Literature

This paper by Shashi Kiran B N and Hari Ravikumar was presented at the international conference New Frontiers in Sanskrit and Indic Knowledge in June 2017 organized by the Chinmaya International Foundation.

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Abstract

Sanskrit, one of the greatest gifts of India to the world, is unique in many ways. The Pāṇinian system of grammar, logical in its structure and exhaustive in its delineation, gave the language great strength in terms of word-generation ability, brevity, and freedom from ambiguity.

अत्तुमम्ब तव पाकमद्भुतं
वाञ्छितं स्म करपञ्चकं मम ।
अश्म-केश-तृणशोधनाय य-
त्ताडनार्थमुदरास्ययोरपि ॥

In its history of more than a thousand years, Kannada literature’s most recent golden age came in the 20^th century with the advent of the Navodaya movement, which can be called as the ‘Kannada literary renaissance.’ Many of the poets and writers of this era were polyglots and they drew from the rich cultural streams of regional language writings, thus adding to the perennial river of Indian literature.

In pre-modern India, ‘Sāhitī-samarāṅgaṇa-sārvabhauma’ was a title conferred upon people who contributed in equal measure to the fields of literature and warfare. Our country boasts of a long list of achievers known for their physical and intellectual might, the significant ones being Chandragupta Vikramaditya, Yashovarma, Bhojaraja, and Krishnadevaraya. Bhoja is one of India’s least celebrated kings. This reveals a poverty of gratitude, which is one of the unfortunate ills of present-day India.

संस्कृते विद्यमानानि विविधानि शास्त्राणि

सन्ति नैकानि शास्त्राण्यैहिकान्यामुष्मिकानि संस्कृते विद्यमानानि। एतेषां सर्वेषां परामर्शनं नाम बहुसमयग्रसिष्ण्विति मत्वा केवलं शृङ्गग्राहिकया भङ्ग्या कतिपयविद्यानामेव परिमितविधौ विवेचनं शक्यम्। एतेषु भाषा-व्याकरणयोः प्रायः पूर्वमेव किञ्चिदिव परामृष्टमिति मुख्यतयावशिष्टानि प्रस्तुतकालेऽपि यथावत्प्रयोजकानि कतिचिद्विलोकयामः।

"भारतस्य प्रतिष्ठे द्वे संस्कृतं संस्कृतिस्तथा"

"संस्कृतं नाम दैवी वागन्वाख्याता महर्षिभिः"

शास्त्र-काव्यप्रतिभाविलासानां व्यक्तीकरणाय परमं माध्यमं संस्कृतम्

The modern myth of progress and prosperity that is depicted in the life style of Kanthi and Sheetal, is contrasted with the lifestyle of Ravindra’s grandmother. Anoop is contrasted with Raveendra.

महाकविवृष श्रीमन्

गमनं कुत्र तेऽधुना ?

कविलोककुटुम्बस्य

कामधेनो त्वदन्तिके ||

Mythological stories and their function

Even today it is believed that if the ‘śrāddha’ rites for ancestors are performed once in Gaya, they need not be performed again every year thereafter. The ancestors would attain ‘Viṣṇu-pāda’ (Viṣṇu's feet) i.e., salvation through this. These rites may be performed here, not only for one’s parents, but for any of the person’s relatives or friends. Even childless people may perform their own śrāddhas here (page-186 ‘Saartha’). This myth regarding the holiness of Gaya is a continuing myth that has been growing through generations.