Sanskrit literature

Later Upaniṣads

The

• 95 canonical Upaniṣads which are part of the Muktikā canon. These were composed from about the last centuries of 1st-millennium BCE through about 15th-century CE.
• Newer paracanonical Upaniṣads, which were composed through the early modern and modern eras and which deal with numerous non-Vedic topics.

Post-Vedic aphoristic literature

Sūtra style aphoristic literature continued to be composed on numerous topics, the most popular being on the different fields of Hindu philosophy.^[77]

The main Sūtra texts (sometimes also called kārikās) on Hindu philosophy include:^[78]

• Sāṁkhyakārikā
• Sāṁkhyapravacanasūtra
• Mīmāṁsā Sūtra
• Nyāya Sūtra
• Vaiśeṣika Sūtra
• Yoga Sūtras of Patanjali
• Brahma Sūtra (i.e. Vedanta sutra)
• Gauḍapāda Kārikā
• Pāśupata Sūtras
• Shiva Sūtras
• Spandakārikā
• Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā of Utpaladeva

Commentaries

The various Sanskrit literature also spawned a large tradition of commentary texts, which were called Bhāṣyas, Vṛṭṭis, Tikas, Varttikas and other names.^[78] These commentaries were written on numerous genres of Sanskrit texts, including on Sūtras, on Upaniṣads and on the Sanskrit epics.^[79][80][81]

Examples include the

Furthermore, over time, secondary commentaries (i.e. a commentary to a commentary) also came to be written.[82]

Tantric literature

There are a varied group of Hindu Tantric scriptures titled Tantras or Agamas. Gavin Flood argues that the earliest date for these Tantric texts is 600 CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards.^[83]

Tantric literature was very popular during the

Among prose works there are important works like the Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha (which is important in Advaita Vedanta), the Yoga-Yājñavalkya and the Devi Mahatmya (a key Shakta work).

When it comes to poetry, there are numerous

The learning of these secular sciences took place by way of a guru expounding the subject orally, using works of aphorisms, the sūtra texts, which on account of their terseness would be meaningful only to those who knew how to interpret them. The bhāṣyas, the commentaries that followed the sūtras were structured in the style of student-teacher dialogue wherein a question is posed, a partial solution, the pūrvapakṣa, proposed, which is then handled, corrected and the final opinion established, the siddhānta. In time, the bhāṣyas evolved to become more like a lecture.^[87]

The sūtras were initially regarded as definite. This was later circumvented, in the field of grammar, by the creation of vārttikas, to correct or amend sūtras. Another form often employed was the śloka, which was a relatively simple metre, easy to write and remember. Sometimes a mix of prose and verse was used. Some of the later work, such as in law and poetics, developed a much clearer style which avoided a propensity towards obscurity that verse was prone to.^[88]

The study of these secular works was widespread in India. Buddhist institutions like

By the time of the Sūtra period, the Sanskrit language had evolved sufficiently to make increasing parts of the older literature hard to understand, and to recite correctly. This led to the emergence of several classes of works intended to resolve this matter. These works were styled like the religious Sūtras, however they were not religious per se but focused on the linguistic study of the Sanskrit language.^[m] The main topics discussed in these works were grammar (vyākaraṇa), phonetics (śikṣā) and etymology (nirukta). These are traditionally part of the vedāṅga ("limbs of the Veda"), six auxiliary disciplines that developed along with the study of the Vedas.^[96]

One of the earliest and most important of these works is the Vedic era Prātiśākhya Sūtras, which deal with accentuation, pronunciation, prosody and related matters in order to study the phonetic changes that have taken place in Vedic words.

The Sanskrit grammatical tradition

The early grammatical works of the linguist Yāska (some time between 7th and 4th century BCE), such as his Nirukta, provides the foundation of the study of Sanskrit grammar and etymology.^[97]

The most influential work for the Indian Sanskrit grammatical tradition is the

Over time, different grammatical schools developed. There was a tradition of Jain grammarians and Buddhist grammarians and a later tradition of Paninian grammarians.[100]

Lexicography

There were numerous lexicographical works written in Sanskrit, including numerous dictionaries attributed to figures like Bana, Mayura, Murari, and Sriharsha.^[101] According to Keith, "of lexica two main classes exist—synonymous, in which words are grouped by subject-matter, and homonymous (anekartha, nanartha), but the important synonymous dictionaries usually include a homonymous section."^[101]

One of the earliest lexicons (kośaḥ) is Amarasiṃha's Nāmalingānusāsana, better known as the Amarākośa. According to Keith, Amarasiṃha, who possibly flourished in the 6th century, was "certainly a Buddhist who knew the Mahāyāna and used Kālidāsa."^[102] Other lexica are later works, including the short Abhidhānaratnamālā of the poet-grammarian Halāyudha (c. 950), Yādavaprakāsha's Vaijayantī, Hemacandra's Abhidhānacintāmaṇi and Anekarthasabdakosha of Medinikara (14th century).^[103]

Dharma literature

The Vedic practice of sūtras pertaining to the correct performance of ritual was extended to other matters such as the performance of duties of all kinds, and in social, moral and legal spheres. These works came to be known as Dharmasūtras and Dharmaśāstras in contradistinction to the older gṛhyasūtras and śrautasūtras although no distinction was felt initially. Like other sūtras, this was terse prose peppered with a few ślokas or verses in triṣtubh metre to emphasize a doctrine here and there. More broadly, works in the field of civil and religious law come under the banner of dharmaśāstra.^[104]

Examples of such works are:

• Gautamīya dharmaśāstra
• Hāritā dharmaśāstra
• Vasiṣṭha dharmaśāstra
• Baudhāyana dharmaśāstra
• Āpastambīya dharmasūtra
• Vaiṣṇava dharmaśāstra
• Vaikhānasa dharmaśāstra

The most important of all dharma literature however is the

Other secular literature

Sanskrit literature also covers a variety of other technical and secular topics including:^[109]

