From Veda to Buddhist Jatakas the literature in ancient India was as rich as it is today. The Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagabat Gita, the Srimad Bhagabat and the 18 Puranas, the teachings of Buddha and Mahavir are even richer than modern Indian literature. The vedas are supposed to be the earliest literary records of human civilization which dates back to 2000 B.C.

The Vedic literature represents some of the earliest  documents of human minds – even earlier than the literary records of Greece, Israel, Iran and Egypt.  Max Muller, one of the greatest vedic scholars has rightly called Vedas to be the first word spoken by the Aryan man.

The word veda comes from the root word ‘Vid’ which means knowledge in general. It is specially applied to a branch of literature which has passed on down the lane from time immemorial by verbal transmission and considered to be the sacred knowledge in divine revelation.

The veda were a collection of the existing knowledge of the time which included a variety of things – hymns, prayers, rituals, magic and magnificent nature poetry. The Vedas were written in the course of hundreds of years.                                             They are four in number- Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. The Rigveda, the first of the Vedas is probably the earliest book that humanity possess. The major parts of the Vedas are called Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranakyas and Upanisadas. Although these parts are attached to each other, in reality they constitute separate and independent treatises. The samhitas are the books of hymns which are long in praise of various Gods. The Samhita of Atharva Veda however deals with the art of magic and witchcraft. The Brahmanas deal with different prayers, rituals and sacrificial ceremony. The language of Brahmanas is basically prose. The Aranakyas comprise of philosophical doctrines, the significance of rites and mystic meaning of the text of the Samhitas. They are considered to be too sacred to be read any where but in the forest. The upanisads deal with spiritual topics – the universal soul – the absolute, the individual self, the origin of the world and the mystery of nature.

The Vedas have also different ‘Vedangas’ or limbs of the Vedas. They are known as ‘Spirits’ and are six in number i.e. Siksha or phonetic, Kalpa or ritual, Vyakarana or grammar, Nirukta or etymology, Chhanda or metrics and Jyotisha or astronomy. The vedangas although don’t constitute the vedic literature proper, they are closely connected with them as auxiliary treatises.

The end of veda is called the ‘Vedanta’ which comprises mostly the ‘Upanisads’. The basic philosophy of veda is, it is free from idolatry. There is no temples for gods. The vitality and affirmation of life pervading them are amazing and extraordinary. The Vedas are full of life with little importance to the soul.

The Upanisads are many hundred years younger to the Vedas, which represented the enrichment of the Indo-Aryan thought. The Aryans had  been settled down with a stable and prosperous civilization. But the form of worship was very primitive. The vedic gods did not satisfy the religious sentiments of people. The later vedic Aryans therefore started to break away from the past and their spirit of enquiry and mental adventure gave birth to new ideas which was more objective and scientific in approach. The emphasis was essentially on self realization and on knowledge of the individual self and the absolute self, both were said to be the same in essence.

The Upanisads represented some kind of synthesis. The ritualistic and ceremonial ways of worship without enlightenment were discouraged. The art of magic and witch craft were abandoned. There was an attempt for continuous harmony of social activity with spiritual adventure. Dogmas were discarded. The principles of Vedas were not altogether abandoned. Attempt was made to revise them as they were treated as the lower knowledge. The higher knowledge of the inner mind was emphasized. The ethic of individual perfection was adhered to. The vedic principles were more religious while  Upanisad was much philosophical and metaphysical.

It is believed that Upanisadas were some kind of lecture notes made by a teacher and taken down by his students. It is therefore full of questions and answers with rationalistic thoughts and beliefs.

The dominating characteristic of Upanishad is its dependence in truth. It seeks a journey from unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. It envisages a long endless journey and there is no resting. There is imposing emphasis an intense individualism and exclusiveness with a sense of tolerance and reasonableness. The principle was to live and let live – but individual freedom is passionately protected. The degree of emphasis given on individual freedom can be imagined from a question which asks – “what is this universe? Form what does it arise? Into what does it go? And the answer is : in freedom it rises, in freedom it rests and into freedom it melts away.”

   The ancient Indian literature was richer than the present  Indian literature is evident from the fact that it contained two great epics of the world called ‘The Ramayana’ and ‘The Mahabharat’. Although it is difficult to date these two epics, it might have occurred during the remote periods when the Aryans were in the process of settling down in India. These two epics were however not written simultaneously. It is a matter of controversy whether Ramayana was written first or Mahabharat. However the generally accepted view is that, the Ramayana is some centuries older than the Mahabharat. Although it is believed that Rishi Valmiki had written the Ramayana while Rishi Vyasadeva wrote the Mahabharat, evidently many later authors have added to them in successive periods. Both have taken the present shape after a number of additions and alternations.

The Ramayana is an epic poem which later took the shape of a novel and drama. Michelet the French writer with reference to the Ramayana says “…………….. in the midst of conflict an infinite sweetness, a boundless fraternity, an ocean of love spreads over all living things in Ramayan.”

The Ramayana is a colossal work of love, hate, war, peace, law and lawlessness. It is a treatise on warfare, foreign policy, state craft, good governance and socio-political institutions. The Ramayan is a story of the Aryan expansion of the south. A deliberate attempt is evidently made to portray Aryan superiority over the non- Aryans.

Ramachandra, the hero of the Ramayan story is not only an extraordinary person in terms of heroism but  also in terms of diplomacy, rule of Law, good governance, social responsibility, personal sacrifice and parental commitments.

