Literature of ancient India. Indian literature

It is so heterogeneous and has been created in such a large number of languages ​​that it cannot be fully described in terms of the scope of the work. Therefore, only the main milestones of literary life will be presented here in fragments.

Vedic literature is the most ancient. Usually the creation of the first works referred to in literature By the Vedas(lit. "True knowledge"; compare with the Russian verb "to know"), attributed to the end of the second millennium BC. NS. For centuries, the Vedas have been passed down by word of mouth. As a result, they are also known as Shruti, that is, "that which obeys".

Vedic literature is composed of works of four categories:

1. " Samhita ", or collections of hymns, prayers, spells, magic formulas. There are four Samhitas, among which "Rigveda"("The Hymnbook") is the most ancient and important. Its text consists of 1,028 hymns (suktas), divided into 10 books (mandala). The hymns of the "Rig Veda" are prayers addressed to the gods, among which the main place is occupied by god Indra helping the Aryans in their wars with the natives. Some of the hymns (especially in Book 10) are not directly related to ritual purposes. They are, as it were, the beginnings of the development of philosophical thought. Certain dialogical hymns can be regarded as forerunners of drama. Almost the entire Rig Veda has been translated into Russian by the Russian indologist T. Ya. Elizarenkova.

"Atharvaveda" in the version that has come down to us, it consists of 731 hymns and is divided into 20 books. Some of the hymns can be considered literary borrowings from the Rig Veda. On the whole, Atharva Veda is a later work. It is valuable as a source of knowledge about popular beliefs that have not yet been influenced by clergy.

"Samaveda", or the "Collection of Chants" in its current version consists of 1549 hymns, of which all, except 75 hymns, are also found in the "Rig Veda". All hymns were used in the performance of sacrifices.

"Yajurveda" partly composed of hymns and partly from prose (yajus). Most of the hymns are also found in the Rig Veda.

Religious Indian thought considers the Vedas to be the revelation of the god Brahma, each of the four faces of which was created by one Veda.

2. "Brahmanas" represent a prosaic commentary on the Vedas, They were created in the 8-6 centuries. BC NS. and reflect the domination of the priestly caste in the life of society, in which the system of sacrifices was widely developed. "Brahmans" elaborate in detail a complex ritual of sacrifice, determine the sacrificial animal corresponding to the social status of the donor. Although the Brahmanas are written in a very heavy and dry language, they contain the rudiments epic poetry... There are ten "Brahmanas" in total, attached to a particular Veda. Two Brahmans refer to the Rig Veda, five to Samaveda and three to Yajurveda.

3. "Aranyaki" or the "Forest Books" were probably created for old people who retired for an ascetic life in the forest and did not have the opportunity to observe complex rituals of sacrifice. In "Aranyaks" more attention is paid to the contemplation of nature as the highest spiritual activity, which over time led to the formation of schools of thought (Skt. darshana means both "contemplation" and "philosophy"). Aranyakas are like a continuation of Brahman. So, "Antareya Aranyaka" is a continuation of "Antareya Brahman".

4. "Upanishads" are religious and philosophical treatises, the content of which consists of secret assignments, communicated during a conversation by mentors to their students. Thus, the Upanishads are secret knowledge available only to initiates. Of the 200 "Upanishads" in antiquity, no more than 12-14 treatises were created (from the 3rd to the 7th centuries AD), which are considered the main ones. These Upanishads are associated with various Vedic schools. They are partly written in prose, partly in poetry and represent a new stage in the development of Vedic literature, since here the interpretations of priestly rituals give way in importance to the philosophical problems of the Vedic religion, the problems of man and the world around him. The basis of the Upanishads is the doctrine of universal unity, the unity of the absolute objective ( brahmana) and subjective beginning ( atmana). Here the theories of the cycle of births are also developed ( samsara), rewards for committed deeds and actions ( karma), getting rid of the chain of rebirths ( moksha), moral law ( dharma), etc. Many sections of the Upanishads are written in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and a student. Translations of the Upanishads into Russian were published in 1964, 1965, 1967.

"Upanishads" as a whole have received the name in the literature "Vedanta"("End of the Vedas"). In addition, the Vedic literature includes six "Vedanths", which were discussed above.

Epic literature arises in the first polo. the fault of the first millennium BC. e., but formed in the 4th century. BC BC - 4 c. n. NS.

The most ancient epic work is considered the main plot of "Mahabharata" ("Great India", or "Battle of the Bharatas"), the creation of which is attributed to the hermit sage Vyasa, who is called "Indian Homer". "Mahabharata" is considered the largest literary work in the world, consisting of 100 thousand lines. The main plot was repeatedly supplemented (up to about 5-7 centuries A.D.) - It is associated with a description of the battle of two ancient clans and their supporters ( Pandavas and Kauravas) for owning Hastinapura(now Delhi). The complete "Mahabharata" consists of 18 books of different sizes. The most famous plug-in episodes include: "The Tale of Shakuntala", "The Tale of Rama", "The Story of Nal and Damayanti", "Bhagavad Gita" and others. languages ​​of the peoples of India and other countries (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Burma, etc.). In Europe, we met "Mahabharata" in the 18th century. (The first were the translations of the Bhagavad Gita).

("Divine Song"). At the beginning (1950-1962) 2 books were translated into Russian (translator V. I. Kalyanov). In 1955-1963 gt. the translation of the main books of the Mahabharata by L. Smirnov appeared.

Another epic is no less famous. Ramayana("The Wanderings of Rama"), the authorship of which is attributed to the hermit sage Valmiki... The main narrative was created around the 4th century. BC e., and the final form of the epic was formed in the 2nd century. n. NS. In total, "Ramayana" consists of 24 thousand lines combined in 7 books. The epic is dedicated to the deeds of the God-man Frames, expelled from his kingdom and wandering through India, first in search of refuge, and then in search of the kidnapped wife of Sita. Fantastic plots of the Ramayana are intertwined with real pictures life of that time. Ramayana reflects more high level development of social relations. The characters of the epic became household names in India (Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Ravana). In centuries "Ramayana" is considered one of the sacred books, one of the incarnations of "Ramayana" has been repeatedly perceived in literature, painting, and theatrical art. The epic has been translated into many languages ​​of India and the world. In India, the classical exposition of the Ramayana, given by famous poet Tulsi Dasom in Avadhi language. The Ramayana was translated into Russian in 1948 by Academician A. P. Barannikov

I adhere to epics in many ways "Puranas"("Ancient Legends"), which refer to the sacred texts of medieval Hinduism; The most ancient "Puranas" date back to the middle of the first millennium BC. NS. The texts that have come down to our time date back to the second half of the first millennium AD. "Puranas" are usually divided into 18 large ( mahapurana) and 18 small ones (upapurana). All of them, in turn, are subdivided into Vishnu, Shaiva and Brahma. In terms of content, they are close to epic works written in blocks, and include a large number of legends and myths that repeat the content of the "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". Ethically, the Puranas influenced the work of many poets and philosophers, especially the Bhagavata Purana, which preached the cult bhakti.

Pali literature , the flowering of which falls on the 3rd - 1st centuries. BC e., is associated with the spread of Buddhism to India. The preaching of Buddhism was conducted in languages ​​close to the folk, One of the languages ​​was Pali, in which, according to legend, Buddha preached. One of the first monuments of Pali literature is considered to be the Tipitaka beech: The Three Baskets is a collection of Buddhist canonical texts, consisting of three books: The Collection of Discipline Rules, or The Basket of Humility ( "Vinaya Pitaka"), "Basket of instructions" ( "Sutta Pitaka") and "Basket of Higher Wisdom" ( "Abhidhamma Pitaka"). The main content of the Tipitaka was presented at the first Buddhist council in 477 BC. e., and the final version was adopted at the Third Council (3rd century BC). The Tipitaka contains valuable materials for the study of early Buddhism, as well as information about the history and culture of ancient India.

Another piece of Pali literature is the Jataki, or "Stories of the Lives of the Bodhisattvas," which was one of the varieties of the genre of ancient Indian folklore. It is believed that the Jatakas were created in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC NS. In terms of genre, they represent an ornamented parable. Jatakas are based on folklore plots in the appropriate processing and linking to the postulates of Buddhism. The collection contains 547 jatakas. The main motive of jataka is the victory of the weak over the strong, the poor over the rich and stupid. Some Jatak plots were repeated many times in Indian fairy-tale literature. The Russian translation of the Jatak was published in 1979.

Classical Sanskrit literature or Kavya literature was the next stage in the development of the general literary process. The term "kavya" should be understood as "the art of the artistic word", which has its own internal laws. Kavya literature was subdivided into several genres, or directions. According to the rhythmic organization of the text, it was subdivided into prose ( bastard) and poetry ( padya), by the nature of aesthetic perception - to audible ( shravya) and visible ( drishya) literature. Since the subject of kavya was a person in all the diversity of relations in society, the main emphasis was on the reflection of this society by means of literature, which should generate aesthetic pleasure ( race). According to genres, kavya was subdivided into, drama ( natya), epic poem ( mahakavya) to a prosaic narration ( katha), lyric poetry (anibaddha) and hagiography, or church hagiography ( akhyaika).

Most early representatives kavya literature, was a poet and playwright Ashwaghosha(2nd century AD) and playwright Bhasa(3-4 centuries A.D.). The first is famous for his poem "Life of Buddha" ("Budshkhacharita"), translated even into Chinese, and the second created 13 plays, discovered only in the 20th century .. It can be assumed that by this time the canonical structure of the Sanskrit drama had taken shape. Along with poetry and drama, Sanskrit prose is developing, the most significant monument of which is the collection "Panchatantra" letters. "Pentateuch", or "Five everyday tricks", Created, according to legend, in the 3-4 centuries. n. NS. brahmana Vishnusharman... "Panchatantra" consists of five books of fairy tales and fables, the main characters of which

are animals endowed with human traits. Each book is structured according to the principle of a framed story. Panchatantra is devoid of religious connotations. About 200 translations of "Panchatantra" were made into 60 languages ​​of the world.

The Russian translation was published in 1958.The most famous among the Sanskrit playwrights and poets was Kalidasa(4th century AD), who created several dramas, epic and lyric poems that were included in the golden fund of Indian literature: the drama "Recognized by the Ring of Shakuntala" ("Abhijnanashakuntalam"), the epic poem "Rod of Raghu" Raghuvansha. Lyric poem "Cloud-messenger" ("Meghaduta"). The creativity of Kalidasa, as it were, summed up the entire previous development of the artistic word in ancient India, paving the way for the literature of the Middle Ages. After Kalidasa, a slow but steady process of decline began, which was occasionally disrupted by the emergence of high-quality works. These include one of best novels in Sanskrit "The Adventures of Ten Princes" "Dashakumaracharita" by Dandin (7th century AD)

Literature of India in the Middle Ages characterized by the extinction of literature in Sanskrit and Prakrit, on the one hand, and the emergence of literary works in local languages, on the other. Along with this, along with the Muslim conquerors, a new culture and new languages ​​(first Turkic and then Persian) came to India, which brought with them new genres, mainly Persian-language literature (gazelles, qasids, marsia and rubai).

Indian literature proper early middle ages(7-11 centuries) was divided into religious-reformist and court literature. The representatives of the first literature belonged to various sects (siddhis and nathis in North India) or communities (excellent interpretations of Shaivism in South India). They opposed brahminism and castes and relied on folklore traditions in their works. Court literature, in turn, was subdivided into patriotic and panegyric. Representatives of patriotic literature called for the struggle against the Arab and Afghan-Turkic conquerors and sang the praises of individual heroes. The most characteristic here is the heroic-epic poem "The Song of Prithviraj" "Prithviraj-raso", the authorship of which is attributed to the poet Chand Bardai (12th century). Panegyric literature praised the deeds of the rulers. Here the Life of Harsha stands out. "Harshacharita" Bana Bhatta (7th century).

Development of a medieval city, strengthening of positions merchant class contributed to the creation of edifying and roguish literature. One of the largest authors of edifying literature was Bhartrihari, who created several excellent works, the main of which was "Collection of three hundred stanzas" "Shatakatrayam". It consists of "One hundred lines about the wisdom of life" "Nitishataka", "One hundred stanzas about sensual passion" Sringarashataka and "One hundred stanzas about separation" Vairagyashataka... The achievements of world satire include the work Haribhadra Suri(8-9 centuries) "The Tale of the Rogues" ("Dhurtakhyana"). The genre of one-act satirical performance can also be attributed to rogue literature. (bhana), performed by one actor. The most famous work of this genre is "Chaturbhani"("Four Bhanas").

Bhakti literature appears as opposition not only to the caste-class stratification of society, but also to everything that sowed discord between people. This is largely due to the increase in the socio-cultural activity of the lower castes, with the penetration of the ideas of Sufism into India, with the weakening of the influence of orthodox Hinduism. Bhakti literature originated in various sects and communities of Hinduism. She

promoted the growth of Indo-Muslim synthesis and stimulated the creativity of many poets who abandoned the traditional court literature in Sanskrit and tried to write in spoken languages. The main idea of ​​the bhakti movement is the equality of all before God, condemnation of caste differences, Indo-Muslim hatred. The most famous poets of bhakti are considered Kabir, Surdas, Mnraban, Tulsidas... Bhakti poetry had two directions: sagunpanthi, that is, the way of worshiping a specific deity, endowed with a certain form and quality. Usually this direction is glorified in the north. Vishnu and his reincarnations (Rama and Krishna), and in the south - Shiva... The second direction is nirgunpanthi, that is, the path of veneration of an abstract deity without form and quality. The direction expressed itself by the creation of philosophical and religious lyrics. The bhakti movement originated in Tamil Nadu in the 6th-8th centuries. K13 century. its first movement, associated with the cult of Shiva, swept almost all of South India. By the 16th century. the movement associated with the cult of Vishnu spread throughout most of northern India. Further development of Indian literature with various local languages, to a very brief description some we will stop. The scope of the work does not allow describing all 16 major literatures of India in regional languages.