• The Bārhaspatya sūtras, a work of the materialistic Charvaka school of Indian philosophy.
• Astrological and Astronomical literature (Jyotisha), including the Jyotiṣavedāṅga, the Āryabhaṭīya, the Sūrya Siddhānta, and the Varāhamihira Bṛhatsaṃhitā. These works also discuss other topics like divination and agriculture.
• Closely associated with jyotisha are Indian Mathematical works such as the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta
• Alchemical literature (Rasāyana), including the works of Nāgārjuna, such as the Rasaratanakaram
• Works on politics, statecraft and other related topics, the most famous of which is the Arthaśāstram.^[110] Others include the Nitisara of Kamandaki, the Nitivakyamrta of Somadeva Suri and the Yuki-ḵalpataru ascribed to Bhoja.^[111]
• Works on archery (dhanurveda) and the science of horses (asvāyurveda).^[112]
• The study of jewels (ratnaśāstra).^[113]
• Medical Ayurvedic literature, including the great Ayurveda classics such as the Carakasaṃhitā, the Suśrutasaṃhitā and the works of Vāgbhaṭa.^[114]
• Kāma Śāstras (works on love, pleasure and sexuality), the most famous of which is the Kāma-sūtra. Other works include Kokkaka's Ratirahasya (13th century) and Kalyanamalla's (16th century) Anangaranga.
• Indian Architectural literature (vāstuśāstra), such as the Manushyalaya Chandrika and the Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra.
• Literature on arts and crafts (śilpaśāstra), such as works on sculpture, music (such as the Saṅgītaratnākara), acting and dance (described in the Nāṭyaśāstra), painting (Vishnudharmottara), etc.

Buddhist literature

Main article: Sanskrit Buddhist literature

In India,

Prakrits, later Indian Buddhists translated their canonical works into Sanskrit or at least partially Sanskritized their literature.^{[117][118][115]}

Beginning in the third century, Buddhist texts also began to be composed in classical Sanskrit.[117] Over time, Sanskrit became the main language of Buddhist scripture and scholasticism for certain Buddhist schools in the subcontinent, especially in North India. This was influenced by the rise of Sanskrit as a political and literary lingua franca, perhaps reflecting an increased need for elite patronage and a desire to compete with Hindu Brahmins.^[119] The Buddhist use of classical Sanskrit is first seen in the work of the great poet and dramatist Aśvaghoṣa (c. 100 CE).^[120] The Sarvāstivāda school is particularly known for having translated their entire canon into Sanskrit.^[121]

Other Indian Buddhist schools, like the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda and Dharmaguptaka schools, also adopted Sanskrit or Sanskritized their scriptures to different degrees.^[122][123] However, other Buddhist traditions, like Theravada, rejected this trend and kept their canon in Middle Indic languages like Pāli.^[118]

Sanskrit also became the most important language in Mahayana Buddhism and many Mahāyāna sūtras were transmitted in Sanskrit.^[118] Some of the earliest and most important Mahayana sutras are the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, many of which survive in Sanskrit manuscripts.^[124][125]

Indian Buddhist authors also composed Sanskrit treatises and other works on philosophy, logic-epistemology, jatakas, epic poetry and other topics. While a large number of these works only survive in Tibetan and Chinese translations, many key Buddhist Sanskrit works do survive in manuscript form and are held in numerous modern collections.^[126]

Sanskrit was the main scholastic language of the Indian Buddhist philosophers in the

Candrakīrti, Śāntideva and Śāntarakṣita.^[127] Some Sanskrit works which were written by Buddhists also cover secular topics, such as grammar (vyākaraṇa), lexicography (koṣa), poetry (kāvya), poetics (alaṁkāra), and medicine (Ayurveda).^[128]

Nalanda university was a major center of Sanskrit language learning in India from the 5th century CE until the 12th century.^[129]

The

Nālandā and Vikramashila universities, where many fields of knowledge (vidyasthanas) were studied in Sanskrit, including Buddhist philosophy.^[130] These universities also drew foreign students from as far away as China. One of the most famous of these was the 7th century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who studied Buddhism in Sanskrit at Nalanda and took over 600 Sanskrit manuscripts back to China for his translation project.^[131][132] Chinese pilgrims to India like Yijing described how in these universities, the study of Buddhist philosophy was preceded by extensive study of Sanskrit language and grammar.^[133]

During the Indian

Buddhist Tantras and other Buddhist esoteric literature was written in Sanskrit. These tantric texts often contain non-standard Sanskrit, prakritic elements and influences from regional languages like apabhramśa and Old Bengali.^[134][135] These vernacular forms are often in verses (dohas) which may be found within esoteric Sanskrit texts.^[136]

Jain literature

The earliest Jain scriptures, the Jain Agamas, were composed and orally transmitted in Prakrit.^[137] Later in the history of Jainism (after about the 8th century CE), Jain authors began composing literature in other languages, especially classical Sanskrit while also retaining the use of Jain Prakrit.^[138]

The most important Jain Sanskrit work is

There is a large corpus of classical Sanskrit poetry from India in a variety of genres and forms.^[141] According to Siegfried Lienhard in India, the term Kāvya refers to individual poems, as well as "poetry itself, i.e., all those works that conform to artistic and literary norms."^[142] Indian poetry includes epic and lyrical elements. It may be entirely in prose (gadya), entirely in verse (padya) or in a mixed form (misra).^[143] Kāvya works are full of alliteration, similes, metaphors and other figures of speech.^[144][145]

Indians divided poetry into two main categories: poetry that can be seen (drsya, preksya, i.e. drama/theater) and poetry that can only be listened to (sravya).^[146]

Metrical Indian poetry can also be divided into two other categories:^[143]

• Mahākāvya (Major Poetry), also known as sargabandha, which are large poems divided into sections or cantos (sargas)
• Laghukāvya (Minor Poetry), shorter poems or single stanzas

According to Lienhard "whereas metrical poetry led a flourishing existence both as mahakavya and laghukavya, prose poems (gadya) and literature in mixed prose and verse (campu) tended to assume the major form. The only exceptions are the panegyric inscriptions (prasasti) and religious epistles (lekha) commonly found in Buddhist societies which may both be composed in the kavya style. Both are written either all in prose or in a mixture of alternately prose and verse and must therefore be counted as belonging to the minor form representing prose kavya or campu - a point that Indian theorists seem to have neglected."^[147]

