.

[00:08:37]Buddhist and Jan traditions greater use of vernaculars and dedactic stories like jataka fables making teachings accessible to broader populations. So they made the content simple and accessible by the general people even they could interpret the moral teaching of any any special uh uh uh content of the literature. Historical influence and spread vic shaped ritual law cast ideology and later Hindu thought uh that became the basis of Hindu thought. Then Buddhist and Jan literature they spread widely across Asia influence philosophy, medicine, art, monastic education and cross-cultural exchange. So they were wider in scope, they were wider in space and time and uh now Buddhist literature basically divided into three pitakas, three uh uh uh categories. Vinay pitaka rules for the sana that is monastic community and we have already discussed it in one of the initial lectures. So we will not repeat the discussion in order to save the time. And then you see sutra or sutapitaka discourses of the Buddhas uh main contents canonical uh groupings or the examples of sutapitakas are basically uh uh the these are the nikayas. So the nikai or the majimnikai or the samuta nikai angut nikai or the kudaka. So these are the subcategories.

[00:10:03]They talk about the uh ethical metaphysical discourses or the practical teachings or the dharmapha the data tales uh so on. And then uh third one is the abidhama abidhapaka they talk about the systematic analysis of the doctrine whatever Buddhism offers that is explained here in this category of knowledge. So only vinaka is concerned with the moral teachings or uh the behavior or the conduct and so on. So in that uh these are the original literature's or the initial literature's pitakas. Later on Buddhist literature what was composed in the Sanskrit was Buddharit by ashwagosh sundaranand ashwagosh and uh Madame Karika or Madame Siddhanta by the nagarjun. Vasuandhu also presented hershan himself wrote he was also a great follower of the Buddhism. He also uh wrote certain natakas and he was also uh inspired by the teachings of the Buddhism. Ashoka the great was also a follower of the Buddhism. Now coming towards the gen literature agamas main Jan literature uh uh consist of the language of Jan literature is basically prait especially ardhagadhi and shoreni.

[00:11:18]Shorseni is the dialect the local uh effect of language. Later commentaries and philosophical works were written in Sanskrit and regional languages. Jan literature is divided into two main traditions uh shwambara and the gambara.

[00:11:32]And then uh canonical texts are known as the agam literature. Agamas are the sacred scriptures containing the teachings of tirankar mahavir. Mahavir was the 24th tanker and rishabdev was the first tanker. There is a tradition in the Jen uh system that tankers are the people they are the like the teachers who disseminate the teachings of the entire system of philosophy. So this is a uh chain of tirankaras chain of these great peoples. Mahavir jan was not the uh propounder of the janism rather he was just the last of 24 tankaras. So in that perspective we will discuss further if get time. Originally 12 angas or the sections but the 12 uh dishi vada is considered lost or uh uh but now some are remained they record mahavira's sermons on ethics disciple discipline philosophy and spiritual practices preserved mainly by shwambara sect. Dambaras believe the original were lost early. So whatever literature we find today uh these are because of the efforts of the Shwaitambara sect. Then uh uh the 12 Ang are there main canonical text on your screen. You may pause it and you may note it down. You may read it down. These are the names in uh uh normally in the brait language. 12 Angas are there. Subsidiary text are also there. These are also mentioned on your screen. you may again uh pause it and then 10 prair nakas are there they are known as the miscellaneous text so these are also again there so this is the entire corpus of the gen literature and then you see again the six uh cha sutras or the disciplinary text and the four moola sutras that is the basic text are also there nishta and mahanishta and and vyahara acharidasha or jaka utt These are the and they normally describe the rules for confession and atonement of for offenses supplementary rules discipline and repentance 10 rules of conduct and ethical duties. So most of the time Jenna literature's talking about the extreme aseticism and moral teachings and behavior and conduct and how to behave how to live the life of peace and uh nonviolence and so on. So these are the teachings confined in these uh uh entire body of Jan literature. Then examples and descriptions are given again on your uh uh screen about the uh uh six chedda sutras and four mula sutras. Then notable later Jen works post cananonical. canonical and the original literature and the uh some other people also uh composed Himchand Suri and Haribad Sururi are the notable writers uh who uh composed uh uh great books on the gen philosophy like yoga shastra grammar or uh like uh comparative study of six philosophical systems or the great gen polymath of Gujarat literary and historical works by him chandra and haribadasuri.

[00:14:53]So uh major themes in Jan literature include ethical conduct, ainsa sat aparigra and spiritual discipline and monastic rules, doctrine of karma and liberation or moka logic and epistemology. Sadwad and anantwad. This is the unique theory given by Jan philosophy. Cosmology and universe structure is stories of renunciation and moral examples.

[00:15:19]Pedagogical principles like uh siadwad or the relativity of knowledge is a very unique concept given by Jan philosophy.

[00:15:27]And here we come to the sum literature.

[00:15:30]Historical and cultural context is like uh that the term sungama means an assembly or academ of poets legendary even long before vic age because they claim that even Tamil language is older than the Sanskrit language as a as a cultural uh origin.

[00:15:48]So two three sangamas were held. A historical sungam literature refers to the earliest body of Tamil literary works composed uh uh roughly between 300 uh before Christ to 300 Christian era.