Hindi literature. It includes two concepts:

1. literature in Hindi languages, covering about 10-12 languages ​​in which they were created literary works avadhi, braj, khari pain, maithili, etc.. 2. modern literary language Hindi, formed mainly at the beginning

19th century and in the second half of the 20th century. actually ousted other Hindi languages ​​from the literary process. In its development, Hindi literature went through a number of stages that are somehow connected with the history of the country and which reflect the socio-political processes taking place in the country. It is customary to begin the history of Hindi literature with the protest literature of the Anth sects of the Siddha and Nath sects, which were discussed above;

(7-11 centuries). They created their works in the language apabhransha, which was a transition from Prakrit to modern New Indian languages. Opposing the dominance of Brahmanism, they strove to find a way to salvation in the religious and philosophical views of the Mahayana, bringing here dogmas and concepts associated with the cult of Shiva and the cult of Shakti.

This literature is replaced by heroic-epic poetry (virgatha), generated by the invasion of Muslims in India (11-14 centuries). Among the works, the heroic poem (raso) and the ballad ( virgite). Along with the above-mentioned "Song of Prithviraj", the "Song of Bisaldeva" ("Bisaldeva raso"), "Song of Khuman" ("Khuman raso") should be noted.

The next step is bhakti poetry, or poetry of love and devotion (14-17 centuries). The religious reform movement of bhakti, which swept the entire country, had a huge impact on all subsequent Indian literature and, especially on Hindi literature. All poetry and bhakti poets in Hindi can be classified into four groups:

1. hermit poets who worshiped an abstract deity ( nirgunpanthi), which primarily includes the greatest poet of the Middle Ages Kabir(1440-1513),

2. Sufi poets, the most significant of which was Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1499-1542),

3 ... Vaishnava poets who worshiped Rama, among whom the most famous is Tulsidas(1532-1623), author of the world famous poem "The Sea of ​​Rama's Deeds" ("Ramacharitamanasa").

4. Vaishnava poets who worshiped Krishna, to whom the great blind poet belongs Surdas(1478-1564), author huge work"Sea of ​​Hymns" ("Sursagar"), consisting of 100 thousand stanzas. All the poets mentioned, with the exception of Jayasi, who wrote in Farsi, wrote in various Hindi languages, but mainly in Avadhi and Braja.

Bhakti comes to replace poetry poetry rity or the poetry of Mannerism, which marked the loss of humanistic traditions and public sound (1650-1875). The main reasons for this situation were the decline of the Mughal Empire and the emergence of European conquerors in India. Literary creativity became the property of narrow, most often court circles. The theme of sublime love for Krishna is increasingly acquiring an erotic tinge, and the works themselves are distinguished by a complicated language, an abundance of tropes, splendor of metaphors, and various formalistic delights.

At the end of this period, the first prose works appeared in that Hindi, which over time became the literary and state language of India. Among the first authors is Lalluji Lal (1763-1835), the author of the book "Ocean of Love" ("Prem Sagar", 1803), which is considered to be the first prose in modern Hindi. In 1826 the first newspaper in the Hindi language was published.

The founder modern literature hindi is considered Bharatendu Harishchandra(1850-1885), playwright, poet, publicist. His work marks the era of the formation of the national consciousness of the Indians (1875-1900), which is associated both with the first war of independence (1857-1859), and with the growth of enlightenment in India. In addition, Bharatendu was one of the first to use Hindi as the language of poetry ( at that time avadhi and braj were considered the language of poetry). All 18 plays (original and translations from Sanskrit) were also written in Hindi. The original plays are clearly satirical and based on real material. For this reason, Bharatenda is also called the founder of enlightenment realism.

A special place in the literary process is occupied by the so-called era Mahavira Prasada Dvivedi(1900-1925), or the era of national movements. For twenty years he published a literary magazine "Saraswati", which became a kind of center of new literature in the Hindi language. Dvivedi made a great contribution to the purification and standardization of literary Hindi, which during Dvivedi noticeably crowded out the recognized languages ​​of poetry Avadhi and Braj and won a solid place in the language of prose. During this period, civic poetry acquired a special meaning, the main representative, which was Maithiliharan Guita(1886-1964), awarded the title of "national poet" ( rashtrakawi). By the milestone work of M.Sh. Gupta, the poem "The Voice of India" ("Bharat Bharati") appeared - a passionate appeal to revive the former greatness of India. Hindi poetry and prose of this period reflects the rise of the national liberation movement, which manifested itself in massive political campaigns led by the Indian National Congress.

The Dvivedi era is replaced by romantic and mystical direction, referred to in the literature as a direction chhayawada, The emergence of such a trend is explained by the disappointment of some Indian writers in the violent methods of the struggle for liberation, which predetermined their refusal to describe the real world. The civic theme was replaced by the image of a suffering, lonely personality, not understood by society. The works of the writers of this trend are full of reflections on the frailty of life, on unrequited love. The most famous representatives of the Chhayawada were Jaishankar Prasad (1889-1937), Sumitranandan Pant(1900-1977) and Suryakant Tripathi Nirala (1896-1961). In parallel with the chayawad, the realistic method also developed, the most prominent representative of which was Premchand (1880-1936). Although Premchand's realism was under some influence of both idealism, and especially Gandhism, Premchand began writing in Urdu, but from the early 1920s he switched to Hindi, writing from 1922 to 1936. 11 novels. The last of them "Sacrificial Cow" ("Godan") practically free from extraneous influences and written from a clear standpoint of critical realism. Premchand had a notable influence on the literature of his time. The proponents of a realistic depiction of reality formed the Association of Progressive Writers of India in 1936, of which Premchand was elected as its first chairman. The realist movement, among whose representatives there were also writers of a Marxist orientation, received in India the name pragative, or progressivism... The most famous representatives of the trend were

Yashpal(1903-1976), Upendranath Ashk (1910-1997), Rangea Raghav (1923-1962), Vrindavanlal Varma(1989-1969) and some others.

The strengthening of ideological confrontation led to the emergence of a new trend, called experimentalism, or prayogwada... This trend opposed both the Chhayawada and the Pragative, opposing the ideological nature of the Pragative against the apolitical, and the beauty of the language and style of the Chhayawada - the everyday lapidarity of the language. The manifesto of experimentalism was the collection "Seven-string" ("Tarsaptac"), published with the participation and editorship of Gyei (1911-1987).

Since the 1950s, modernism has been strengthening its position in India. Modern authors, rejecting both revolutionary and experimentalism, pay more attention to the popularity of their works among the reader. Their work is clearly influenced by European and American literature. It is not committed to any one "ism", but is a well-known mixture of genres and styles, where realism is mixed with mysticism, romanticism with tradition. The work of contemporary authors in the Hindi language is little known to foreign readers, although their works are generously awarded with various national and local awards. However, Hindi literature is developing very rapidly. New names of poets and writers appear almost every year. Although it is unlikely that among some new and recognized there is at least one author who lives only at the expense of his literary work... A special place in Hindi literature is occupied by the love of Indians for poetry. Competition of poets ( kawi sammelan), sometimes lasting 10-12 hours, still attract huge audiences, including television.

Bengali literature .

It appears at the turn of the first millennium AD along with the formation of the Old Bengali language. It does not have a sufficiently clear periodization, so here we will focus only on the main milestones of its formation and development.

The earliest written monument in Bengali is considered "Chorjapod"(10-12 centuries), a collection of poems and hymns belonging to the pen of various authors and according to the content of the approaching traditions of the Nathas.

The formation of the poetic form of Bengali poetry was significantly influenced by the poem "Song of Krishna" ("Gita Govinda") written in Sanskrit by a poet

Jayadev(12th century ..). Jayadev's traditions were continued by Boru Chandidas (15th century). Who created one of the masterpieces of Bengali literature "Hymns to the Glory of Venerable Krishna" ("Shrikrishnakirton")... The formation of the form of Bengali poetry was influenced by transcriptions into Bengali ancient Indian epics"Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", as a result of which the main meter of Bengali poetry was established - poyar.

The continuation of the Krishna theme in Bengali literature is associated with the bhakti movement. In the 16-17th centuries, there is a flourishing of Bengali lyric poetry, which is largely associated with the name Choitonno Deba(1486-1533), who belonged to the democratic direction of this movement. His name became a symbol and an object of worship for subsequent Bengali poets who dedicated many first-class works, which became a step forward towards the creation of secular literature.

A significant contribution to Bengali literature was made by Muslim poets, many Bengali who professed Buddhism, adopted in the 10-12 centuries. Islam in protest and against the oppression to which they were subjected by the supporters of the Hindu revival. Such as Doulot Qazi and Sayyad Alaol who lived in the 17th century. Doulot Qazi created a poem Lor and Chandrani, which is considered the first secular work in Bengali literature.

New Bengali literature, commonly referred to as enlightenment literature, has much to do with the development of socio-economic relations in Bengal and its capital, Calcutta. With the strengthening of the position of the British, with the creation of the first educational institutions of the European type, with the publication of the press in the national languages, the Bengalis began acquaintance with European culture, and the horizons of their knowledge were broadened.

Enlightenment in Bengal is primarily associated with the activities of Rammohan Raya (1774-1833), a writer and religious reformer, founder of the Brahma Samajh Reform Society (1828). Enlightenment in Bengal in the second half of the 19th century, marked by a powerful movement for its cultural and ethnic revival. Many newspapers and magazines, various educational societies are being created. At the same time, literature is being polished, assimilating both Western experience and ancient literary traditions. Its genre range is expanding. Along with poetry, prosaic forms also appear.

A special place in the formation of literature and the modern Bengali language belongs to Bonkimchondro Chottopaddhaiu(1838-1894), the author of many historical novels and satirical works. At the same time, romanticism was developing in Bengali poetry, which was associated with the influence of the work of English romantics. ... In the mid-80s, came to Bengali literature Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941), poet and writer, musician and artist, scientist and educator, who also started out as a romantic poet. During Tagore's lifetime, more than 50 collections of his poetry were published. The pinnacle of Tagore's poetry was the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1913 for the collection of poems "A Handful of Songs" ("Gitanjali"). One of Tagore's patriotic songs "The Soul of the People" ("Janaganamana") became the national anthem of India. In the 20th century, Tagore entered as a realist writer, who created such masterpieces of Indian prose as the novels "The Mountain" (1907) and "House and World" ("Ghora Bakhire"). Tagore is the pioneer of the modern Indian musical drama, which combines the melodies of classical ragas and Western European music.

Tagore's younger contemporary was Shootchondro Chottopadtshai (1876-1938), who is considered the most prominent representative of realism in Bengali literature.

Bengali literature at the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to the general upsurge of the national liberation movement, was influenced by the partition of Bengal in 1905. A whole galaxy of "rebellious" poets and writers has appeared, among which the most striking is creativity Kazi Nurul Islam, the author of the famous poem "Rebel" ( "Bidrohi"), calling for a fight against the colonialists.

In the subsequent literature of the 20th century. three directions of creative thought can be traced. Representatives of the first direction continued to develop traditions in literature. R. Tagore and S. Chotopaddhai, These primarily include prose writers Bibhutibhuson Bondopaddhai(1896-1950) and Tarashonkor Bondopaddhai(1898-1971), who created a truly realistic picture of the life of the Indian countryside. Two novels by Bibhutibhushon "Song of the Road" ("Pother Panchali") and "Invincible" ("Oporajito") formed the basis of two films of the same name by the famous Indian director, Bengali Satyajit Ray.

Representatives of the second trend adhered to a left, sometimes even a Marxist orientation. Among them leading place occupies the work of Mannik Bondopaddhai, one of the organizers of the Anti-Fascist Association of Writers and Artists of Bengal. His novels about the life of the urban petty bourgeoisie, peasants, fishermen and small employees became popular not only in Bengal. The representatives of the third, modernist direction include poets Bnshnu De and Bimolchondro Ghosh, which over time passed from modernism to revolutionary romanticism.

Tamil literature .

It belongs to the most ancient literatures in India. It is believed that it dates back to the beginning of our era and is associated with the activities of poets belonging to three poetic communities, united in society "Sangam"... Some sources claim that Sangam poetry is the result of creativity 473 poets, artistic heritage which consists of 2279 poetic works of different genres. This primarily includes the "Eight Anthologies" ("Ettutohei") and "Ten Poems" ("Pattupattu"), Poetic and grammatical norms of these works were fixed in "Tolcappiyam", the first grammatical composition that has come down to us.

The short-term spread of Jainism and Buddhism in South India led to the creation of didactic, or moralizing poetry, which includes a fairly large collection of "Eighteen Small Works"

(created from the 4th to the 8th centuries). The most famous among the poems of this collection is "Kural" or "Tirukkural" by the poet Tiruvalluvar. "Kural" has had a noticeable influence on all subsequent Tamil literature, including modern. The appearance of the epic poem is also associated with Jainism and Buddhism, but over time, the influence of Shaiva and Vishnu bhakti begins to prevail here. Epic poems of the 5th-6th centuries traditionally subdivided into two groups: "Five large poems" and "Five small poems", which have a pronounced Jain or Buddhist character.

South Indian bhakti appeared earlier than North Indian (about the middle of the first millennium). Poets of this trend have created numerous hymns written in a relatively simple language, understandable to the people. These hymns were eventually compiled into two collections, The Holy Way (Tirumurei) and 4000 Works (Nalaiirappirabandam). The last anthology is attributed to the pen of 12 Vishnu poets-saints ( alvar), among whom was the poetess Andal (8th century ..).

