Most of the texts cited in this survey are texts, which constitute t.... sanskrit text

Most of the texts cited in this survey are texts, which constitute the oldest layer of preserved Hindu literature. Several other essential elements exist: independent sacred literatures in languages other than Sanskrit and material in other languages related to the Sanskrit texts either as sources of material now preserved only in Sanskrit or as new texts originating as translations of Sanskrit texts. Because Sanskrit has been in intimate contact with the mother tongues of India for such a long time, it is often impossible to determine in which of these categories a particular vernacular text belongs. Sanskritic influence was already in evidence in the earliest (a principal Dravidian language) literature, perhaps dating from the 1st century . Varu?a?, a sea god who had adopted the name of the old Vedic god but otherwise had few Aryan features, and Mayo?, a black god who was a rural divinity with many of the characteristics of Krishna in his pastoral aspect, also are depicted! in Tamil literature. The final Sanskritization of the Tamils was brought about through the patronage of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram, who began to rule in the 4th century and who financed the making of many temples and fine religious sculptures. But, although most sacred texts in Sanskrit were composed by Brahmans, many were also composed by lower-class authors. In addition, because Sanskrit ceased to be spoken as a primary language soon after the Vedas were composed, it is likely that most of the thoughts underlying all subsequent Sanskrit literature were first thought in some other language. The issue is further clouded by the fact that, though Sanskrit texts tend to be written and vernacular traditions are primarily oral, there are important oral traditions in Sanskrit, too (including the traditions of the two great Sanskrit epics), and there are important manuscript traditions in some of the non-Sanskritic languages (such as Bengali and Tamil). At an early stage th! eir narratives were dramatized and gave rise to the Sanskrit ,! in which epic mythic themes preponderate, and to the closely related dance, which survives in the now largely South Indian schools of (traditional dance) and the (narrative dance) of Kerala. When the Indo-Europeans, who spoke Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, entered India in around 1500 , most of the people they encountered spoke languages that belonged to a major non-Indo-European linguistic group called . These two language groups interacted from a very early period, and although the earliest preserved specimens of Sanskrit (themselves dating from a period long after the Indo-Aryan invasions) far antedate examples of any other languages, there is good reason to believe that the other languages also produced texts, although unrecorded, at a very early period. When the devotional aspect of Hinduism came into full flower, the vernacular traditions both in Dravidian language groups and in languages derived from Sanskrit began to record their texts and to have a more disc! ernible influence upon the Sanskrit tradition. New Dravidian genres continued to evolve into the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Tamil Cittars (from the Sanskrit siddha s, perfected ones), who were eclectic mystics, composed poems noted for the power of their naturalistic diction. The Tamil sense and style of these poems belied the Sanskrit-derived title of their authors, a phenomenon that could stand as a symbol of the complex relationship between Dravidian and Sanskrit religious texts. Although the earliest Hindu text in is a mid-15th-century poem about Radha and Krishna, medieval texts in praise of gods and goddesses, known as ma?gal-kavyas, must have existed in oral versions long before that. Thus, the highest fruition of bhakti is admission to the eternal sport of and his beloved , whose sacred love story is explained as the mutual love between God and the human soul. The most famous religious lyrics in are the poems of the saint (150373), who wrote passionate love p! oems to Krishna, whom she regarded as her husband and lover. The comple! x interaction between Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit religious classics may be seen in the development of the epics. Parts of the two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramaya?a , and many Pura?a s (especially the Bhagavata-Pura?a ) were translated into various vernaculars. The , which was translated frequently ( e.g., into Bengali by Maladhar Vasu, 1480), was popular both as a text and because it gave the canonical account of Krishna's life and especially his boyhood, which is the perennial inspiration of the bhakti poets. In addition to the above literal or not-so-literal translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Tamils composed their own epics, notably I?a?ko A?ika?'s Cilappatikaram (The Lay of the Anklet) and its sequel, the Ma?imekhalai (Jeweled Girdle). sanskrit text