Kāvya was employed by court poets in a movement that flourished between c. 200 BCE and 1100 CE.^[n] While the Gupta era is considered by many to have seen the highest point of Indian Kāvya, many poems were composed before this period as well as after.^[149] Sanskrit Kāvya also influenced the literature of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Malay Archipelago.^[150] The study of Sanskrit Kāvya also influenced Tibetan literature, and was promoted by Tibetan Buddhist scholars like Sakya Pandita.^[89]

Sanskrit Kāvya poetry also flourished outside the courts, in towns, learned schools and the homes of pandits and other elites and continues to be composed and studied today.^[151] Kāvya was often recited in public gatherings, court receptions and in societies which gathered specifically for the study and enjoyment of poetry. Kavis (Kāvya poets) also competed with each other for rewards and for the support of elites and kings (who often appointed court poets).^[152] Kavis were highly educated and many of them would have been pandits with knowledge of other sciences such as grammar, lexicography and other fields. Indian authors held that an important quality of these poets was said to be pratibhā, poetic imagination.^[153]

The beginnings of Kāvya is obscure. Lienhard traces its beginnings to "the close of the Late Vedic Period (about 550 B.C.)...as this was a time that saw the slow emergence of poetic forms with characteristics of their own, quite different both functionally and structurally from previous models."^[154] The earliest Kāvya poems were short stanzas in the minor form (laghukāvya), sometimes just being one stanza poems (muktakas). Few of these early works have survived.^[155]

Laghukāvya

Laghukāvya mainly refers to short poems, which can be single stanza (muktaka), double stanza poems (yugmaka), and several-stanza poems (kulakas). Short poetry was also termed khandakavya and a collection of stanzas or anthology was called a kosa.^[156] The earliest laghukāvyas were in prakrits, but some also began to be written in Sanskrit in time.^[156]

The earliest laghukāvyas where muktakas (also sometimes called gāthā), single stanzas. These were most commonly lyrical nature poems, lyrical love poems, religious poems or reflective didactic poems.^[157] According to Lienhard "muktaka poetry generally paints miniature pictures and scenes, or else it carefully builds up a description of a single theme."^[157]

Some of the earliest of these early poems are found in the Buddhist canon, which contain two the verse anthologies: the Theragāthā (Verses of the Elder Monks) and Therīgāthā (Verses of the Elder Nuns). Only the Pali versions of these survive, but they also existed in Prakrit and Sanskrit.^[158]

There are also some surviving stanzas which are attributed to important figures like the grammarian Panini, the scholar Patañjali, and Vararuci, but these attributions are uncertain.^[159]

Some important Sanskrit poets whose collections of short poems have survived include Bhartṛhari (fl. c. 5th century CE), known for his Śatakatraya, Amaru (7th century), author of the Amaruśataka (which mainly contains erotic poetry) and Govardhana (12th century), author of the Āryāsaptaśatī.^[160]

There are numerous anthologies which collect short Sanskrit poetry from different authors, these works are our main source of short Sanskrit poems.^[161] One widely celebrated anthology is the Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa (Anthology of Well Said Jewels) of the Buddhist monk and anthologist Vidyakara (c. 1050–1130).^[162][163] Other important anthologies include: Jalhana's Subhāṣitamuktāvalī (13th century), Sridharadasa's Saduktikarṇāmṛta (1205), Śārṅgadharapaddhati (1363) and Vallabhadeva's Subhāṣitāvalī (Chain of Beautiful Sayings, c. 16th century).^[161]

Samghatas and Khandakavyas

In between muktaka and mahākāvya there are medium length Sanskrit poems which are linked stanzas (between eight and one hundred stanzas) using one Sanskrit metre and one theme (such as the six Indian seasons, love and eros, and nature). They are variously called "series of stanzas" (samghata) or khandakavya.^[164]

Examples of these medium length poems include: the

According to Lienhard, the most important feature of mahākāvya (Long poems) is that they are divided into chapters or cantos (sargas). Fully versified Mahākāvyas (called sargabandhas) are written in many different metres. Mahākāvyas may also be written fully in prose or in a mixture of verse and prose (mostly called campu).[174] Sargabandhas commonly center around a hero and also include villains. They almost never end in a tragic manner.^[175] Indian epic poetry like the Rāmāyaṇa forms an important influence on Sanskrit mahakāvya literature.^[176]

The oldest extant mahākāvyas are those of the Buddhist poet and philosopher

Kālidāsa, called by many the Shakespeare of India,^[o] is said to have been the finest master of the Sanskrit poetic style. Arthur Macdonell describes this great poets' words as having a "firmness and evenness of sound, avoiding harsh transitions and preferring gentle harmonies; the use of words in their ordinary sense and clearness of meaning; the power to convey sentiment; beauty, elevation, and the employment of metaphorical expressions".^[184] Kālidāsa's greatest Kāvyas are the Raghuvaṃśa and the Kumārasambhava.^[p][185]

This Raghuvaṃśa (The Genealogy of Raghu) chronicles the life of Rāma alongside his forefathers and successors in 19 cantos, with the story of Rāma agreeing quite closely that in the Rāmāyaṇa. The narrative moves at a rapid pace, is packed with apt and striking similes and has much genuine poetry, while the style is simpler than what is typical of a mahakāvya. The Raghuvaṃśa is seen to meet all the criteria of a mahākāvya, such as that the central figure should be noble and clever, and triumphant, that the work should abound in rasa and bhāva, and so on. There are more than 20 commentaries of this work that are known.^[186][187] The Kumārasambhava (The Birth of Kumāra) narrates the story of the courtship and wedding of Śiva and Pārvatī, and the birth of their son, Kumāra. The poem finishes with the slaying of the demon Tāraka, the very purpose of the birth of the warrior-god. The Kumārasambhava showcases the poet's rich and original imaginative powers making for abundant poetic imagery and wealth of illustration. Again, more than 20 commentaries on the Kumāra·sambhava have survived.^[188][189]