The next stage in the development of Tamil literature was the stage of translations into Tamil of classical Sanskrit works, which is explained both by the revival of Hinduism and the penetration of Muslim conquerors to the south, as a result of which Tamil culture begins to increasingly enter the common orbit of all-Indian cultural and religious traditions. In the 13th century. a Tamil version of the Ramayana was created, in which traditional plot was supplemented with new ones.

In the 14th century. the "Legend of the Descendants of Bharata" appears.

From the 16th to the 18th century Tamil literature was in a state of relative decline, which is explained by a number of political reasons (Tamil Nadu found itself on the outskirts of the huge Vijayanagar empire, and then Europeans penetrated into South India). In the 18th century. the British practically subdue Tamil Nadu. Literature is deprived of the support of feudal rulers and becomes the lot of the creativity of individuals, including the Italian missionary, who created poems on biblical themes and roguish stories in Tamil under the pseudonym Viramamunivar.

In the 19th century. arises educational literature ... European-style educational institutions are being created in Tamil Nadu, interest in ancient history and literature is increasing, and grammars and dictionaries of the modern Tamil language are being created through the efforts of missionaries. In 1831 the first magazine appeared, and in 1883 a newspaper in Tamil began to appear. In the same period, the first prose works were created. The originator of modern Tamil prose is considered Arumugu Navalar (1823-1879). The first Tamil novel, written by Vedanayangama Pillai, is published in 1876. (1824-1889).

Early 20th century is noted in Tamil Nadu with the rise of the national liberation movement, which could not but affect literary creativity, in which a decisive turn to real life takes place, which demanded new content and new forms from writers and poets. This turn is largely due to the work of one of the most significant Tamil poets of our time Suppiramania Baradi(1882-1921). In his works, Baradi preached the ideas of social justice, called on to serve the people with his talent. With his works, Baradi, as it were, completed the formation of the modern Tamil language.

Contemporary Tamil prose, poetry and drama are developing in the general mainstream of Indian literature, giving many good and very professional examples of these genres.

Urdu literature has gone through a difficult path of development from court aristocratic to popular patriotic. Urdu grammatically has a purely Indian basis: its modern grammar is almost identical to the grammar of the modern literary language Hindi, although the formation of Urdu as a language occurred before the formation of Hindi. Urdu arose at the junction of Persian-Tajik and Persian-Indian literature and used in his lexical arsenal the Arab-Persian and actually Indian vocabulary (common with Hindi). This is the origin of the genre peculiarity of Urdu, which initially gravitated towards the genres of Persian poetry, although thematically leaned more towards Indian reality.

Originally, Urdu, which means "the language of a military camp or bazaar" (cf. Russian "horde"), originated at the court of the Muslim rulers of the Deccan. The most famous poet of the dean school was Wali (Wali Muhammad, 1667 »1707), whose works are highly valued in North India as well. It is believed that his ghazals prompted the Delhi poets to turn to Urdu.

The spread of Urdu in North India was facilitated on the one hand by the Sufi movement, whose representatives used a Persian-language form filled with Indian content, which made their works popular among Indians. On the other hand, the disintegration of the Mughal Empire also contributed to this process, which significantly undermined the position of Persian-language literature and strengthened the position of Urdu. The main representatives of medieval Urdu, which is usually called classical, are two famous poets Nazir Aurangabad and- (Wali Muhammad, 1740-1830) and Ghalib(Asadullah Khan, 1797-1869).

Nazir was the first among poets to introduce characters from the common people into his works. Traditionally, Muslim stories are interspersed with general Indian and Hindu ones. His language is close to the spoken language of Agra, where he lived.

Galib is considered the main classic poet of the Middle Ages. He started out as a poet in Sophia, but then moved away from Sufism and began to preach the brotherhood of people regardless of their religion. He sympathized with ordinary people, glorified their work. He also greeted the events of 1857-1859 with sympathy. Ghalib's prose, mainly epistolary works, paved the way for the rise of modern prose in Urdu. His poetry shaped the development of Urdu poetry in the first half of the 19th century.

In the second half of the 19th century, a period of enlightenment began in Urdu literature. Under the influence of European civilization and mainly under the influence of the events of 1857-1859. Writers and poets began to abandon traditional Muslim or Hindu stories and turn to the events of reality.Literature, which had previously served the purpose of entertainment or open religious propaganda, in the works of educators acquired a journalistic, civic character, turned into a means of influencing public thought. A new trend in literature is associated with the name

Sayyida Ahmad Khan(1817-1898) who, together with his supporters, tried to spread the achievements of European culture and science among the Muslim population of India. The educators began to be supported in this by graduates of the Delhi College ( founded in 1825.) and Aligarh Muslim University, founded in 1875 on the initiative of Sayyid Ahmad Khan.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Under the influence of the growth of the national liberation movement, national-patriotic motives began to sound in Urdu literature. The works of the authors of that time called for the rallying of Hindus and Muslims in the face of a common enemy. One of the leading places in Urdu literature of this time was occupied by

Muhammad Iqbal(1877-1938), a major Indian poet and philosopher. The main idea of ​​his work is the liberation of the homeland and the revival of Islam (Iqbal wrote about Islam mainly in Persian).

The development of modern Urdu prose was influenced by the work of Premchand (1880-1936). Among the followers of Premchand, left-wing artists can be noted Sajada Zahira(1905-1973) and Faiza Ahmad Faiza(1911-1984), who took an active part in the creation of the Association of Progressive Writers of India.

Among the prose writers of recent times, creativity should be noted Krishana Chandara(1914-1977), a writer of the widest creative range: From a lyric story to a satirical novel, From a journalistic essay to fantastic story(some of his works were written in Hindi), as well as writers such as Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955), Ali Sardara Jafri (1913).

After the partition of India into India proper and Pakistan, Urdu became the official language of Pakistan. Over the 50 years that have passed since the partition, there have been certain differences in the development of Indian and Pakistani Urdu and Urdu literature in these countries. Indian Urdu tends to be Hinduized in terms of both vocabulary and content.

The scope of the work allows us to focus on the description of only four literatures of India. Out of our attention were the English-speaking, Assam, Gujarat, Kashmir, Kannar, Malayalam, Marath, Orissian, Punjab, Persian-speaking, Sindh literatures, as well as the literature of the Telugu people.

An excerpt from the book "India - Pocket Encyclopedia". Publishing house "Ant-Guide" M. 2000

Introduction 2

Ancient India 2

Religion of Ancient India. 5

Hinduism 6

Buddhism 7

Philosophy 11

Literature of Ancient India 12

VEDA - the first monument of thought of the ancient Indians 13

Upanishads 14

Mahabharata 16

Architecture, sculpture, painting of Ancient India. 17

Mathematics, astronomy, medicine of ancient India. 19

Conclusion 20

References: 21

Introduction

It is difficult to imagine a country with a richer mythology than India, and it is hardly possible to find in another mythology a combination of deep philosophical abstractions and practical applications of myth, such as yoga, asceticism, instruction in the practice of everyday life.

As part of my essay, I will try to make a cursory overview of the wealth and diversity of spiritual searches of the peoples inhabiting Hindustan. One of the reasons is that we are not talking about centuries, but about millennia of development of religious thought.

A remarkable feature of Indian civilization is its continuity: it has been developing continuously for over 4500 years. For such a long period of time, the material and spiritual life of the population of the region has undergone changes; these millennia were filled with strife, ups and downs, which manifested itself in the rise and fall of dynasties, in the spread, prosperity and extinction of religious teachings; schools were formed in philosophy, architecture, sculpture, music and dance.

Ancient india

India is one of the cradles of human civilization. It has been inhabited since ancient times.

The Indus Valley civilization, the first of the highly developed cultures of India, existed in the period 2500-1500 BC. Its material evidence was unearthed in the 1920s in the Indus Valley, most notably during excavations at Mohenjodaro in Sindh and Harappa in Punjab. Archaeological research has revealed remarkable brick buildings, statuettes of stone and metal, jewelry, knives and various seals with not yet deciphered pictographic inscriptions. The metals used included gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead; iron remained unknown. Further excavations showed that people at that time were familiar with spinning and weaving, cultivated barley and wheat and joined the urban lifestyle. Invasion at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC the people who spoke the Aryan language (Sanskrit), or, for short, the Aryans, marked a turning point in the history of India. The Aryans invaded the Indian subcontinent from the northwest in several waves, pushing the autochthonous population further east and south and settling in the lands between the Indus and Jamna rivers. From there they moved east across the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and their earlier expansion southward halted in front of the Vindhya Mountains.

The first centers of Indian culture known to us, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and others, existed already in the 3rd millennium BC. on the banks of the Indus. The culture of Harappa became the basis, the basis for further cultural and social evolution. Archaeologists have found numerous stone, copper, bronze tools and weapons, testifying to the ability to work metals, develop agriculture, knowledge of numerous crafts, writing, and the decimal number system.

In the religion of the era of the Harappan culture, elements were found that were included in later religious ideas. In the 2nd millennium, those important religious traditions began to take shape, which by the beginning of the 1st millennium received a literary form, called the Vedas in the history of Indian worldview and ritual practice. Vedism, or the Vedic religion, already contained features characteristic of later Indian religions, including Buddhism.

These include the idea that all living things are interconnected in time by constant transitions from one bodily state to another (transmigration of souls or reincarnation), the doctrine of karma as a force that determines the form of these transitions. The composition of the pantheon of gods, as well as belief in hell and heaven, turned out to be stable. In later religions, many elements of Vedic symbolism were developed, the veneration of some plants and animals, most of the household and family rituals. The class stratification of society was already reflected in the Vedic religion. She sanctified the inequality of people, declaring that the division of people into varnas (castes in ancient India) was established by the highest deity - Brahma. Social injustice was justified by the doctrine of karma - by the fact that all the misfortunes of a person are to blame for the sins committed by him in previous rebirths. She declared the state an institution created by the gods, and equated obedience to rulers with the fulfillment of a religious duty. Even plentiful sacrifices, available only to the rich and noble, testified to the alleged greater proximity of the latter to the world of the gods, and for the lower varnas, many rituals were generally prohibited.

It reached its real development in the 2nd millennium BC, in the era of the "Rig Veda". On the basis of the large collection "Rigveda", a kind of spiritual and worldview system of Hinduism was created, which has become the most important part of Indian culture. In the same era, the division of society into castes was carried out. Caste is a phenomenon without which it is impossible to understand the nature and originality of Indian culture. In the "Rig Vedas" moral and legal motives for the division of society into 4 castes were based: Brahmans (priests); Kshatriev (Magi); Vaishviv (farmers); Shudras (servants). A whole system of human life and behavior was developed, depending on the caste. For example, marriage was considered legal within the same varna (endogamy), the same applied to the choice of a profession, occupation of a certain craft.

The Indian caste is the result of a long process of formation of industrial, legal and cultural relations between people, who are divided among themselves by origin, profession, customs and laws.

Period from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC until the first half of the 1st millennium BC, which received the name Vedic in history, was marked by the formation of a class society and state.

In ancient India, the process of state formation was long. Gradually, the tribal aristocracy turned into the top of the emerging early class states, which were formed on a tribal basis. The power of the tribal leaders, the rajas, who called themselves the kings of the tribe, grew stronger. They claimed absolute power over their subjects and often acted as the sovereign rulers - Raja Vishwajanins. To raise the prestige of the rajas, to emphasize their special position, complex initiation ceremonies were performed, they were declared bearers of one or another deity. Usually the rulers belonged to the most noble, wealthy and numerous families.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. in the Ganges Valley, the process of transforming the bodies of tribal self-government into state ones was completed, however, tribal remnants were still strong. The king, although he was the ruler of the people, could not rule without his consent. The most important common affairs of the tribe were decided in a national assembly called the samiti. The leaders and the people were represented in it. In Vedic literature, there are also references to another congregation called the sabha, reminiscent of the council of elders. The Sabha and Samiti had a certain amount of administrative, legislative and judicial authority. In the early Vedic era, the question of electing a king was decided in the Samiti.

Over time, the people are assigned the role of a passive observer in state affairs, the royal power becomes hereditary, passes from father to eldest son. With the strengthening of the king's power, the sabha and samiti, as tribal institutions, are replaced by “parishads” - councils under the king. The tsar himself commanded the army, disposed of state property, headed the administrative apparatus. Such an exceptionally high position of the rajas led to the fact that state power became sacred.

Simultaneously with the formation of the state, the development of the administrative apparatus proceeded. All senior positions in the state administration were occupied by representatives of the nobility. The art of government was called dandaniti, the science of punishment.

Officials had collective names - viras or ratnins. These included treasurers (samgrahitri), tax collectors (bhagadughi), messengers (palagals), military leaders (senani), etc.

The population paid taxes (known as bali and shulka). There was also a certain system of police organization; in the Vedic texts, police officers (jivagribhi and ugrians) are mentioned. A permanent spy service was established.

By the end of the Vedic period (the end of the 2nd - the middle of the 1st millennium BC), several dozen states emerged in Northern India - Magadha, Koshala, Vriji, Malla, etc.

The largest and most powerful state of that time was Magadha. This state reached its highest power in the 4th - 2nd centuries. BC. during the Mauryan dynasty, which united almost the entire territory of Hindustan under its rule. The Magadh-Maurian era is regarded as a special milestone in the development of ancient Indian statehood. It was a period of major political events. The creation of a united Indian state promoted communication between different peoples, the interaction of their cultures, and the erasure of narrow tribal boundaries. In the Mauryan era, the foundations of many state institutions were laid, which developed in the subsequent period, many of the main features of the social structure, caste-class organization, the most important institutions of ancient Indian society and the state arose and took shape. A number of religious and philosophical movements developed, such as Jainism, which questioned the Vedic values, and Buddhism, which gradually turned from a sectarian monastic teaching into one of the three world religions.

