Sanskrit Lit

Sanskrit literature started with the Vedas and continued to the Sanskrit epics of the Iron Age of India. More specifically, the Vedas date from 1500 to 600 BC and is the basis of Hinduism. The four different types of Vedas are rig, yajur, sama, and atharva. The main Vedic literature period is from the 9th to 7th centuries. The golden age of Sanskrit literature is in late Antinquity which dates from the 3rd to 8th centuries AD. Sanskrit literature is very important in Indian culture because it is used in both Hindu religious literature and philosophical literature. In addition to religious literature, many modern Indian languages have been influenced by Sanskrit.

The classical period of Sanskrit literature is from the Gupta period from the 3rd to 8th centuries CE. Drama in Sanskrit literature is influenced by Vedic mythology and by Hellenistic drama. Drama reached its peak between the 4th and 7th centuries before it declined with Sanskrit literature as a whole. Two well-known classical Sanskrit dramatists are Shudraka and Kalidasa. Kalidasa is the dramatist who wrote The Recognition of Sakuntala, the play that we've been reading. Kalidasa deals mostly with famous Hindu legends and themes. In Indian poetry poets show their skill with word games such as stanzas that read the same forwards and backwards, words that split in different ways to make different meanings, or sophisticated metaphors. Beyond the 11th century Sanskrit literature declined for general literature in India. This occurred because literature began to appear in the vernacular Indian languages.