These two great poems are grouped by Indian tradition along with four more works into "the six great mahākāvyas". The other four greats are: Bhāravi's (6th century CE) Kirātārjunīya, Māgha's (c. 7th Century CE) Śiśupālavadha, the Bhaṭṭikāvya (also known as Rāvaṇavadha) and Śrīharṣa's (12th century CE) Naiṣadhīyacarita, which is the most extensive and difficult of the great mahākāvyas (and contains many references to Indian philosophy).^[190] Over time, various commentaries where also composed on these poems, especially the Naiṣadhīyacarita.^[191]

Later mahākāvyas

Between Kālidāsa's time and the 18th century, numerous other sargabandhas were composed in the classic style, such as Mentha's Hayagrīvavadha (6th century), King Pravarasena II's Setubandha, the Sinhalese poet Kumaradasa's Janakiharana, Rajanaka Ratnakara's Haravijaya, the Nalodaya, the Buddhist Sivasvamin's Kapphinabhyudaya (9th century), and Buddhaghosa's Padyacudamani (a life of the Buddha, c. 9th century).^[192] Later sargabandhas tended to be more heavily loaded with technical complexity, erudition and extensive decoration.^[193] Authors of these later works include the 12th century Kashmiri Shaivas Kaviraja Rajanaka Mankha and Jayaratha, Jayadeva, author of the innovative and widely imitated Gitagovinda, Lolimbaraja's Harivilasa (mid 16th century),^[194] the Shaivite Bhiksatana(kavya) of Gokula, Krsnananda's 13th century Sahrdayananda, and the numerous works of Ramapanivada.^[195]

After the 8th century, many sophisticated Jain mahākāvyas were written by numerous Jain poets (mainly from Gujarat), including Jatasimhanandi's Varangacarita (7th century), Kanakasena Vadiraja Suri's Yasodharacarita, and the Ksatracudamani by Vadibhasimha Odayadeva.^[196] Jain authors also wrote their own versions of the Ramayana with Jain themes, such as the Padmapurana of Ravisena (678 A.D.).^[197]

Other later mahākāvyas are poems based on historical figures which embellish history with classic poetic themes such as Parimala's

Main article:

Chandaḥśāstra, an early Sanskrit treatise on prosody

.

Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri lists four main school of Indian poetics and their main figures:[211]

• The Alaṅkāra school which draws on Bhāmaha's (c. 7th century) Kāvyālaṅkāra, Udbhaṭa's Alankarasamgraha and Rudrata's Kāvyālaṅkāra.
• The Riti school -
  Daṇḍin's (fl. 7th–8th century) Kāvyādarśa is influenced by the Alaṅkāra school and introduces the concept of guna. The Kāvyādarśa
  was very influential for Vāmana, the 8th century founder of the Riti school and author of the Kāvyālaṅkāra Sūtra.
• The Rasa school draws on the Nāṭyaśāstra's aphorism on rasa (emotional flavor). The key figure of this school is Bhaṭṭanāyaka, author of the Hṛdayadarpaṇa.
• The Dhvani school which makes use of Anandavardhana's (c. 820–890 CE) Dhvanyāloka and the commentary of Abhinavagupta (who also wrote the Abhinavabharati, a commentary on the Nāṭyaśāstra). This school emphasizes "aesthetic suggestion" (dhvani).

Later influential works on poetics include Mammaṭa's (11th century) Kāvyaprakāśa, the writings on poetics by Kshemendra, Hemacandra's Kavyanusasana, Vagbhata's Vagbhatalankara, and Rupa Gosvamin's Ujjvalanilamani.^[212]

Subhāṣita

Main article: Subhashita

Outside of Kāvya proper are also numerous poetic works (often called

didactic poetry.^[213][214] These are mainly poems which contain some wise saying, aphoristic lesson (often ethical), popular maxim or a proverb (lokavakya).^[215][216] These are thousands of Subhāṣitas on many themes.^[217] The Dharmapada is one important early collection of aphorisms.^[213]

There are also many didactic works attributed to Cāṇakya (but actually written by numerous authors), such as the Rājanītisamuccaya, Cāṇakyanīti, Cāṇakyarājanīti, Vṛddha-Cāṇakya, and the Laghu-Cāṇakya.^[218] Another important collection of gnomic sayings is the Nisataka of Bhartrhari.^[219]

Later examples of this genre include the Jain Amitagati's Subhasitaratnasaridoha, Kṣemendra's Cārucaryā, Darpadalana and Samayamatrka, Kusumadeva's Dṛṣṭāntaśataka, Dya Dviveda's Nitimañjari (1494), and Vallabhadeva's Subhāṣitāvalī (15th century).^[220][221] There are also numerous anthologies of subhāṣita, such as the Cātakāṣṭaka.^[222]

Sanskrit drama

Further information: List of Sanskrit plays in English translation

Indian classical drama (dṛśya, nātaka) was also mainly written in Sanskrit and there are many examples of this Sanskrit literary genre. Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra (3rd century CE) is the earliest work which discusses Sanskrit dramaturgy.^[223] Sanskrit drama focuses on the sentiments and on heroic characters. Classically, the endings are happy, never tragic.^[224] References to Sanskrit drama are found throughout ancient Sanskrit texts, including the great epics.^[225]

Some of the earliest Sanskrit dramas are those of

Abhijñānaśākuntalam.^[G]

Other important plays include the

Mṛcchakaṭika (The Little Clay Cart, 5th century) and the Mudrārākṣasa

.

Priyadarsika are well known Sanskrit dramas.^[230]

The Mattavilāsaprahasana (A Farce of Drunken Sport) is a short one-act Sanskrit play. It is one of the two great one act plays written by Pallava King Mahendravarman I (571– 630CE) in the beginning of the seventh century in Tamil Nadu.^[231]

Bhavabhuti (8th century) is one of the great playwrights after Kalidasa.^[232] Other major Sanskrit playwrights include Visakhadatta, Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, Murari, Rajasekhara, Kshemisvara, Damodaramishra, and Krishnamishra.^[233]

Later Sanskrit dramaturgical texts also continued to be written in the second millennium, such as the Shilparatna which discusses dance and drama.