One of the most important components of the social, social and economic system during the Mauryan period was the community. A significant part of the population - free landowners - was united in communities. The most widespread form of community was rural, although primitive tribal communities still existed in the rest of the empire. For a long time, the communities were isolated from each other, but gradually this limitation and isolation was broken.

The ancient Indian state arose as a slave state, however, in its law there is no clear opposition between free and slaves. Slave labor did not play a significant role in the decisive sectors of the economy of ancient India. An essential feature of ancient Indian slavery was the presence of state legislation aimed at limiting the arbitrariness of the owner in relation to the slaves. Indian daily life was governed by rules that were ethical rather than legal in nature. These norms were of a pronounced religious nature. The most famous are the Laws of Manu (Manu is a mythical god). The exact time when these laws were drawn up is unknown. It is assumed that they appeared in the period between the II century. BC. and II century. AD they consist of 2,685 articles written in couplet form (slokas). There are a few articles of direct legal content, contained mainly in chapters VIII and IX (there are 12 chapters in total in the Laws).

Meanwhile, the Mauryan empire was a conglomerate of tribes and peoples at different stages of development. During the reign of Ashoka (middle 3rd century BC), state and political life based on the principles of Buddhism flourished. Ashoka put forward the idea of ​​conquering the world not by military attack on neighbors, but through the proclamation of the Buddha's teachings. In culture, the central place was given to religion, which was supposed to spiritually unite the society torn apart by the Varna.

In the first centuries A.D. The Mauryevs were replaced by the kings of the Indo-Scythian dynasty of the Kushans (1-3 centuries AD). After the collapse of the Kushan state in the IV century. AD there was a new rise of Magadha, where the Gupta dynasty reigned. Having spread to the 5th century. AD in most of northern India, the Gupta empire became the last slave state in that part of the country. During this period, agriculture improved, crafts developed (the manufacture of weapons and jewelry, metallurgy, weaving, stone processing, etc.), Buddhism gave way to Hinduism.

One of the most magnificent and original cultures that existed on our planet is Indo-Buddhist philosophy, which was formed mainly in India. The achievements of the ancient Indians in various fields - literature, art, science, philosophy - entered the golden fund of world civilization, had a significant impact on the further development of culture not only in India itself, but also in a number of other countries. Indian influence was especially significant in Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East.

Religion of Ancient India.

The millennial cultural tradition of India has developed in close connection with the development of the religious beliefs of its people. The main religious movement was Hinduism (it is now followed by more than 80% of the population of India). The roots of this religion go back to ancient times.

Vedism

The religious and mythological ideas of the tribes of the Vedic era can be judged by the monuments of that period - the Vedas, containing rich material on mythology, religion, and ritual. Vedic hymns were considered and are considered sacred texts in India, they were passed down orally from generation to generation, and they were carefully preserved. The combination of these beliefs is called Vedism. Vedism was not a common Indian religion, but flourished only in East Punjab and Uttar Prodesh, which were inhabited by a group of Indo-Aryan tribes. It was she who was the creator of the Rigveda and other Vedic collections (samhit).

For Vedism, the deification of nature as a whole (by the community of celestial gods) and individual natural and social phenomena was characteristic: So Indra is the god of thunder and powerful will; Varuna is the god of world order and justice; Agni is the god of fire and home; Soma is the god of the sacred drink. In total, 33 gods are considered to be the highest Vedic deities. The Indians of the Vedic era divided the whole world into 3 spheres - heaven, earth, antarizhna (the space between them), and certain deities were associated with each of these spheres. Varuna belonged to the gods of the sky; to the gods of the earth - Agni and Soma. There was no strict hierarchy of gods; referring to a specific god, the Vedic people endowed him with the characteristics of many gods. The creator of everything: gods, people, earth, sky, sun - was some abstract deity Purusha. Everything around - plants, mountains, rivers - was considered divine, a little later the doctrine of the transmigration of souls appeared. The Vedians believed that after death the soul of the saint goes to heaven, and the sinner goes to the land of Yama. Gods, like people, were able to die.

Many features of Vedism entered Hinduism, it was new stage in the development of spiritual life, i.e. the emergence of the first religion.

Hinduism

Hinduism encompasses a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The tolerance with which Hinduism treats a variety of religious forms is perhaps unique among the world's religions. In Hinduism, there is no church hierarchy or supreme authority, it is an entirely decentralized religion. Unlike Christianity or Islam, Hinduism did not have its own founder, whose teachings would be spread by followers. Most of the fundamental tenets of Hinduism were formulated at the time of Christ, but the roots of this religion are even older; some of the gods worshiped by Hindus today were worshiped by their ancestors almost 4,000 years ago. Hinduism developed constantly, absorbing and interpreting in its own way the beliefs and rituals of different peoples with which it came into contact. But, despite this, in Hinduism, the requirements of social and everyday traditions are extremely strong. Hinduism is extremely intolerant of violations of the many prohibitions and restrictions prescribed in the spheres of public, family and private life and different for numerous groups, castes and podcasts, into which Hinduism breaks the population and the partitions between which are still considered unshakable.

Despite the contradictions between the various versions of Hinduism, all of them are based on several definite fundamental positions.

Outside the ever-changing physical world, there is a single universal, unchanging, eternal spirit called Brahman. The soul (Atman) of every being in the Universe, including the gods, is a particle of this spirit. When the flesh dies, the soul does not perish, but passes into another body, where it continues a new life. The fate of the soul in each new life depends on its behavior in previous incarnations. The law of karma says: no sin remains without punishment, no virtue without reward; if a person has not received a well-deserved punishment or reward in this life, he will receive them in one of the subsequent ones. The behavior of a person determines the higher or lower status of the subsequent incarnation, it depends on him whether he will be born in the future as a human, a god, or, say, an insignificant insect.

For most Hindus, an important element of religious belief is the host of the gods. In Hinduism, there are hundreds of deities, from small deities of local importance to great gods, whose deeds are known in every Indian family. The most revered are Vishnu: Rama and Krishna, two forms or incarnations of Vishnu (guardian), Shiva (creator, guardian and destroyer at the same time) and the creator god Brahma.

Holy books play an important role in all varieties of Hinduism. Philosophical Hinduism emphasizes such classical Sanskrit texts as the Vedas and Upanishads. Popular Hinduism, honoring both the Vedas and the Upanishads, uses epic poems as sacred texts Ramayana and Mahabharata, often translated from Sanskrit into local languages. Part Mahabharata, Bhagavad gita, known to almost every Hindu. Bhagavad gita closest to what might be called the general scripture of Hinduism.

Buddhism

Much later than Vedism, Buddhism developed in India. The creator of this teaching was born in 563 in Lumbina into a Kshatriya family.

The story of the Buddha is interesting in itself:

GAUTAMA BUDDHA (6-5 centuries BC) At birth, Buddha was named Siddhartha, and the name of his clan or family - Gautama. The biography of Siddhartha Gautama is known only in the presentation of his followers. These traditional accounts, originally transmitted orally, were not written down until several centuries after his death. The most famous legends about the life of Buddha are included in the collection Jataka, compiled around the 2nd century. BC. in the Pali language (one of the most ancient Middle Indian languages).

Siddhartha was born in Kapilavastu, in the southern part of what is now Nepal, around the 6th century. BC. His father Shuddhodhana, the head of the noble Shakya clan, belonged to the warrior caste. According to legend, at the birth of a child, his parents were predicted that he would become either a great Ruler or a Teacher of the Universe. The father, who firmly decided that the son should be his heir, took all measures to ensure that the son did not see any signs or sufferings of the world. As a result, Siddhartha spent his youthful years in luxury, as befits a wealthy young man... He married cousin Yashodhara, having won her in a competition for agility and strength (svayamvara), in which he put all other participants to shame. A contemplative man, he soon grew tired of an idle life and turned to religion. At the age of 29, despite the efforts of his father, he still saw four signs that were to determine his fate. For the first time in his life, he saw old age (a decrepit old man), then illness (a person worn out by illness), death (a dead body) and true serenity (a wandering mendicant monk). In reality, the people Siddhartha saw were gods who assumed this form in order to help Siddhartha become a Buddha. Siddhartha was at first very saddened, but soon realized that the first three signs indicated the constant presence of suffering in the world. Suffering seemed to him all the more terrible because, according to the beliefs of that time, a person after death was doomed to all new births. Therefore, there was no end to suffering, it was eternal. In the fourth sign, in the serene inner joy of a mendicant monk, Siddhartha saw his future destiny.

Even the happy news of the birth of his son did not make him happy, and one night he left the palace and rode away on his faithful horse Kanthaka. Siddhartha took off his expensive clothes, changed into a monk's dress, and soon settled as a hermit in the forest. Then he joined the five ascetics in the hope that mortification of the flesh would lead him to insight and peace. After six years of the strictest austerity, never reaching his goal, Siddhartha parted with the ascetics and began to lead a more moderate lifestyle.

One day Siddhartha Gautama, who was already thirty-five years old, sat under a large bo tree (a kind of fig tree) near the town of Gaia in eastern India and made a vow that he would not budge until he solved the riddle of suffering. For forty-nine days he sat under a tree. Friendly gods and spirits fled from him when the tempter Mara, the Buddhist devil, approached. Day after day Siddhartha resisted various temptations. Mara summoned his demons and unleashed a tornado, flood and earthquake on the meditating Gautama. He told his daughters - Desire, Pleasure and Passion - to seduce Gautama with erotic dances. When Mara demanded that Siddhartha present evidence of his kindness and mercy, Gautama touched the ground with his hand, and the earth said, "I am his witness."

In the end, Mara and his demons fled, and on the morning of the 49th day, Siddhartha Gautama learned the truth, solved the riddle of suffering and understood what a person must do to overcome it. Fully enlightened, he has reached the ultimate detachment from the world (nirvana), which means the end of suffering.

He spent another 49 days in meditation under a tree, and then went to the Deer Park near Benares, where he found five ascetics with whom he lived in the forest. It was to them that Buddha read his first sermon. Soon the Buddha acquired many followers, the most beloved of whom was his cousin Ananda, and organized a community (sangha), in fact, a monastic order (bhikkhus - "beggars"). The Buddha instructed the dedicated followers in liberation from suffering and the attainment of nirvana, and the laity in the moral way of life. The Buddha traveled extensively, returning home for a short time to convert his own family and courtiers. Over time, they began to call him Bhagavan ("Lord"), Tathagatha ("He came thus" or "So departed") and Shakyamuni ("Sage from the Sakya clan").

Buddhism in its origins is associated not only with Brahmanism, but also with other religious and religious - philosophical systems of ancient India.

Initially, the elements of the new religious teaching, according to the Buddhist tradition, were passed down orally by monks to their disciples. They began to receive literary design relatively late - in the 2nd - 1st centuries. BC. The Pali collection of Buddhist canonical literature, created around 80 BC, has survived. to Sri Lanka and later called "tipitaka" (Skt. - "tripitaka") - "three baskets of the law".

In the 3rd - 1st centuries. BC. and in the first centuries A.D. further development of Buddhism takes place, in particular, a coherent life story of Buddha is created, canonical literature is formed. Monks - theologians develop logical "foundations" of the main religious dogmas, often referred to as the "philosophy of Buddhism." Theological subtleties remained the property of a relatively small circle of monks who had the opportunity to devote all their time to scholastic disputes. At the same time, another, moral - cult side of Buddhism developed, i.e. the "path" that can lead everyone to the end of suffering. This "path" was actually that ideological weapon that contributed to keeping the working masses in obedience for many centuries.

Buddhism has enriched religious practice with a technique related to the field of individual worship. This refers to such a form of religious behavior as bhavana - deepening into oneself, into one's inner world for the purpose of concentrated reflection on the truths of faith, which was further spread in such directions of Buddhism as "Chan" and "Zen". Many researchers believe that ethics in Buddhism is central and this makes it more of an ethical, philosophical doctrine, and not a religion. Most of the concepts in Buddhism are vague, ambiguous, which makes it more flexible and well adapted to local cults and beliefs, capable of transformation. Thus, the followers of Buddha formed numerous monastic communities, which became the main centers for the spread of religion.

By the Mauryan period, two directions took shape in Buddhism: sthaviravadins and mahasangiki. The latter teaching formed the basis of the Mahayana. The oldest Mahayana texts appear as early as the first century BC. One of the most important in the Mahayana doctrine is the teaching of a Bodhisattva-being who is capable of becoming a Buddha, approaching the attainment of nirvana, but out of compassion for people who do not enter it .. The division of Buddhism into two branches: Hinayana ("small carriage") and Mahayana (" big carriage ”) was caused, first of all, by differences in socio-political conditions of life in certain parts of India. Hinayana, which is more closely associated with early Buddhism, recognizes Buddha as a person who has found a path to salvation, which is considered attainable only through withdrawal from the world - monasticism. The Mahayana proceeds from the possibility of salvation not only for hermits-monks, but also for the laity, and the emphasis is placed on active preaching work, on interference in public and state life. The Mahayana, in contrast to the Hinayana, more easily adapted to spreading outside India, giving rise to many confessions and trends, Buddha gradually becomes the supreme deity, temples are built in his honor, and cult actions are performed.

An important difference between Hinayana and Mahayana is that Hinayana completely rejects the path to salvation for non-monks who voluntarily rejected worldly life. In the Mahayana, an important role is played by the cult of bodhisattvas - individuals who are already able to enter nirvana, but conceal the achievement of the final goal because of helping other, not necessarily monks, achieve it, thereby replacing the requirement to leave the world with a call to influence it.

