A History of Indian Literature: From Vedic Times to the Present Day

The book proceeds through a comprehensive chronological and thematic structure. It begins with the rediscovery of Indian literature by foreign travelers, missionaries, Orientalists, Sanskritists, and modern scholars, then asks “What is India?” by examining geography, peoples, languages, religions, and political-cultural divisions. The early chapters study the Indo-Aryans, the Vedas, Vedic culture, Vedic literature, the Brāhmaṇas, Āraṇyakas, Upaniṣads, and the orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. The middle chapters survey the Upavedas, Vedāṅgas, law books, Arthaśāstras, Kāmaśāstras, the great epics, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa, Jainism, Gautama the Buddha, and the historical background of Buddhist literature. The Buddhist sections cover Aśokan inscriptions, Pāli canonical and non-canonical writings, and Sanskrit Buddhist literature. The later chapters move into the Gupta age, Indian drama, Kālidāsa, successors of Kālidāsa, kāvya writers, lyric poets, beast fables, tales and romances, Purāṇas and Tantras, Muslim invasions, medieval religious poetry, the Mughals, foreign relations, Anglo-Indian writers, modern Indian writers, and the question of India’s literary future.