Other Sanskrit narratives

There are various classical Sanskrit collections of

Buddha's past lives) is a similar genre and includes the Divyāvadāna, Āryaśūra's Jātakamālā (a collection of Buddhist fables), and Ksemendra

's various works like the Avadānakalpalatā.

Vetala Pañcaviṃśati, Siṃhāsana Dvātriṃśikā, and the Suktasaptati.^[236] There is also Somadeva's Kathāsaritsāgara

(Ocean of the Streams of Stories).

There are also poetic historical chronicles like the Rajatarangini of Kalhana, Rashtraudha Kavya of Rudrakavi, Shivbharata and Paramanandkavya of Paramananda, Rajaramcharitra of Keshavbhatt, Sri Janraj Champu of Krishna Dutta.^[237]

Hemacandra's (1088-1172) Trisastisalakapurusacaritra is one example of Jain didactic narrative in Sanskrit.^[238]

There are also abridged retellings of more ancient lost texts, such as Budhasvāmin's Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha.^[239]

Modern Sanskrit literature

See also: List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Sanskrit

Sanskrit College

Literature in Sanskrit continues to be produced. These works, however, have a very small readership. In the introduction to Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets (1992), Radhavallabh Tripathi writes:^[240]

Sanskrit is known for its classical literature, even though the creative activity in this language has continued without pause from the medieval age till today. [...] Consequently, contemporary Sanskrit writing suffers from a prevailing negligence.

Most current Sanskrit poets are employed as teachers, either pandits in pāṭhaśālas or university professors.^[240] However, Tripathi also points out the abundance of contemporary Sanskrit literature:

On the other hand, the number of authors who appear to be very enthusiastic about writing in Sanskrit during these days is not negligible. [...] Dr. Ramji Upadhyaya in his treatise on modern Sanskrit drama has discussed more than 400 Sanskrit plays written and published during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a thesis dealing with Sanskrit

mahākāvya

s written in a single decade, 1961–1970, the researcher has noted 52 Sanskrit mahākāvyas (epic poems) produced in that very decade.

Similarly, Prajapati (2005), in Post-Independence Sanskrit Literature: A Critical Survey, estimates that more than 3000 Sanskrit works were composed in the period after Indian Independence (i.e., since 1947) alone. Further, much of this work is judged as being of high quality, both in comparison to classical Sanskrit literature, and to modern literature in other Indian languages.^[241][242]

Since 1967, the

Satyavrat Shastri became the first Sanskrit author to win the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary award.^[243]

Vidyadhar Shastri wrote two epic poems (Mahakavya), seven shorter poems, three plays and three songs of praise (stavana kavya, he received the Vidyavachaspati award in 1962. Some other modern Sanskrit composers include Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra (known as Triveṇī Kavi, composer of short stories and several other genres of Sanskrit literature), Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (known as Kavikularatna, composer of two epics, several minor works and commentaries on Prasthānatrayī).

Another great Sanskrit epic that remained largely unrecognised till lately is "Dhruv Charitra" written by Pandit Surya Dev Mishra in 1946. He won laurels of appreciation by renowned Hindi and Sanskrit critics like Hazari Prasad Dwiedi, Ayodhya Singh Upadhyay "Hariaudh", Suryakant tripathi "Nirala", Laldhar Tripathi "Pravasi".^[244]

See also

Literature

• Sanskrit drama
• Hindu scripture
• Buddhist texts
• Early Medieval literature
• Indian literature
• List of Sanskrit poets
• List of ancient Indian writers
• Legendary creatures in Sanskrit mythology

Revival and significance

• Sanskrit revival
• Clay Sanskrit Library
• List of Sanskrit universities in India
• List of Sanskrit academic institutes outside India
• List of historic Sanskrit texts
• Symbolic usage of Sanskrit
• Sanskrit-related topics
• Sanskrit Wikipedia

Notes

1. ^ "Since the Renaissance there has been no event of such worldwide significance in the history of culture as the discovery of Sanskrit literature in the latter part of the eighteenth century" - Macdonell^[2]
2. ^ "The Ṛg·veda is a monumental text with signal significance for both world religion and world literature" - Jamison & Brereton ^[4]
3. ^ 'The style of the [Vedic] works is more simple and spontaneous while that of the later works abounds in puns, conceits and long compounds. Rhetorical ornaments are more and more copious and complex and the rules of Poetic and Grammar more and more rigidly observed as time advances.' - Iyengar,^[5]
4. ^ The preeminent Sanskritist Sir William Jones is said to be the first who ever printed an edition of a Sanskrit text - the Ṛtusaṃhāra of Kālidāsa.^[7]
5. ^ "The literature of the Veda is one of the most original and interesting productions of human endeavor." - Jan Gonda^[32]
6. ^ Originally only the first 3 Vedas were taken as canonical, being termed the trayī·vidyā, 'three-fold knowledge'
7. ^ The Brāhmaṇas produced "a ritual system far surpassing in complexity of detail anything the world has elsewhere known" - Macdonell
8. ^ "According to [a characteristic aphorism that's been preserved] the composers of grammatical Sūtras delight as much in the saving of a short vowel as in the birth of a son"! - Macdonell
9. ^ compare Latin sutura (suture)
10. ^ An example is the Anukramaṇīs, indexes, designed to preserve the text of the Vedas from loss or change, each of which quotes "the first word of each hymn, its author, the deity celebrated in it, the number of verses it contains, and the metre in which it is composed. One of them states the total number of hymns, verses, words, and even syllables, contained in the Ṛg·veda, alongside other minute details" - Macdonell
11. ^ "The Vedas are still learnt by heart as they were long before the invasion of Alexander, and could even now be restored from he lips of religious teachers if every manuscript or printed copy of them were destroyed.", Macdonell, 1900 ^[46]
12. ^ the account based on the actual historical 18-day battle itself takes up 20,000 ślokas
13. ^ "In various branches of scientific literature, in phonetics, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and law, the ancient Indians also achieved notable results. In some of these subjects their attainments are, indeed, far in advance of what was accomplished by the Greeks.", Macdonell^[95]
14. ^ While it has been demonstrated that there was a vigorous court-epic tradition during this entire period, almost none of it from the first few centuries has survived.^[148]
15. Monier Williams said to be the first to do so.^[183]
16. ^ "both distinguished by independence of treatment as well as considerable poetic beauty" - Macdonell