Early Buddhism is distinguished by the simplicity of its rituals. Its main element is: the cult of Buddha, preaching, veneration of holy places associated with the birth, enlightenment and death of Guatama, worship of stupas - religious buildings where relics of Buddhism are kept. The Mahayana added the veneration of bodhisattvas to the cult of Buddha, thereby complicating the ritual: prayers and various kinds of spells were introduced, sacrifices began to be practiced, and a magnificent ritual arose.

Like any religion, Buddhism contained the idea of ​​salvation - in Buddhism it is called "nirvana". It is possible to achieve it only by following certain commandments. Life is suffering that arises in connection with desire, the striving for earthly existence and its joys. Therefore, one should give up desires and follow the "Eightfold Path" The Eightfold Path "consists in following the following principles.

1. The correct view is the understanding of the "four noble truths", i.e. suffering, its causes, its cessation and the path leading to the cessation of suffering.

2. Right thought - deliverance from lust, evil will, cruelty and unrighteousness.

3. Correct speech - avoiding lies, spreading gossip, rudeness and idle chatter.

4. The correct action is to abstain from murder, theft and sexual immorality.

5. The correct way of life - the choice of those activities that do not harm anything living.

6. Right diligence - avoiding and overcoming bad tendencies, nurturing and strengthening good and healthy tendencies.

7. Right attention - observing the state of the body, sensations, mind and objects on which the mind focuses in order to understand and control them.

8. Correct Concentration - Concentration of the mind in meditation to induce the well-known ecstatic states of consciousness leading to insights.

In Buddhism, the ethical side played a huge role. Following the "Eightfold Path", a person should rely on himself, and not seek outside help. Buddhism did not recognize the existence of God - the creator, on whom everything in the world depends, including human life. The cause of all man's earthly suffering lies in his personal blindness; inability to give up worldly desires. Nirvana can be achieved only by extinguishing all reactions to the world, by destroying one's own “I”.

Jainism

The founder of the Jain doctrine is considered Mahavira Vardhamana(lived in the 6th century BC, more exact date no), came from a wealthy Kshatriya family in Videha (present-day Bihar). At the age of 28, he leaves his home to, after 12 years of asceticism and philosophical reasoning, come to the principles of the new teaching. Then he was engaged in preaching work. At first he found disciples and numerous followers in Bihar, but soon his teachings spread throughout India. Vardhamana is also called Gina (The winner means the winner over the cycle of rebirth and karma). According to Jain tradition, he was only the last of 24 teachers - tirthakaras (creators of the path), whose teachings arose in the distant past. For a long time the Jain doctrine existed only in the form of an oral tradition, and relatively late (in the 5th century AD) the canon was drawn up. Therefore, it is not always easy to distinguish the original core of Jain doctrine from later interpretations and additions.

The Jain teaching, in which (as in other Indian systems) religious speculation is mixed with philosophical reasoning, proclaims dualism. The essence of human personality is twofold - material (ajiva) and spiritual (jiva). The link between them is karma , understood as subtle matter, which forms the body of karma and enables the soul to unite with gross matter. The union of inanimate matter with the soul by the bonds of karma leads to the emergence of an individual, and karma constantly accompanies the soul in an endless chain of rebirth. The Jains have developed the concept of karma in detail and distinguish between eight types of different karmas, which are based on two fundamental qualities. Evil karmas negatively affect the main properties of the soul, which, according to the Jains, it acquired, being perfect in its natural form. Good karmas keep the soul in the cycle of rebirth. And only when a person gradually gets rid of good and bad karmas, his liberation from the bondage of samsara will take place. Jains believe that a person with the help of his spiritual essence can control and manage the material essence. Only he himself decides what is good and evil and to what to attribute everything that occurs to him in life. God is just a soul that once lived in a material body and was freed from the fetters of karma and the chain of rebirth. In the Jain concept, God is not seen as a creator god or a god who interferes in human affairs.

Liberation of the soul from the influence of karma and samsara is possible only with the help of austerity and the performance of good deeds. Therefore, Jainism pays great attention to the development of ethics, traditionally called three jewels (triratna). It speaks of the correct understanding, conditioned by the correct faith, the correct knowledge and the resulting correct knowledge and, finally, the correct life. The first two principles relate primarily to faith and knowledge of Jain teachings. Correct life, in the understanding of the Jains, is essentially a greater or lesser degree of austerity. A lot of space in the texts is devoted to the principles, various stages and forms of asceticism. The path of liberating the soul from samsara is complex and multiphase. The goal is personal salvation, for a person can only free himself, and no one can help him. This explains the egocentric character of Jain ethics. Ethical principles, developed primarily for members of Jain communities, detail the various oaths taken by monks and nuns. They absolutize, in particular, the principles of not harming living beings, the principles relating to sexual abstinence, removal from worldly wealth; the norms of activity, behavior, etc. are determined.

Various speculative constructions, for example, about the ordering of the world, are also an integral part of the Jain canon. Cosmos, according to Jains, is eternal, it was never created and cannot be destroyed. The concepts of ordering the world come from the science of the soul, which is constantly limited by the matter of karma. Souls that are heavily burdened with it are placed the lowest and, as they get rid of karma, gradually rise higher and higher until they reach the highest limit. In addition, the canon also contains reasoning about both basic essences (jiva - ajiva), about the individual components that make up the cosmos, about the so-called environment of rest and motion, about space and time. It contains, among other things, mythological legends that relate to the life and accomplishments of individual Tirthankars, and legends associated with the personality of Vardhamana, and descriptions of the underworld and the middle world (our Earth).

Over the course of time, two directions were formed in Jainism, which differed, in particular, in the understanding of asceticism. Orthodox views defended Digambaras . (literally: dressed in air, i.e., rejecting clothing), a more moderate approach proclaimed shvetambara (literally: dressed in white). The influence of Jainism gradually declined, although it has survived in India to this day.

Philosophy

In ancient India, philosophy reached a very high development. Indian philosophy is truly "living fruits" that continue to feed the world's human thought with their juices. Indian philosophy has retained complete continuity. And no philosophy has had such a strong impact on the West as Indian. Philosophy in India arose on the basis of one of the most ancient human civilizations; its thousand-year-old traditions dating back to the 15th-10th centuries. BC e., have survived to the present day. In the history of Indian philosophy, four periods are usually distinguished:

1) the Vedic period;

2) the classical, or Brahman-Buddhist, period - from the 6th century. BC NS. up to 10 c. n. NS,;

3) post-classical - 10-18 centuries;

4) new and modern Indian philosophy.

Already in the first monuments in Vedah, along with hymns in honor of numerous yogis, there is the concept of a single world order - the concept of Rita. Religious and philosophical commentaries on the Vedas - Upanishads contain ideas that largely determined the entire subsequent development of the philosophy of India (about the unity of the integral spiritual substance, brahman, and the individual soul, atman; about the immortality of the soul, which passes from one birth to another, according to the law of karma, or retribution) Along with religious idealistic teachings in the Upanishads reflected the views of materialists and atheists, who rejected the authority of the Vedas, the existence of the soul after the death of a person, and considered one of the material principles to be the fundamental principle of the world. In the classical period, philosophy developed under the strong influence of the Vedas and Upanishads. Since the early Middle Ages, a tradition has developed to divide all philosophical schools into orthodox, which recognized the authority of the Vedas, and unorthodox, which rejected the infallibility of the Vedas. Of the Orthodox schools, six are considered the main ones: these are mimamsa, sankhoya, yoga, nyaya, vaisesika and Vedanta. Unorthodox schools include Buddhist, Jain, and numerous materialistic and atheistic schools, the most common of which was the Charvaka school. (Lokaita). Although such a division has historical grounds, it nevertheless hides the true spring of the development of philosophy - the struggle between materialism and idealism. Both Buddhist and "orthodox" sources condemn primarily materialistic schools. Shankara, the most eminent philosopher of Vedanta, violently attacks both the materialistic ideas of the Sankhya thinkers and the empiricism of Nyaya and Vaisesika. He dissociates himself from common sense and approaches the idealistic and mystical schools. In the bosom Buddhism the idealistic schools of Madhya-miks and Yogacharas fought against the materialistic teachings of Theraaadins and Sarvastivadins. Fierce disputes between various philosophical schools gave rise to the science of the art of dispute, the sources of knowledge and reliable knowledge - logic. The first information about Indian logic can be gleaned already in early Buddhist sources (3rd century BC), then logic develops in the Nyaya school, and later - in the treatises of Buddhist logicians Dignagi, Dharmakirti, etc. By the end of the classical period Jainism loses its meaning, and Buddhism assimilates Hinduism. At this time, the Vish-Nuite and Shaiva systems of Hinduism developed, which taught that the Brahman of the Upanishads is the god Shiva.

Yoga

Yoga is based on the Vedas and is one of the Vedic schools of thought. Yoga means "concentration", the sage Patanjali (II century BC) is considered its founder. Yoga is philosophy and practice. Yoga is an individual way of salvation and is designed to achieve control over feelings and thoughts, primarily through meditation. In the yoga system, belief in God is viewed as an element of the theoretical worldview and as a condition for practical activities aimed at liberation from suffering. Connection with the One is necessary for realizing one's own unity. With successful mastery of meditation, a person comes to a state of samadhi (i.e., a state of complete introversion, achieved after a number of physical and mental exercises and concentration). In addition, yoga also includes the rules for eating. Food is divided into three categories according to the three modes of material nature to which it belongs. For example, food in the modes of ignorance and passion is capable of multiplying suffering, misery, illness (first of all, this is meat). Yoga teachers pay special attention to the need to develop tolerance towards other teachings.

Literature of Ancient India

The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of transmitting the text. The true encyclopedias of Indian life are the two great epic poems of ancient India, Mahabharata and Ramayana. They capture all aspects of the life of the ancient Indians. The epos absorbed material that, taking shape from the oral poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character, including religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent eras, many prominent Indian artists, including the famous Kalidasa, drew their inspiration from these treasures of the wisdom of their people.

In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the collection of stories and parables "Panchatantra", based on folklore, gained particular popularity. He was translated into many languages, and people got to know him early enough in Russia.

From the literature related to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (1-2 century AD) stands out clearly. The poem Buddhacharita, written by him, was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature. The era of the Guptas was the time of the development of the ancient Indian theater. Even special treatises on drama have appeared. The tasks of the theater, the technique of the actors' play were determined. Indian theater tradition predates Greek tradition.

The theory of literary creativity, including poetry, reached a high level in ancient India. The rules of versification, treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of "poetic science" appeared, there were debates about genres, about the purpose of literature and about artistic language.

The concept of the divine nature of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech underlies the arts and sciences. In Panini's grammar "The Eight Books", the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scholars find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.

VEDA - the first monument of thought of the ancient Indians

The first monuments of thought of the ancient Indians were "VEDA", literally meaning "knowledge, knowledge" in translation from Sanskrit. VEDA, having arisen between the second and first millennia BC, played a huge, decisive role in the development of the spiritual culture of ancient Indian society, including the development of philosophical thought.

Hindus recognize two types of authoritative religious literature: shruti ("heard"), considered either eternal and self-existent, or manifested as a result of divine revelation, and smrti ("remembrance"), considered the creation of man and has less authority. Vedic literature includes all the sruti and some smritis, and, first of all, the four main assemblies (samhita), each of which is called veda ("sacred knowledge"). The oldest and most important of the Vedas is Rigveda (Veda of hymns) containing 1,028 hymns. The hymns consist of an average of ten stanzas each and were performed during rituals dedicated to fire and soma ("sacred libation"); they are grouped into ten sections (mandala), of which sections 2–7 are recognized as the most archaic. The final edition of the monument was probably completed by the 10th century. BC. The main content of the hymns Rigveda is the praise of the Vedic gods and the appeal to them with prayers.

Second Veda, Samaveda (Veda of chants), contains 1549 stanzas, almost entirely borrowed from Rigveda and used as chants during the sacrifice of soma (and to the god Soma). Samaveda also contains songbooks (ghana) explaining how these stanzas are performed.

Third Veda, Yajurveda (The Veda of Sacrificial Formulas), existing in several editions, was a guide for the priests who directly performed the ritual of sacrifice, accompanied by recitation, prayers and chants of other priests. It consists of stanzas, mostly borrowed from Rigveda, and prosaic formulas (yajus) and was edited later than Rigveda.

Fourth Veda, Atharvaveda (Veda of spells and conspiracies), exists in several editions and includes 730 hymns containing about 6,000 stanzas, as well as prose. Language Atharvaveda indicates that it was compiled later Rigveda from which she borrows some material. Atharvaveda contains a variety of spells directed against individuals, demons and diseases, or to gain good luck in love, to increase offspring and material well-being.

After the Vedas were compiled, the Vedic sacrifices became even more complicated, and the priests composed prose called brahmanas, in which they detailed and explained the practice of performing sacrifices, indicated the Vedic verses suitable for each case, and developed theological and philosophical principles. This aspect of Hinduism is often referred to as Brahmanism. All four Vedas have brahmanas, the most important of them is Satapatha brahmana (Brahman of the Hundred Paths), adjacent to one of the editions Yajurveda... In addition to theology and ritual, the Brahmins include many legends, some historical questions and extensive factual data. Attached to the brahmanas are esoteric theological texts called aranyaki ("forest treatises"), intended for use by old brahmanas who live in forests far from their former surroundings. Upanishads are usually associated with aranyaks, containing large sections devoted to the mystical interpretation of the universe in relation to man. The Upanishads are the oldest philosophical works of India. They, in a relaxed manner, through some story, riddle, dialogue and religious verse, reveal various ideas that later became basic in the famous Indian philosophies and influenced Buddhism and Jainism, as well as Hinduism. The only task of the Upanishads was the identification of the individual soul with the universal soul. The period of the emergence of the Brahmanas with related Upanishads is approximately 8–5 centuries. BC NS. In later times, other Upanishads were created that were not associated with the brahmanas. Sruti, i.e. literature - "revelation".