The villain of the Ramayan, Ravan is although full of vices has many good qualities too. He kept the heroine of the story ‘Sita’ in his custody for many days, but did not try to plunder her chastity. He provided her with food, clothing and personal security. Ravana hijacked and abducted Sita to marry her, but did not do so in respect of the great tradition of respecting other’s wife. There were several rounds of diplomatic negotiations between the agents of both Rama and Ravan for a peaceful end of the episode, but Ravana preferred a heroic death. Ramachandra showed his greatness in carrying out the social responsibility of accepting Sita even after she was abducted by another man for months togather. All these speak of the greatness of Ramayan as a world epic.

Ramayan is therefore said to be an encyclopedia of traditions, institutions, legends, laws, war and peace, diplomacy and foreign policy, state craft and individual freedom, love and loss and above all life and death.

            Any discussion of ancient Indian literature is incomplete without the reference of The ‘Mahabharat’. The Mahabharat is a vast and miscellaneous collection of ancient stories and lores written by Vyasadeva. It is one of the outstanding literary gems of the world. It is loved and liked through out the world.             It has been translated into all the major languages of the world. There have been a number of films, television serials, dramas, operas and animations all over the world exhibiting the inner ideas and philosophies of the Mahabharat. Scholars irrespective of languages have been engaged in critically examining various available texts of the Mahabharat since centuries or so.

            The Mahabharat was written in the period when foreign elements were invading Indian society. Foreign customs and traditions were searching the ways and means to assimilate into Indian life.

            The Pre-Aryan India is not known for its combative or belligerent qualities which they learnt from the Aryans. They were confined to local needs and never dreamt of occupying new lands. The Aryans taught them the art of warfare and invasion. As such many qualities and practices which the indigenous Indians were not accustomed with were absorbed after their interaction with the Aryans. The post-Aryan foreign elements witnessed the absorption of a variety of ideas and issues. The Mahabharat contains many more curious mixture of opposing ideas and habits.

            The major issues dealt with in the Mahabharat are state, territory, warfare, diplomacy, political alliance, teacher-student relationship,  war ethics, prerequisite of peace and so on. In the Mahabharat a very definite attempt was made to emphasize the traditional unity of India or ‘Bharatvarsha’. The great civil war which occurred between the ‘Kauravas’ and the ‘Pandavas’ described in the Mahabharat, was for the overlordship of India and it marked the beginning of the conception of One India or One Bharatvarsha. This conception of One India included whole of India along with Burma and Afganistan (Present Pakistan and Bangladesh were a part of India). The present Kandahar   city in Afganistan, then known as Gandhar was included in ‘Bharatvarsha’.

            The Mahabharat saw a war between two sets of paternal cousins for overlordship of India. Delli or Delhi was  then named as Hastinapur and Indraprasta which was the bone of contention for both groups. One interesting feature of Mahabharat war is the unity of siblings and rivalry of cousins. The five Pandav brothers were as united as the hundred Kaurav brothers. But the rivalry between them is as fierce as the sharpness of a sword. The war ended, peace prevailed but the real winner was neither of the parties but virtues like justice, humanity and good governance.

            Another interesting feature of the Mahabharat is the polyandry practice which was hitherto unknown but adopted by Pandavas. The heroine of the Mahabharat epic was the common wife of five brothers. This was possible because there was no monopoly in truth -many contradictory believes and practices had to be absorbed and tolerated. The idea behind this practice might be to challenge patriarchy. The male domination of the society was resented by adopting such a practice. Further it saw the unity of five brothers or five families for that matter, which revolved around one woman. Again it taught the younger brothers to learn the art of share and care. Someone who could share his wife with his brothers could share everything including sorrow and ceremony.

            There is the story of Karna who in spite of his unmatchable heroism was a great donor and donated everything including the protective shield which covered his body. He knew by discarding the shield around his waist and chest he would be exposed to venerability but preferred a heroic death than showing uncomfortable misery.

            The Mahabharat also contains the Krishna legends. Krishna is said to be the greatest diplomat on this earth. His verses are compiled in the famous poem the ‘Bhagabat Gita’ which besides its own philosophy lays stress on ethical and moral principles of statecraft and life in general. Krishna taught his friend Arjun to uphold ‘Dharma’ which he considered to be the foundation of true happiness. The society can not hold together without ‘Dharma’. Well being, Krishna taught is not meant for a particular candidate or group, but for the entire world. Yet Krishna clarified Dharma itself is relative and depends on the times and conditions prevailing in the society at a particular point of time.

                        The Mahabharat centers around a great war. But it emphasizes a great deal on ‘Ahimsa’ or nonviolence. It is interesting to watch that there is no obvious contradiction between nonviolence and fighting for a righteous cause. The conception of nonviolence preached by Krishna is more mental than physical abstention from violent action. It speaks of the absence of violent mental approach, discipline, and control over anger and hatred.

            The Mahabharat as such is a great storehouse of many precious things. It is full of a varied, abundant and bubbling life which is far from negation and asceticism. It is a great work of moral precepts with plenty of ethics and morality besides equal emphasis on reality and expediency. There is adequate emphasis on induvidual perception but more than that is social welfare.

            The Mahabharat is thus a mosaic of manyness, not mere an epic but an account of living manners.