[00:16:03]Traditions speaks of three samas held under pandia kings in Maduray. So uh two are legendary samas. Uh third one is the historical sangamas whose literature is even today we find it was produced under the Tamil SASmies of poets. What do we mean by the sum? This is the academies of poets and scholars. Sungam means meeting point. So academy of poets and scholars they meet at one point they flourished in ancient uh Tamil was the Pradesh or the area where it it was held present day Tamil Nadu and the parts of the Kerala. ancient time it was known as a Tamil. It represents one of the oldest secular literature of India. That is the pecularity of Tamil literature showing advanced ideas of society, ethics and governance parallel to but distinct from Vic and Sanskrit traditions. If you just compare the Tamil literature and the Vic literature, you find that Vic literature is most of the time is either talks about the supernatural things or deities or the uh religion or the performances or the worship or the rituals or the gods or atma or permatma and such things. But this uh uh Tamil literature talks about this world and the worldly people and the their life their society or their uh uh ways of living the life like agriculture, different types of uh lands. Uh um uh that the beauty of this Tamil literature is particularly this age is that that they describe the four types of lands and all the entire content of the literature is based on that land that kind of land and the people living on that land. So in between they also talk about the atma and permatma but they are the part of the human life. So this literature is basically concerned with the human aspects of philosophy and that vic literature is uh cosmological or the divine aspects of the human life on earth. The poems reflect social life, love, war, nature, ethics and statecraftrafts rather than religious ritual showing the Dravenian cultural world life. So they give more emphasis to the human life and artcraft rather than the religious rituals. Sungam age in south India or Tamil Kam is like that on your screen you may see uh the map is given and here you see that this is the Chira Chola and Pandas and modernday Kerala or some part of Tamil Nadu. These were the places uh the Tamil period refers to the ancient Tamil country modern day Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka and so on. This era was known for Tamil literature as well as organized society based on agriculture and and so on. So uh major sum literature we just talk about it. The literature of this s is categorized as follows. Tlkapam a foundational work on Tamil grammar and poetics attributed to the poet Tolkia.

[00:18:57]It is considered the earliest extent Tamil text and also provides soio economic and political conditions of the sum period. Then another is the eight anthologies at Togayi. I I don't know what's the correct pronunciation in Tamil language.

[00:19:14]If you belong to uh that language so please correct me uh by anyway or uh just uh uh pardon me if I'm uh pronouncing wrong because this is not my language. Uh but in English I can I can spell as well. eight anthologies the collection of the poetries collection of eight major works of poetry focusing on various themes of love and public life that's that's the very important aspect uh uh and then 10 idols that is pat this is a collection of uh uh 10 poetic works known for their detailed descriptions and poetic excellence this is a collection of the 10 uh the works by the 10 poets and then another is the collection of 18 works focusing on ethics and morality and then thiru that I can spell well thrukural because I have one copy of Thurkal in my personal library by the tuual and uh this was one of the very uh you can say the very uh favorite book of our uh ex president Bharat Ratna Ajabul Kalam so uh from his inspiration I purchased one copy of the kural and still it is with me a wonderful book beautiful book a highly important deducted text within this category offering moral, ethical and philosophical guidance.

[00:20:34]Five great epics include because this is the entire uh uh you see uh the beauty of uh this sum literature. Shilapadi karam and that money may lie and jiva sintamari these these three are basic books and two more are there these fourth and fifth are also there. These are the five great epics and they have the same value as in north India we have the epics like Mahabharata and Ramada.

[00:21:01]In in South India and Tamil literature these three epics have the same value believed to have been composed in the post sangam period fourth and sixth century. These narrative poems showcase the values and religious themes of the time. Uh Shilapadikaram the tale of the anklet authored by Ilang Gordigal. It follows the story of Karnagi who avenges her uh husband's death and in money you see authored by uh Talai Satanar this epic is a sequel to Shilapadikaram and follows a journey of Manimmel Karnagi's daughter as she becomes a Buddhist nun so beautiful stories they covered even very emotional stories there sometimes you feel very sorrowful and very in a very uh gloomy mood and uh you will also feel spiritual ually charged after reading after having read.

[00:21:54]So translations are also available in English and your own language. So I suggest you go through these five uh these at least the two or three epics.

[00:22:03]Then major themes of Tamil literature is sum poetry generally deals with two broad themes. One is the akam love or personal life. Poems focusing on themes of love, marriage and family life often using the landscape thini as a metaphor.

[00:22:18]Puram war or public life. Poems that celebrate heroic deeds, warfare, kingship and public life.

[00:22:25]Characteristics of sum literature.

[00:22:27]Secular outlook focuses on human life, emotions and society rather than ritual or theology. Realistic despiction describes landscapes. We have just discussed it. Uh that is called the thin eye. Kings, common people, trade and warfare. moral and ethical tone emphasizes honor, generosity, courage, chastity and love. Blend of poetry and geography. The tini system connects human emotions of five kinds of landscapes. One is the kuringi that is mountain, mulai that is forest, uh murutam that is farmland, natal that is coastal and palai that is desert. These are the five categories of land and the people inhabitant on these lands and their life and their social uh affairs and all other things. They are the subject matter of the poetry of Tamil literature. Then social diversity portraits farmers, warriors, traders, poets and women indicates an advanced civic and political life. Influence of Janism and Buddhism. Many poets belong to these faiths reflecting ideals of nonviolence and detachment. Then rich linguistic heritage early classical Tamil and refined grammar and meter uh as perlapam oldest Tamil grammar treatise. So sam literature and Indian knowledge traditions historical sources ethical philosophy linguistic value and integration of nature and human emotions. then compliment to Vic culture then influence on later bacti movement.

[00:24:02]So now I'm winding up this talk with these beautiful words of Mark Twain. The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. Thank you very much. See you in the next discussion, next lecture. God bless you.

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