The rest of the Vedic literature is occupied by Vedangas ("members of the Vedas"), which are designed to ensure the correct use of Vedic materials and are devoted to phonetics, prosody, grammar, etymology, astronomy and ritual. The latter is called Kalpa and includes works-sutras ("thread") - aphorisms transmitted orally and often inaccessible for understanding without accompanying commentary. Already at this time, the first elements of philosophical consciousness appeared, the formation of the first philosophical teachings (both religious-idealistic and materialistic) began.

Upanishads

Upanishads ("to sit near", that is, at the feet of the teacher, receiving instructions; or - "secret, secret knowledge") - philosophical texts that appeared about one thousand years BC and in form represented, as a rule, a dialogue of a sage a teacher with his student or with a person seeking the truth and subsequently becoming his student. A total of about 150 Upanishads are known. They are dominated by the problem of the root cause, the beginning of being, with the help of which the origin of all phenomena of nature and man is explained. The dominant place in the Upanishads is occupied by teachings that consider the spiritual principle - Brahman, or Atman, as the primary cause and fundamental principle of being. Brahman and Atman are usually used synonymously, although Brahman is more often used to denote God, the omnipresent spirit, and Atman, the soul. Beginning with the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman become the central concepts of all Indian philosophy (and above all Vedanta). In some Upanishads, there is an identification of Brahman and Atman with the material primary cause of the world - food, breath, material primary elements (water, air, earth, fire), or with the whole world as a whole. In most of the texts of the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman are interpreted as a spiritual absolute, the incorporeal root cause of nature and man.

The idea of ​​the identity of the spiritual essence of the subject (man) and the object (nature) runs through all the Upanishads, which is reflected in the famous saying: "Tat tvam asi" ("You are that", or "You are one with that") ...

The Upanishads and the ideas expressed in them do not contain a coherent and coherent concept. With a general predominance of the explanation of the world as spiritual and incorporeal, they also present other judgments and ideas, and, in particular, attempts are made to explain the natural-philosophical explanation of the root cause and fundamental principle of the phenomena of the world and the essence of man. So, in some texts, there is a desire to explain the external and internal world, consisting of four or even five material elements. Sometimes the world is presented as undifferentiated being, and its development as a successive passage of certain states by this being: fire, water, earth, or - gaseous, liquid, solid. This is what explains all the diversity that is inherent in the world, including human society.

Cognition and acquired knowledge are classified in the Upanishads into two levels: lower and higher. At the lowest level, one can only cognize the surrounding reality. This knowledge cannot be true, since in its content it is fragmentary, incomplete. The highest is the knowledge of truth, i.e. spiritual absolute, this is the perception of being in its entirety, it can be acquired only with the help of mystical intuition, the latter, in turn, is formed largely thanks to yogic exercises. It is the highest knowledge that gives power over the world.

One of the most important problems in the Upanishads is the study of the essence of a person, his psyche, emotional disturbances and forms of behavior. The thinkers of Ancient India note the complexity of the structure of the human psyche and highlight such elements as consciousness, will, memory, breathing, irritation, tranquility, etc. their interconnection and mutual influence is emphasized. An undoubted achievement should be considered the characteristic of various states of the human psyche and, in particular, the waking state, light sleep, deep sleep, the dependence of these states on external elements and primary elements of the external world.

In the field of ethics in the Upanishads, the preaching of a passive-contemplative attitude towards the world prevails: the supreme happiness proclaims the deliverance of the soul from all worldly attachments and worries. In the Upanishads, a distinction is made between material and spiritual values, between good, as a calm state of the soul, and the base pursuit of sensual pleasures. By the way, it was in the Upanishads that the concept of transmigration of souls (samsara) and retribution for past actions (karma) were first expressed. Here, the desire is expressed to determine the cause-and-effect relationship in the chain of human actions. An attempt is also made with the help of moral principles (dharma) to correct human behavior at every stage of his existence. The Upanishads are essentially the foundation for all or almost all of the subsequent philosophical currents that appeared in India, since in them ideas were put or developed that for a long time "nourished" philosophical thought in India.

Mahabharata

Speaking about the philosophy of Ancient India, one cannot fail to mention the extensive epic poem Mahabharata, translated from Sanskrit "The Great War", which consists of 18 books telling about the struggle for power between two clans - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Perhaps this is the longest poem in the world, it includes both the Ramayana and the Bhagavad-Gita, the Heavenly Song, etc. Along with the narration about this struggle, various books of the Mahabharata also contain texts of philosophical content. The most interesting from this point of view are the "Bhagavad-Gita", "Mokshadharma", "Anugita" and some others (VII century BC - II century AD).

In terms of content and direction, most of the philosophical ideas of the Mahabharata represent a continuation and development of the prevailing views in the Upanishads about Brahman-Atman or Purusha as a spiritual absolute and about its comprehension as a means of salvation and deliverance from the fetters of karma and samsara. However, unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented mainly in the form of separate statements and statements with unsettled, sometimes amorphous terminology, in the Mahabharata there appear already developed and integral philosophical concepts that give a more or less uniform interpretation of the main worldview problems, ranging from ontological to ethical and sociological, and having a more strictly fixed and more unambiguous conceptual apparatus.

The main significance among these concepts in the epic is the teaching of Samkhya and yoga closely related to it, which were already episodically mentioned in the Upanishads. True, these teachings in different parts of the Mahabharata are set out in different ways, but everywhere they are based on the position of prakriti, or pradhana (matter, nature), as the source of all existing existence (including the psyche and consciousness) and independent of it and pure spirit unaffected by its modifications - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman).

The greatest interest from a philosophical point of view is one of the books - Bhagavad-Gita (divine song). In contrast to the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented in the form of separate statements and statements, there are already developed and integral philosophical concepts that give an interpretation of worldview problems. The main significance among these concepts is the teaching of Samkhya and the closely related yoga, which were occasionally mentioned in the Upanishads. The concept is based on the position of prakrit (matter, nature) as the source of all being (including the psyche, consciousness) and a pure spirit independent of it - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman). Thus, the worldview is dualistic, based on the recognition of two principles.

The main content of the Bhagavad-Gita (Skt. Song of the Blessed One, Vishnu-Krishna) is the teachings of the god Krishna. This is a religious and philosophical poem of 700 couplets, divided into 18 chapters and included in the 6th book of the great ancient Indian epic Mahabharata... Built in the form of a dialogue between Arjuna, one of the leaders of the Pandava army in the epic battle of Kurukshetra near Panipat, and his charioteer Krishna, who is considered the avatar (earthly incarnation) of the god Vishnu. Just before the battle, Arjuna ordered Krishna to carry him between the two armies lined up for battle. Observing them, Arjuna was saddened, for he realized that tomorrow he would have to fight with brothers in blood, friends, revered teachers. Krishna, instructing him, says that a warrior should not shy away from fighting for a righteous cause, and adds that one should not be afraid to harm a person, since the main thing in him is the soul, which cannot be destroyed and is one in all people. Then Krishna expounds his teaching about God and the soul and in Chapter 11 reveals himself to Arjuna. Convinced and enthusiastic, Arjuna is ready to start the battle he is destined to win. V Bhagavad gita various religious and philosophical views found expression, but its main idea is that the surest way to cognize God is zealous service to Him (bhakti).

God Krishna, according to Indian mythology, is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. God Krishna speaks of the need for each person to fulfill their social (varna) functions and duties, to be indifferent to the fruits of worldly activities, to devote all their thoughts to God. The Bhagavad Gita contains important concepts of ancient Indian philosophy: about the mystery of birth and death; on the relationship between prakriti and human nature; about genes (three material principles, born of nature: tamas - an inert inert principle, rajas - a passionate, active, exciting principle, sattva - an uplifting, enlightened, conscious principle). Their symbols are respectively black, red and white, which define the life of people; about the moral law (dharma) of the fulfillment of duty; about the path of a yogi (a person who has dedicated himself to yoga - the improvement of consciousness); about genuine and not genuine knowledge. Balance, detachment from passions and desires, detachment from the earthly are called the main virtues of a person.

Architecture, sculpture, painting of Ancient India.

Brick and stone construction begins mainly in the post-Aurian era. The surviving monuments are primarily associated with Buddhism. Religious architecture is represented by cave complexes, temples and stupas (stone structures in which Buddha's relics were kept). Of the cave complexes, the most interesting are the complexes in the city of Karl and in Ellora. The Karl cave temple is almost 14 m high, 14 m wide and about 38 m long. Here it is big number sculptures and stupas. The halls carved into the rocks reach an area of ​​approximately 500 square meters. m at a height of about 15 m. Typical of their internal design, reproducing the traditions of wooden architecture (floors and other elements, unnecessary in stone buildings, and even more so in caves).

Of the above-ground structures, the most significant are located in Sanchi. Here, on top of a large hill, not far from an important political center of the post-Aurian era, there was a huge Buddhist monastery. Little has survived from the monastery itself and the hotel for pilgrims. And the main attraction of Sanchi is a large stupa, built in the 2nd - 1st centuries. BC NS. On four sides of the world, it is surrounded by carved stone gates depicting scenes from Buddhist legends. Stone stupas are an indispensable feature of cave temples, being generally the most characteristic monuments of Buddhist architecture. The largest stupa in Lanka is comparable in size to the Egyptian pyramids.

Perhaps the most ancient monuments of Indian culture (of course, if not to talk about the period of the Indian civilization) are the columns on which the inscriptions of Ashoka are carved. All the columns were made from stone quarried in the vicinity of Varanasi, carefully polished and delivered to the remote areas of the Maurian state. The sculpture at the top of the column, such as the famous lions, exhibits a certain influence of Persian and possibly Greek art. This is obviously explained by the fact that Indian masters at that time were not yet accustomed to working with stone.

In the post-Aurian era, local schools of sculpture were formed. The most famous are the schools of Gandhara (Northwest India), Mathura region (central part of North India) and one of the Dean regions (Amaravati school).

The flourishing of the Gandhara school, which was strongly influenced by Hellenistic and Roman art, dates back to the first centuries of the Christian era. The Gandhara style has influenced the Buddhist art of Central and East Asia since the Kushan era. To a greater extent connected with the traditions of the fine arts of India, the schools of Mathura and Amaravati. It was on their basis that medieval art developed not only in India itself, but, to a certain extent, in the countries of Southeast Asia. The spread of "great chariot" Buddhism contributed to the emergence of a vast pantheon of bodhisattva saints. The massive finds of terracotta figurines indicate a wide demand for works of art associated with Buddhism.

World famous monuments of Indian painting are located in Ajanta (Western India). The cave temples and monasteries of Ajanta were created for almost a thousand years, starting from the post-laurian time. The walls of some of the halls are covered with vivid images of scenes from Buddhist traditions. Remarkable fragments of painting similar to those of Ajanta are also found in Sri Lanka.

Indian art, which is basically religious, is shaking the imagination of a modern person, a large number of works of which are of a secular nature and give purely aesthetic pleasure. After all, it is rooted in the rich heritage of ancient Indian religions, which have absorbed both polysyllabic philosophical thought and oral folk tradition. Numerous mythological subjects, artistic images and symbols eloquently testify to these origins of art. Ultimately, they all express the desire to break out of everyday human life and, after going through the appropriate stages, achieve spiritual enlightenment, which is defined by such concepts as nirvana, moksha, etc. Indian art is a visual embodiment of this main theme, and therefore its artistic images carry the wisdom of divine revelation.

Another characteristic feature of old Indian culture is the expression in artistic images of the idea of ​​worshiping the god of love - Kama. This meaning was based on the fact that the Indians considered the marriage couple of a god and a goddess as a process of cosmic creation. Therefore, images of God's punishment in strong embraces are common in temples.

Mathematics, astronomy, medicine of ancient India.

The discoveries of the ancient Indians in the field of exact sciences influenced the development of the Arab and Iranian-Persian sciences. An honorable place in the history of mathematics is occupied by the scientist Aryaphata, who lived in the 5th and early 6th centuries A.D. The scientist knew the meaning of "pi", he proposed an original solution to the linear equation. In addition, it was in Ancient India that the number system first became decimal (i.e. from zero). This system formed the basis of modern numbering and arithmetic. Algebra was more developed; and the concepts of "number", "sine", "root" first appeared in ancient India. The achievements of ancient Indian mathematicians surpassed what was done in these areas of knowledge in ancient Greece.

Ancient Indian treatises on astronomy testify to the very high development of this science. Regardless of ancient science, the Indian scientist Aryaphata expressed the idea of ​​the rotation of the Earth around its axis, for which he was angrily condemned by the priests. The introduction of the decimal system contributed to accurate astronomical calculations, although the ancient Indians did not have observatories and a telescope.

Until now, Ayurveda, the science of longevity, is in great esteem in India. It originated in ancient times. Ancient Indian doctors studied the properties of herbs, the effect of climate on human health. Great attention was given to personal hygiene and diet. Surgery was also at a high level; it is known about three hundred operations that ancient Indian doctors were able to do; in addition, 120 surgical instruments are mentioned. The popular Tibetan medicine today is based on the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.

Ancient Indian physicians believed that the human body is based on three main vital juices: wind, bile and phlegm - they were identified with the principles of movement, fire and softening. Indian medicine paid special attention to the influence of natural conditions on the human body, as well as heredity. There were also treatises on medical ethics.

Summarizing all these facts, it should be noted that the veneration of knowledge is a distinctive feature of Indo-Buddhist culture. Experts from many countries came to India to study. Universities functioned in a number of Indian cities, where religious and philosophical texts, astronomy, astrology, mathematics, medicine and Sanskrit were studied. But it is characteristic that Euclidean geometry did not appear in Indian science. And this is no coincidence. The Indo-Buddhist cultural tradition was not particularly rational. Indian scientists were not interested in the logic of scientific knowledge, they were more worried about the secrets of the universe and the practical issues of calculating, making a calendar and measuring spatial forms.

