Afro-Asian Term Paper
Republic of the Philippines
Mindanao State University-GSC
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Cultural Strains of
INDIAN LITERATURE
(Short Stories)
A Term Paper
Presented to
Prof. Lourdes C. Manzano
In partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements in
English 175
Afro-Asian Literature
Kimbeerlyn B. Calauod
BSED English
March 27, 2012
Introduction
As early as 300 B.C., India had already produced a considerable body of literature written in several Indian tongues derived from a common ancestral language-Sanskrit.
The earliest known literature of India is a collection of tradition handed down by word of mouth. These traditions are known as the Vedas. These contain hymns addressed to the Indian gods, who are very numerous. They also contain stories about these gods. The literature of India is often called Sanskrit-literature. The word Sanskrit means cultivated. Hindu literature reveals the inner and outer life of a remarkable people; it extends from a remote past to the present. India was the center of an ancient civilization which spread east and south. This civilization affected the language and culture in both Europe and Asia. India also founded colonies in ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome, as well as in Spain, England, and France. These countries belong to the Indo-European race. They once had their homes in central Asia and spoke the same language. Even now various languages spoken in these Indo-European countries are only different forms of the original. This is especially true of words referring to family like father, mother, daughter, and sister. The word daughter comes from Sanskrit word signifying to draw milk. It preserves the memory of the time when the little milkmaid in the primitive Indo-European household.
Like Philippines, India is also a country with many languages. Though their literary inheritance is common, there is an inherent unity on the Indian literature as a whole which has flourished against a common socio-political culture and
Mindanao State University-GSC
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Cultural Strains of
INDIAN LITERATURE
(Short Stories)
A Term Paper
Presented to
Prof. Lourdes C. Manzano
In partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements in
English 175
Afro-Asian Literature
Kimbeerlyn B. Calauod
BSED English
March 27, 2012
Introduction
As early as 300 B.C., India had already produced a considerable body of literature written in several Indian tongues derived from a common ancestral language-Sanskrit.
The earliest known literature of India is a collection of tradition handed down by word of mouth. These traditions are known as the Vedas. These contain hymns addressed to the Indian gods, who are very numerous. They also contain stories about these gods. The literature of India is often called Sanskrit-literature. The word Sanskrit means cultivated. Hindu literature reveals the inner and outer life of a remarkable people; it extends from a remote past to the present. India was the center of an ancient civilization which spread east and south. This civilization affected the language and culture in both Europe and Asia. India also founded colonies in ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome, as well as in Spain, England, and France. These countries belong to the Indo-European race. They once had their homes in central Asia and spoke the same language. Even now various languages spoken in these Indo-European countries are only different forms of the original. This is especially true of words referring to family like father, mother, daughter, and sister. The word daughter comes from Sanskrit word signifying to draw milk. It preserves the memory of the time when the little milkmaid in the primitive Indo-European household.
Like Philippines, India is also a country with many languages. Though their literary inheritance is common, there is an inherent unity on the Indian literature as a whole which has flourished against a common socio-political culture and