Glossary

1. ^ 'compiled', 'put together'^[33]
2. ^ from vid-, 'to know', cognate with Eng. 'wit'^[34]
3. ^ hearing, heard
4. ^ commentaries
5. ^ Vikrama and Urvaśī
6. ^ Mālavika and Agnimitra
7. ^ The Recognition of Śakuntalā

Brahmic notes

Brahmic transliteration

References

1. ^ Fortson, §10.23.
2. ^ Macdonell, p. 1.
3. ^ Burrow, §2.1.
4. ^ Jamison & Brereton p. 1.
5. ^ Iyengar, p. 2.
6. ^ Edgerton, Franklin. The Prakrit Underlying Buddhistic Hybrid Sanskrit. Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 8, No. 2/3, page 503.
7. ^ Macdonell, p. 3.
8. ^ Keith, §1.
9. ^ Macdonnell, §1.
10. ^ Burrow, §2.9.
11. ^ Winternitz (1972) Vol I, pp. 3-4.
12. ^ Iyengar, p. 4.
13. ISBN 978-1-134-90352-8
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14. ISBN 978-3-11-017433-5
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15. ISBN 978-81-208-1100-3
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16. ^ Iyengar, p. 5.
17. ISBN 978-3-642-00154-3
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18. ISBN 978-90-04-10613-0
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19. ISBN 978-1-4408-3551-3
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20. ISBN 978-1-4411-8504-4
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21. ISBN 978-3-11-005818-5
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22. ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1
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23. ^ Burrow, Thomas (1973). The Sanskrit Language (3rd, revised ed.), p. 60. London: Faber & Faber.
24. S2CID 35550166
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25. S2CID 189797805
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26. ISBN 978-81-208-1136-2
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27. ISBN 978-81-208-0264-3
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28. JSTOR 24764135
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29. ISBN 978-81-7823-180-8
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30. ^ Witzel, 1989, p. 1.
31. ^ Burrow, p. 43.
32. ^ Gonda, p. 1
33. ^ MWW, p. 1123.
34. ^ MWW, p.963.
35. ^ J&B, pp. 1-2.
36. ^ J&B, pp. 2-3.
37. ^ Macdonell, p. 30.
38. ^ Macdonell, pp. 30-31.
39. ^ Macdonell, p. 31-32.
40. ^ Macdonell, p. 34.
41. ^ Macdonell, pp. 35-36.
42. ^ Winternitz (1972) Vol I, p. 46.
43. ^
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44. ^
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45. ^
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46. ^ Macdonell, p. 8.
47. ISBN 978-0-7914-7082-4
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48. ISBN 978-0-679-41078-2
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49. ISBN 0-7190-1867-6
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50. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8
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51. ^ Purushottama Bilimoria (2011), The idea of Hindu law, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia, Vol. 43, pages 103–130
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53. ^ ^{a b} Winternitz, 1972, pp. 311-12.
54. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 314
55. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 315
56. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 58.
57. ^ Winternitz 1972, p. 314. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWinternitz1972 (help)
58. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 314-15.
59. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 316-318.
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62. ^ Macdonell, p. 282.
63. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 317-319.
64. ISBN 978-0-941532-52-5
65. ^ Winternitz, 1972, pp. 443-444.
66. ^ Macdonell, p. 303,310.
67. ^ Winternitz 1972, p. 467. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWinternitz1972 (help)
68. ^ Keith, p. 43.
69. ^ Macdonell, pp. 311-314.
70. ISBN 978-0-415-17281-3
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71. ISBN 978-81-208-1919-1
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72. ISBN 978-0-520-20778-3
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73. ISBN 978-0-19-512435-4
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74. ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India, pp. 258-259. BRILL.
75. ISBN 978-0-19-507045-3
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76. ISBN 978-81-269-0903-2
77. ISBN 978-0-521-43878-0
    , pages 54–55
78. ^ ^{a b} Keith (1956), pp. 470-520.
79. ^ Richa Vishwakarma and Pradip Kumar Goswami (2013), A review through Charaka Uttara-Tantra, International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda, Volume 34, Issue 1, pages 17–20
80. ^ Karin Preisendanz (2005), The Production of Philosophical Literature in South Asia during the Pre-Colonial Period (15th to 18th Centuries): The Case of the Nyāyasūtra Commentarial Tradition, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Volume 33, pages 55–94
81. ISBN 978-81-208-0274-2
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82. ^ Winternitz (1972) Vol I, p. 4.
83. ^
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84. ISBN 978-1-317-58521-3
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85. ^ Keith (1956), p. 403.
86. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 403-408
87. ^ Keith, pp. 406-407.
88. ^ Keith, pp. 409-411.
89. ^ ^{a b} Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet, pp.14-15. State University of New York Press.
90. ^ Matthew Kapstein. Other People's Philology: Uses of Sanskrit in Tibet and China, 14th -19th Centuries. L'espace du sens. Approches de la philologie indienne/The Space of Meaning.Approaches to Indian Philology., 2018.
91. ^ Pal, Pratapaditya (1997). Tibet: tradition and change, p. 49. Albuquerque Museum.
92. ^ Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet, pp. 8-9. State University of New York Press.
93. ^ Gornall, Alastair (2022). Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270, pp. 37, 63. UCL Press.
94. ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes. "The Spread of Sanskrit in Southeast Asia" in Pierre-Yves Manguin, A. Mani, Geoff Wade (2011) Early Interactions between South and Southeast Asia. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814311175-015.
95. ^ Macdonell, p. 10.
96. ISBN 0-8239-2287-1
    , pages 744-745
97. ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes (2016), How the Brahmins Won: From Alexander to the Guptas, p. 171. BRILL
98. ^ Macdonell, pp. 38-39.
99. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 426-429.
100. ^ Scharfe, Hartmut (1977). Grammatical Literature [A History of Indian Literature Vol V.], Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
101. ^ ^{a b} Keith (1956), p. 412.
102. ^ Keith (1956), p. 413.
103. ^ Keith (1956), p. 414.
104. ^ Keith, p. 437.
105. ^ Keith, pp. 439-440.
106. ^ Keith, pp. 442-444.
107. ^ Deshpande, p. 85.
108. PMID 23932107
     . Retrieved 10 April 2021.
109. ^ Sanskrit Scientific Literature (SKT2C08), University of Calicut, Kerala
110. ^ Keith (1956), p. 452.
111. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 462-463.
112. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 464-65.
113. ^ Keith (1956), p. 465.
114. ^ "Ayurveda". Sahapedia. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
115. ^
     ISBN 0-89581-180-4
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116. ^ Winternitz (1972) pp. 226-227.
117. ^ ^{a b} Marcus Bingenheimer, Editor in Chief; Bhikkhu Anālayo and Roderick S. Bucknell, Co-Editors. The Madhyama Agama: Middle Length Discourses Vol I (Taishō Volume 1, Number 26). Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai America, Inc. 2013. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, p. xvi
118. ^ ^{a b c} Wayman, Alex. The Buddhism and the Sanskrit of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 85, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1965), pp. 111-115 (5 pages).
119. ^ Johannes Bronkhorst. Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism. Handbook of Oriental Studies (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 46-47, 129.
120. ^ Burrow, Thomas; The Sanskrit Language, page 62.
121. ^ Prebish, Charles S. (2010) Buddhism: A Modern Perspective, pp. 42-44. Penn State Press.
122. ^ Eltschinger, Vincent. Why did the Buddhists adopt Sanskrit? Open Linguistics 2017; 3: 308–326 Degruyter.
123. ^ von Hinüber, Oskar. 1989. Origin and Varieties of Buddhist Sanskrit. In Caillat, Colette (ed.), Dialectes dans les langues indo-aryennes, 341-367. Paris: Collège de France, Institut de Civilisation Indienne.
124. ^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge, 2000, p. 131.