Conclusion

“As for the Indians, we find that they have excelled in astronomy, arithmetic and medicine, have mastered the secrets of the art of medicine. They carve sculptures and images, they have a letter rich in letters ... The Indians have rich poetry, developed oratory, medicine, philosophy, ethics. The science of astronomy comes from them, and other people borrowed it. From them went the science of thinking. "

The culture of India not only absorbed the achievements of other cultures, but also made an equally significant contribution to world culture. First of all, it should be noted that all of Southeast Asia took over most of its culture from India. In this region, powerful powers with great cultures have developed, leaving such remarkable monuments of their greatness as the Buddhist stupa Boro-bodur in Java or the Shaivite temples of Angkor in Cambodia. The entire Far East is indebted to India for Buddhism, which contributed to the formation of the peculiar cultures of China, Korea, Japan and Tibet.

The culture of India also had a strong influence on the West: Goethe and many other writers of the early 19th century. read all the works of ancient Indian literature translated by that time. Beginning with Goethe, most of the great German philosophers were aware to some extent of the teachings of Indian philosophy. Schopenhauer, who had a great influence on literature and psychology, openly admitted that he was influenced by Indian thought, and adhered to true Buddhist views, the monistic teachings of Fichte and Hegel would never have taken their form if there had not been a translation of the Upanishads. In the English-speaking world, America was the most influential in India, where Emerson, Thoreau, and other New England writers eagerly studied Indian religious literature; they had a tremendous impact on their contemporaries and followers, especially Walt Whitman. Through Carlyle and other thinkers, German philosophers influenced England just as the Americans did through many late 19th century writers such as Richard Jeffreys and Edward Carpenter.

In modern India, cultural heritage is respected. This country is characterized by the vitality of ancient traditions and it is not surprising that many of the achievements of ancient Indian civilization were included in the general cultural fund of the Indians. They have become an integral component of world civilization, and India itself remains one of the most beloved and mysterious countries in the world, "the land of the wise."

Bibliography:

1. Polikarpov V.S. Lectures on cultural studies. M .: "Gardarika", 1997

2. D.Yu. Stolyarov, V.V. Kortunov A textbook on cultural studies. M., 1998.

3. The ancient world. Versions, hypotheses, opinions. (Web site)

4. Philosophical Dictionary. M., 1991.

5. Great Encyclopedia of Moliere. Compact disc.

Digital library Safonov College of Information Technologies. Toolkit

ANCIENT LITERATURE

The literature of Ancient India is myths, legends, hymns to the gods, epics, philosophical treatises, parables and fairy tales in different languages ​​- Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil. It also unites different beliefs - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The literature of the northern part of India was created by the descendants of the warlike Indo-Aryan tribes who invaded around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. NS. across the Hindu Kush pass to Northwest India. These tribes called themselves Aryans (translated from Sanskrit "noble", "worthy"), in contrast to the dark-skinned aborigines who inhabited the Indian subcontinent before their arrival and called dasa (Sanskrit "enemy", "slave"). It was the dasas, who were driven to the south of India by the Aryans, and were probably the ancestors of modern Tamils.

In Indian literary texts, no matter what genre they belong to, legends, traditions and stories about real events are combined into a single stream, for India did not know historiography. Since ancient times, the historical approach to reality did not interest the Indians - they appreciated only the spiritual side of life, which is associated with their special religious and philosophical attitude.

Indian culture is one of the oldest in the world, and the literary tradition in India, unlike, for example, the Egyptian, has not been interrupted throughout its development. Ancient Indian literature is still considered sacred by the Indians and is perceived as a revelation and at the same time as an instruction for all occasions.

VEDIC LITERATURE

The Vedas (Skt. "Sacred knowledge") are considered the beginning of the ancient Indian literature of the North Indian region. There are four of them: Rig Veda (Veda of hymns; the word “rich” means “hymn”), Samaveda (Veda of melodies; “Saman” - “song of praise”, “harmony”), Yajurveda (Veda of sacrificial formulas, ritual sayings and incantations; “yaj "-" to sacrifice "," to make a sacrifice ") and Atharvaveda (Veda of spells, or atharvans;" atharvan "-" priest "). They are addressed to four groups of priests who perform specific functions in the act of sacrifice: the Rig Veda is addressed to the main priest, who reads hymns and communicates with the gods; Samaveda - a connoisseur of melodies; Yajurveda - "practice", the manipulator of sacrifice; Atharvaveda — to the brahmana who is in charge of the whole process.

The literary Vedas took shape at different times: the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas, in 1200-1000. BC NS.; the other three - approximately in the 9th-6th centuries. BC NS.

The Vedas contain the knowledge of the ancient Indians about gods, people and sacrifice, which unites the earthly and divine worlds. They reflected ideas ancient man about the world around him, about space, ritual, social structure, ethical values ​​and morality. In India, the Vedas are sacred and traditionally refer to texts called sruti (Sankt. "Heard"). Followers of Hinduism understand shruti as a revelation sent by the gods to the sages-rishis. Rishis are thus considered the legendary ancestors of poetry, and therefore every poet is illuminated by divine effulgence.

Introductory article and compilation by P. Grinzer

The literatures of the Ancient East, separated from our time by tens of centuries, came to pass in two fundamentally different ways. Some literatures, closed in their existence by the framework of the ancient world, became known mainly due to happy finds and archaeological discoveries. Others, whose development was so differently continued in subsequent centuries, remained in the mainstream of their own cultural tradition, which was far from being exhausted by the period of antiquity. Naturally, literatures of the first kind (such as Egyptian, Sumerian-Akkadian, Hittite, Ugarpian) are familiar to us for the most part in random extracts and fragments. However, it is precisely the chance of getting to know them that we owe much to the fact that they appear before us in the living dynamics of growth and the variety of types of texts. Monuments of other literatures, on the contrary, were deliberately and systematically selected, combined into extensive vaults, usually of a religious nature, carefully edited by the compilers of the vaults. We have every reason to believe that the most significant and perfect works were selected; but since they have undergone targeted processing, a certain kind of speculative reconstruction and a considerable amount of research imagination are required in order to correctly cordon them in their original functions and appearance. It is to such ancient literatures, along with Chinese, Iranian and Jewish, that Indian literature belongs.

The overwhelming majority of the monuments of Indian literature of antiquity (conditionally: before the first centuries of our era) were included in four grandiose literary complexes: Vedic, Buddhist, Jai and epic ( Since excerpts from the ancient Indian epic poems "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" will constitute a separate volume of the "Library of World Literature", and the texts of the sacred canon of the Jain religious sect are narrowly pragmatic in content and have relatively little artistic value, both are not included in this section. In the future, therefore, we will mainly talk about two of the four named literary complexes - Vedic and Buddhist.). Indian tradition, each of these complexes, both formally and but essentially, is considered as strictly one, wholly connected with one or another religious. movement within Indian society of the 1st millennium BC. NS. But at the same time, it is obvious that they all consist of a multitude of independently formed texts, combine heterogeneous and contradictory elements, often therefore radically rethought. Vedic, Buddhist, epic and even Jain complexes, both in their scale and in the variety of monuments, are a kind of “literatures in the literature,” and like any other literature, they have undergone a long evolution in the course of their creation, have a complex history and prehistory.

One of the most important pages of this prehistory was opened for us relatively recently. Over the past fifty years, an urban civilization has been discovered on the vast territory of the Indus River basin and adjacent areas, which archaeologists and historians attribute to the III-II millennium BC. This civilization, called the Indus Valley civilization or Kharashsh, after one of its main centers, was in no way inferior to the modern advanced cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was distinguished by highly developed economics, architecture, fine arts; She undoubtedly possessed literature, and not only oral, but possibly written, since archaeological excavations introduced us to numerous samples of Harappan writing, still, however, not yet completely deciphered.

The latest research has established between the Harappa civilization and the subsequent, so-called Aryan, civilization of India approximately the same continuity that existed between the civilizations of Sumer in Babylon or Mycenaean and Homeric Greece. This continuity can be traced in various fields of culture, including literature. In the Hindu pantheon, the Harappan origins of such deities as Aditi, Prithivl, Shiva are evident; many folklore and literary motives (for example, Buddhist jatakas and "Panchatantras") show clear parallels with images on Harappan seals-amulets; from the distant pre-Aryan past, the central figures of Rama and Krishna penetrated into Indian religions and epic legends. Through the Harappan civilization, which was in close, and perhaps genetically determined, ties with the Sumerian civilization, Indian literature has assimilated some Mesopotamian subjects, among which it is impossible not to note the world famous legend about the flood, attested both in the epic and in the Vedic brahmanas.

The discovery of the Harappan culture also raised the question of the relationship between ancient Indian literatures of different languages. Since the first surviving monuments of the Tamil (Dravidian) language date back to about the 3rd century. n. e., the very concept of "ancient Indian literature" was previously applied only to texts compiled in Indo-Aryan languages: Sanskrit and its dialects, Prakrit, Pali. At the same time, the indications of Tamil sources seemed unreliable that they were based on a literary tradition going back to the depths of the 1st, 2nd and even 3rd millennia BC. NS. Now, when most experts tend to see the language of the Harappan inscriptions as a proto-Dravidian language, these indications unexpectedly found a real basis under themselves, and one has to reckon with the presence in ancient Indian culture and literature of an extensive and essential Dravidian substrate.

If, while reconstructing the cultural contribution of the Indus Valley civilization, we have the right to speak only about the prehistory of ancient Indian literature, then its history itself begins with the arrival of Indo-Aryan tribes in India (about the XIV-XIII centuries BC), which until then constituted the territorial, and partly and ethnic community with the ancient Iranian tribes. From their ancestral homeland, the Indo-Arpi brought beliefs belonging to their Indo-Iranian past, which affected the sometimes surprising proximity of the most ancient Indian and Iranian texts. At the same time, they learned much from the heritage of the pre-Aryan population of India, and also developed new ideas and customs that met the needs of the changed conditions of their lives. And all this complex synthesis of brought from outside, autochthonous and newly created traditions was the cultural background on which the first works of ancient Indian literature - the Vedas - appeared.

The word "Veda" means "knowledge", more precisely - the highest spiritual knowledge, and the monuments of the Vedas are considered by the adherents of the Hindu religion as an eternally existing and everlasting divine revelation. This cult function of Vedic literature does not throw it, as we have already said, to be a collection of texts of the most different origin, purpose and appearance. The Vedas include compositions in poetry and prose, hymns to the gods and folk songs, heroic legends and everyday parables, didactic instructions and philosophical commentaries. Accordingly, Vedic monuments are divided into several categories. The first category of Vedic literature includes four collections (samhitas.) Of hymns, conspiracies and sacrificial incantations; to the second - brahmanas, theological treatises in prose; to the third - aranyaks and upapishads, philosophical teachings and dialogues.

In relation to the samhitas, brahmanas, arayyakas and upaiishadai, the Indian tradition uses the term sruti (literally: "heard"). This term in its meaning corresponds to the concept of "sacred scripture" among Christians, but at the same time it is intended to emphasize that in their ritual quality the Vedic texts were never written down or read, but at first they were "heard" from God by their creators, saints sages-rishis, and then "listened" from the priests at religious ceremonies and from the teacher by his disciples. In turn, the texts of the Shruti category are adjoined by monuments of the fourth (and no longer “divine”, but “earthly”) category of Vedic literature - Vedanga (literally: “parts of the Vedas”), which set out six auxiliary disciplines necessary for a correct understanding of this literature: ritual, phonetics, grammar, etymology, metrics and astronomy.

The abundance and variety of Vedic monuments in itself suggests that in the diachronic perspective, Vedic literature has gone through many stages of development. Indeed, the time of the creation of the Vedas covers an entire era: from the end of the 2nd to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. At the same time, the most ancient Vedic samhita "Rig Veda" took shape, apparently, by 1000 BC. e., the design of other samhitas, "Sachaveda", "Yajurveda" and "Atharvaveda", falls on the IX-VII centuries BC. e, and the final edition of the Brahmanas and early Upanishads took place in the 8th - 6th centuries. Don. NS. (some Upannshads and Vedangas refer even to a later period - IV-III centuries BC). Separated from each other for centuries, the Vedic monuments naturally reflect different levels of socio-political relations (from the primitive communal to the glorious caste system), different levels of artistic understanding of reality. And nevertheless, within the framework of the Vedic canon, in its main function of an integral religious and cult complex, both monuments are perceived by the Indian tradition, and to some extent by the modern European reader, as a single and interconnected system of texts.

The hymns of the four Vedic samhitas are formally intended for the four main priests of the Vedic ritual and are directly included in its composition, sanctifying and interpreting each ritual action. Brahmans explain the exoteric aspect of the ritual, the origin, meaning and purpose of individual ritual ceremonies, and the Aranyaks and Upanishads explain its esoteric aspect, offering a metaphysical interpretation of Vedic dogma. Accordingly, it is customary, according to tradition, to consider the samhitas of the Vedas as the Vedas proper, and the brahmanas, aranyaks and Upanishads as exegetical ("explanatory") literature of the Vedas, and each of the categories of this literature is associated with a certain level (ritual, didactic, philosophical) of the content of the samhita.

Of course, this kind of synchronous, systematic approach is rather arbitrary, the Vedic monuments, taken separately, are completely independent and have a clearly expressed specificity. But at the same time, it is undoubted that any of the lnh in the general structure of Vedic literature occupies its own, special bridge and acquires a functional load arising from the peculiarities of this structure. Let us note in passing that the same is the case in other literatures of the Ancient East: the unification of heterogeneous texts into a religious canon such as the Bible or the Avesta leads, as a rule, to their rethinking and subordination to the general tasks of the canon.