125. ^ Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition. Routledge, 2009, p. 47.
126. ^ Nariman, J.K.; Introduction to the Early Buddhist Texts in Sanskritised Prākit from Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism Archived 2021-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, Ch 1-6.
127. ^ ^{a b} Howladar, Mithun. Buddhist Sanskrit Literature : A Discussion. Research Guru: Online Journal of Multidisciplinary Subjects Volume-11, Issue-4, March-2018.
128. ^ 2019, Shakya, M. (2019). The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project: Problems and Possibilities. Volume 1 Digital Humanities and Buddhism (pp. 111-126). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
129. ^ Barua, Jyoti. Ancient Buddhist Universities in Indian Sub-Continent. Fulton Books, Inc., 2016.
130. ^ The Gupta Empire by Radhakumud Mookerji p. 133 sq
131. ^ Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh, story of Buddhism: "Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh, story of Buddhism". Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
132. ISBN 978-0-19-023129-3
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133. ^ Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet, p.21. State University of New York Press.
134. ^ Newman, John. "Buddhist Sanskrit in the Kālacakra Tantra." 1988, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies.
135. ^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2004). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement, pp. 267-277. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
136. doi:10.3390/rel12110927
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137. ^ Winternitz 1972, p. 427. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWinternitz1972 (help)
138. ^ Winternitz (1972), p. 427.
139. ISBN 978-0-19-977507-1
140. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 497-498
141. ^ Lienhard, Siegfried (1984). A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit (A History of Indian Literature Vol. III) Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
142. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 1.
143. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), pp. 2, 46.
144. ^ Macdonell, pp. 325-326.
145. ^ Keith, p. 42.
146. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 45.
147. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 46.
148. ^ Keith, ch. 2
149. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 48.
150. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 50.
151. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 2.
152. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 16-18.
153. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 19.
154. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 53.
155. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 63-64.
156. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), pp. 65-66.
157. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), pp. 71-75.
158. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 75-76.
159. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 79.
160. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 88-99.
161. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), p. 87.
162. ISBN 0-674-78865-6
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163. ^ Mohan Lal. Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5. Sahitya Akademi. p. 4480.
164. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 104-105.
165. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 107-127
166. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 128.
167. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 128-129
168. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 130
169. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), p. 132
170. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 133.
171. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 134.
172. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 136.
173. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 137-149.
174. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 161-162
175. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 161.
176. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), p. 164
177. ^ Macdonell, p. 319.
178. ^ Keith, ch. 3.
179. ^ E.B. Cowell, trans. The Buddha Carita or the Life of the Buddha, Oxford, Clarendon 1894, reprint: New Delhi, 1977, p. X (introduction).
180. ^ J.K. Nariman: Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, Bombay 1919. Aśvaghoṣa and his School Archived 10 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
181. ^ Yoshichika Honda. 'Indian Buddhism and the kāvya literature: Asvaghosa's Saundaranandakavya.' Hiroshima Daigaku Daigakuin Bungaku Kenkyuuka ronshuu, vol. 64, pp. 17–26, 2004. [1] (Japanese)
182. ^ Johnston, E. H. (1928). Saundarananda (PDF). Lahore: University of Panjab.
183. ^ Kale, p. xxvi.
184. ^ Keith, p. 101
185. ^ Macdonell, p. 326.
186. ^ Macdonell, pp. 326-327.
187. ^ Keith, §4.7.
188. ^ Macdonell, p. 328.
189. ^ Keith, §4.6.
190. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 171-192.
191. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 172 - 194.
192. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 196-201
193. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 202
194. ^ Lolimbaraja and his work
195. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 201-211
196. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 212-213
197. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 213-214.
198. ISBN 978-0-7914-0884-1
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199. ISBN 978-0-7546-3950-3
     .
200. ISBN 978-1-84331-132-4
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201. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 215-221.
202. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 222-224
203. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 225-227.
204. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 228, 234-247
205. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 233.
206. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 258-263
207. ^ ^{a b} Lienhard (1984), p. 265
208. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 226.
209. ^ Lienhard (1984), pp. 268-272
210. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 54.
211. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 150-153.
212. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 154-155.
213. ^ ^{a b} Keith (1956), p. 227.
214. ^ Sternbach, Ludwik (1974). Subhasita, Gnomic and Didactic Literature (A History of Indian Literature Vol. IV, 1. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
215. ^ L. Sternbach (1973), Subhashita - A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature, in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pp. 169-254.
216. ^ Sternbach, Ludwik (1974). Subhasita, Gnomic and Didactic Literature, pp. 1-2. (A History of Indian Literature Vol. IV, 1. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
217. ^ Kashinath Sharma (1952), Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara - A collection of over 10,000 subhasitas, Nirnaya Sagar Press
218. ^ Keith (1956), p. 228.
219. ^ Keith (1956), p. 231.
220. ^ Sternbach (1974) pp. 2-8
221. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 237-240.
222. ^ Keith (1956), p. 234.
223. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 85.
224. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 8-92
225. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 95
226. ^ Samir Kumar Datta (1979). Aśvaghoṣa as a Poet and a Dramatist: A Critical Study, p. 123. University of Burdwan.
227. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 97-103.
228. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 104.
229. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 107.
230. ^ Harsha (2006). "The Lady of the Jewel Necklace" and "The Lady who Shows Her Love". Translated by Wendy Doniger. New York University Press. p. 18.
231. ^ Mahendravikramavarma Pallava (600). Lockwood, Michael; Bhat, Vishnu (eds.). Mattavilasa Prahasana The Farce of Drunken Sport. Christian Literature Society.
232. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 109
233. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 111-119.
234. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 244-245, 259-263.
235. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 137-138
236. ^ Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 138
237. ^ Lienhard (1984), p. 218.
238. ^ Keith (1956), p. 294.
239. ^ Keith (1956), pp. 272
240. ^
     ISBN 81-7201-200-4
241. ISBN 978-81-86111-21-5
     , p. 7:

     Contrary to popular belief, there is an astonishing Sanskrit writing is qualitatively of such high order that it can easily be treated on par with the best of Classical Sanskrit literature, It can also easily compete with the writings in other Indian languages.

242. ^ Adhunika Sanskrit Sahitya Pustakalaya, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan:

     The latter half of the nineteenth century marks the beginning of a new era in Sanskrit literature. Many of the modern Sanskrit writings are qualitatively of such high order that they can easily be treated at par with the best of classical Sanskrit works, and they can also be judged in contrast to the contemporary literature in other languages.

243. ^ "Sanskrit's first Jnanpith winner is a 'poet by instinct'". The Indian Express. Jan 14, 2009.
244. ^ Mishra, Mayank. Karma ka Pujari. Chandigarh : Unistar Publications, 2010. Print

Bibliography

• Burrow, T (2001). The Sanskrit Language (2001 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.
  ISBN 81-208-1767-2
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• Deshpande, Madhav M (1993). Sanskrit and Prakrit (1993 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.
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• Fortson, Benjamin W (2010). Indo-European Language and Culture (2010 ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
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• Gonda, Jan (ed.) A History of Indian Literature, Otto Harrasowitz, Wiesbaden.* Ideas of History in Sanskrit Literature Oxford University Press, 1961.
• Majumdar, R. C., Ideas of History in Sanskrit Literature Oxford University Press, 1967.
• Studies on Modern Sanskrit Writings: Ādhunika-saṃskṛta-sāhityānuśīlanam. Papers Presented in the Section on Modern Sanskrit Writings (Proceedings of the 15th World Sanskrit Conference, 2012). Edited by Jürgen Hanneder and Måns Broo with an introduction by R. V. Tripathi.
• Iyengar, V. Gopala (1965). A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature. Rs. 4.
• Jain, Vijay K. (2011), Acharya Umasvami's Tattvarthsutra (1st ed.),
  ISBN 978-81-903639-2-1, This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
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• ISBN 81-208-1578-5
• Jamison & Brereton, Stephanie & Joel (2020). The Rigveda, A guide. Oxford.
  ISBN 978-0-19-063336-3
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• Kale, M R (1972). A Higher Sanskrit Grammar (2002 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.
  ISBN 81-208-0177-6
  .
• Keith, A. Berriedale (1956). A History of Sanskrit Literature. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.
• Lienhard, Siegfried (1984). A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit (A History of Indian Literature Vol. III) Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
• Macdonell, Arthur Anthony, A History of Sanskrit Literature, New York 1900
• Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. London: Oxford Clarendon Press.
• Prajapati, Manibhai K. (2005), Post-Independence Sanskrit Literature: A Critical Survey, Standard Publishers (India)
• S. Ranganath, Modern Sanskrit Writings in Karnataka,
  Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan
  , 2009.
• Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987). A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
• Bhattacharji Sukumari, History of Classical Sanskrit Literature, Sangam Books, London, 1993,
  ISBN 0-86311-242-0
• Whitney, William Dwight (January 2008). Sanskrit Grammar (2000 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.
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• Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature. Oriental books, New Delhi, 1927 (1907)
• Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature Vol. I. Introduction, Veda, National Epics, Puranas and Tantras. Oriental books, New Delhi, 1972
• Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature Vol. II. Buddhist literature and Jaina literature. Oriental books, New Delhi, 1972
• Witzel, Michael (1989), Colette Caillat (ed.), Tracing the Vedic dialects, in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes (PDF), Paris: de Boccard

External links

• GRETIL: Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages a cumulative register of the numerous download sites for electronic texts in Indian languages.
• TITUS Indica
• Vedabase.net: Vaishnava literatures with word for word translations from Sanskrit to English.
• Official page of the Clay Sanskrit Library, publisher of classical Indian literature with facing-page texts and translations. Also offers numerous downloadable materials.
• Sanskrit Documents Collection: Documents in ITX format of Upanishads, Stotras etc., and a metasite with links to translations, dictionaries, tutorials, tools and other Sanskrit resources.
• MAHE Mahabharata Digital Concordance by Department of Philosophy - Manipal
• Sanskrit Literature at the Encyclopedia of Fantasy