Diversity and at the same time functional unity characterize individual monuments of Vedic literature. The Rig Veda (Veda of Hymns), from which, by the way, borrowed almost the entire text of the Samaveda and some parts of the Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda, stands out among the Saihpt Vedas with its artistic merit and depth of content. The overwhelming majority of the hymns of the Rig Veda are praises, prayers and requests addressed to the gods. All of them are designed to provide the petitioner with the location of the gods and the material or spiritual blata desired for him. Thus, they are united by a common cult, magical purpose, which neutralizes their individual characteristics with a functional approach to them.

However, it should be noted that within this cult function, each of the thousand twenty-eight hymns of the Rig Veda reveals special qualities and appearance, being in its origin sometimes a folk song, sometimes a heroic myth or legend (see Hymn to Ivdre, glorifying his victory over the demon Vritra - I, 32), sometimes a rethought fragment of secular poetry (for example, the famous "Anthem of the Player" - X, 34). Experts find in the Rig Veda the rudiments of epic, lyric and even dramatic genres such as mysteries or dialogues (see the dialogue hymn of Agastya and Lopamudra - I, 179). As if in the process of its creation all ancient mythology- from the image of personified natural phenomena (hymns to the goddess of the morning dawn Ushas, ​​the sun god Surya, the wind god Vata, etc.) to appeals to the supreme rulers of the world, personifying the concept of cosmic order (see "Hymn to Varuna" - VII, 86), or to such purely abstract deities as Vishvakaryay - the builder of the world, Shraddha - faith, Manyu - shev, etc. Moreover, the ancient layers of the text associated with natural myth often turned out to be reworked in the spirit of the later symbolic myth. So, the fire god Agni is obichpo depicted as a simple embodiment of the fire element: he has flaming hair and a red beard, he has many tongues and golden teeth, he is a tree eater, like an angry bull or a racehorse raging in the forest, and at the same time Agni is a priest and the mentor of the gods, the mediator between the gods and people, an abstract symbol of the final unity of the three worlds: earth, air and sky (see "Hymn of Agpp" - VI, 12). The so-called philosophical hymns, treating the issues of the origin of being, the essence of the gods and the inseparability of their nature, the primary cause and purpose of creation (see Gimp to all gods "- X, 72 and" Gimp about the creation of the world "- X, 129).

Slightly inferior to the "Rig Veda" in its historical and cultural value is the fourth Vedic samhyata - "Atharva Veda" ("Veda of incantations"). She is considered the fourth, since she entered the Vedic canon later than others, samhit and for a long time was not recognized as sacred. It is believed that its edition was smoked after the first three Vedas were formed. However, the relatively late origin of the Atharva Veda as a collection as a whole does not mean the same late origin of its individual hymns, many of them even surpass in age the early hymns of the Ritveda. To a large extent, they are a product of a very archaic culture, are fragments of folk magic poetry and, possibly, were borrowed by the arias from the folklore of the indigenous peoples of India. To this kind of hymns in the Atharva Veda primarily include numerous full expression spells against all kinds of diseases (see, "Conspiracy against leprosy" - I, 23), evil demons and creatures hostile to man, love conspiracies (see "Conspiracy - bewitching a woman "- VI, 9), pleas for health and long life (see" Conspiracy to prolong life "- V, 30). Including these hymns in the Atharva Veda, the priests - compilers of the samhita, sought to subordinate folk beliefs and cults to the needs of the Vedic religion, to introduce them, appropriately adapting and trape-forming them, into the Vedic ritual. For the same purpose, incantations and chanting as part of the "Atharva Veda" were supplemented with the usual appeals to the Vedic deities, which, in terms of inspiration and expressiveness, are able to withstand comparison with the best hymns of the "Rig Veda" (for example, "Gimp to the Power of the Gods" - IV, 6) , as well as cosmogonic and philosophical hymns, reflecting an even higher level of abstraction and complication of the Vedic religion (see "Anthem of Time" - XIX, 53).

The second category of Vedic literature - the brahmanas (“interpretation of the highest outi”) include the Aitareya and Kaushitaki brahmanas of the Rig Veda, the Taittirpya and Satapatha brahmanas of the Yajurveda, Jaiminiya, Shadvinsha- "and" Tandyamaha-brahmanas "" Samaveda ", as well as about a dozen other works, less ancient and significant. The content of the brahmanas is mainly limited to the interpretation of the ritual, they scrupulously and extensively explain the origin, meaning and purpose of every detail and every attribute of the sacrifice, to which the brahmanas attribute power above the power of the gods and in which they see the root cause of creation and the basis of life. These explanations are given without connection with the real historical ground, they are built, as a rule, on the identification of concepts of different levels, magic of numbers, wordplay and false etymologies. And although the brahmana creators achieve great art in using these techniques, in general the brahmana style remains dry and monotonous, only sometimes the rhythmic alternation of repetitions and ritual formulas gives it grandeur and inner tension. Therefore with artistic point From the point of view of the greatest interest are the myths, legends and legends interspersed into the prose of the Brahman. Usually they are brought "to the occasion", illustrating the origin of a particular ritual act or as a commentary on a not quite clear Vedic text (see the legends about Pururavasa and Urvasi in the Shatapatha Brahmana and about Shunakhsha-pe in Aytareya Brahmapa "). But often, even in a cult context, they retain relative independence and can be regarded as the oldest, and, moreover, very striking examples of Indian narrative prose. Sometimes these legends, dating back to the general Indian folklore, reveal striking similarities with the legends of other peoples. In particular, the closeness of the legend of Pururavas and Urvasi to the Roman tale of Cupid and Psyche or the legend of the flood in the Shatapatha Brahmana to the corresponding Sumerian, Semitic and Greek myths is indisputable.

Already in the brahmanas (especially in the myths about the creation of the world by the "lord of living beings" Prajapati) we come across attempts at philosophical speculations about the essence of the universe, gods and people. However, the works of the third category of Vedic literature - the Upanishads (literally: “sitting- [the scholar] -behind- [the teacher”], later - “secret knowledge”) are specially devoted to the philosophical exegesis of the Vedic religion. The number of Upanishads is extremely large (there are over two hundred in total), but ten to fourteen compositions are truly ancient, directly adjacent to the brahmanas along with arapyakamp ("forest books") and containing the Vedic literature "sruti". Among them, the most famous are Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Isha Upanpshada and some others, written partly in poetry, partly in prose. Upaip-shads, in contrast to the brahmanas, set themselves the goal of teaching not the exact and strict fulfillment of cult prescriptions, but, having rethought the very concept of ritual sacrifice as a spiritual sacrifice, - a deep comprehension of the laws and the meaning of life. It is in the Upanishads that the doctrines of samsara (the cycle of births), karma (the predetermination of the forms of existence of an individual by his own actions in the past), moksha (liberation) and, above all, the doctrine of Brahman and Atman ( the unity of all existence, object and subject). Thus, in one of the most famous passages from the Chandogya Upanishad (Chapter 6), the sage Uddalaki Aruni instructs his son Shvetaketu that objectively existing (Brahman) is inseparably present in all phenomena of animate and inanimate nature and at the same time this higher objective substance is identical to the beginning subjective, individual (Atman). Condensed in the formula tat tvam asi ("You are That"), this teaching constitutes the cornerstone of Upanishadic philosophy.

As is generally typical of ancient religious and philosophical texts, the creators of the Upanishads clothed their ideas in the form of allegory, parable, detailed comparison, found, like Plato, such a specific method of presenting abstract concepts as a dialogue between teacher and student. The expressiveness and originality of the style of the Upanishads, which refracted abstract thought into concrete-sensory images, contributed to the spread of their teachings not only in India, but also far beyond its borders. The influence of the Upanishads can be found in the writings of early Christian thinkers and Neoplatonists, in Persian Sufis and medieval European mystics, and finally in new Western philosophy, starting with Schopenhauer and Emerson.

The Upanishads to some extent reflected a free intellectual reaction to the ossified dogmas of the Vedic religion that did not fully meet the changed socio-historical conditions. However, both formally and essentially, they did not break with them, but only outlined a new possibility of their interpretation. Meanwhile, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. there are two reform movements that, although rooted in Indian religious and cultural tradition, nevertheless try to offer a system of spiritual values ​​that is decidedly different from the Vedas. The influence of the first of these movements, Jainism, has historically turned out to be very limited, but the other, Buddhism, was destined to become one of the great world religions.

The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, delivered his sermons at the end of the 6th century. to p. e. The Buddha deliberately avoided solving abstract, metaphysical problems; his teaching was of a practical, predominantly technical nature. Buddha sought to point out new way life that would save a person from suffering. He saw this path not in ritual and sacrifices, but not in asceticism, but in virtue, self-education, knowledge, giving freedom from life's fetters and attachments. Only such a path, in accordance with the Buddha's teachings, can save a person from the suffering of samsara - an endless chain of existence, now in one, now in a different guise. The sermons of the Buddha formed, according to his followers, the basis of the sacred Buddhist canon, excerpts from which have come down to us in many languages ​​(including Sanskrit), and the full version in the Pali language. The Pali Canon "Tipitaka" ("Three baskets [laws]") was recorded in 80 BC. NS. pa Ceylon, but the history of its creation begins much earlier, and it includes texts that were formed over many centuries - from the 6th to the 2nd century. BC NS.

The Tipitaka is divided into three sections: Vinaya Pitaka (Baskets of Instruction), Sutta Pitaka (Baskets of Texts) and Abhidhamma Pitaka (Baskets of Wisdom). Each of the sections, in turn, is divided into oa parts, and each part contains several books.

In general, "Tipitaku" characterizes a seemingly completely free mixture of styles, genres and forms, often within the framework of not only one part, but also one book, there are fragments of different origins in time and content, but all together they give a wide and interconnected panorama of the teaching early Buddhism, consistently setting out the rules of behavior and life in the Buddhist community, Buddhist ethics and didactics.

It goes without saying that the Tipitakp texts are of interest primarily to the historian of the Buddhist religion. But their significance is far from being exhausted by this. Many books of the canon, by their purely literary, artistic qualities, belong to the outstanding works of both Indian and world literature. In this respect, the second section of the Tipitakp stands out - "Sut-ta-pitaka", which, being addressed to a wide range of listeners, expounds the Buddhist teaching - the dhamma - in the least dogmatic way. The texts of the Sutta Pitaka are written in prose and verse, contain instructive dialogues, legends and parables associated with the names of the Buddha or his disciples. The most famous part of the Sutta Pitaka is its last, fifth part, the Khuddaka Nikaya (Collection of Short Teachings). It, along with other monuments, includes books that are rightfully considered the masterpieces of Buddhist classics: Dhammapada (Path of Virtue), Sutta-nipata (Small Collection of Texts), Thera-gatha and Theri -gatha "(" Verses of monks and nuns ") and" Jataki "(" History of past births [of Buddha] ").

The Dhammapada is a kind of compendium of Buddhist wisdom, in it, in the form of short maxims that tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself, the basic moral principles of Buddhism are fully and simply stated. Each maxim constitutes one stanza, sounding laconic and aphoristic, but extremely capacious in thought. Separate stanzas are completely independent and complete, nevertheless they are connected by barely noticeable transitions, sometimes adjoining each other as a thesis and antithesis, then developing and deepening any one idea. This allowed the compilers of the "Dhammapada" to combine groups of maxims into chapters and these chapters to name them either. linking individual stanzas (chapter on flowers, chapter on elephant-). Comparisons, metaphors, allegories of the Dhammapada are based on the phenomena of everyday experience and are gleaned from human observation. Each of them is skillfully and versatile played out and receives additional color and meaning in the context of the entire monument as a whole. Oto gives the images of "Dhayma-pada" an unusual dimension, ambiguity, and, having become traditional in subsequent Buddhist literature, they always evoke in readers or listeners many diverse associations.

The same as in "Dhammapada", the depth and captivating simplicity of ideas that find consonance in the epic literature of other peoples, the same convincing artistic means of their embodiment determined the world fame of another Buddhist monument - "Sutta-nipata". Separate aphorisms of the Dhammapada in the Sutta-nivat are, as it were, expanded into small POEUs - suttas that illustrate some instructive thought or situation and are compositionally organized using the techniques of refrain and syntactic parallelism. Narrative passages in the Sutta-nipata alternate with dialogical passages (see, for example, the sutta on Dhaniyya), many of which, retelling episodes from the life of the Buddha, later served as an impetus for the creation of epic life stories of him. The role of the "Sutta-nipata" in the Buddhist tradition is generally religious, since, as its language and content testify, it is one of the oldest books of the canon, and the ethical doctrine of Buddha, still free from later strata, is presented in it most adequately.

A special place in "Tyapitaka" is occupied by two collections of short lyric poems "Thera-gatha" and "Theri-gatha", respectively attributed to monks and nuns, the closest companions and disciples of the Buddha. Sredn et al> gnx books of the canon, they stand out with a pronounced emotional coloring, detailed descriptions of natural phenomena and various shades of human feelings. Therefore, while remaining excited by the preaching of the greatness of the Buddha and his teachings, they at the same time anticipate some of the lines of development of classical Indian lyricism. The lyricism of the gathas is associated with a variety of poetic techniques used in them (allpteratzn "1 and assonances, tropes, wordplay, refrains, repetitions), an abundance of all sorts of hints, allusions and associations, sometimes already incomprehensible to us, but giving the style of gathas confessional pathos and a sense of immediacy As in other parts of the kapon, careful reconstruction allows distinguishing between earlier and later parts in Thera-gat-kp and Theri-gatha, but this does not contradict the final unity of the collections, which generally give an opportunity to look into the inner world members of the ancient Buddhist community.

Finally, the last of the outstanding works included in the Sutta Pitaka is the Jatakas, or stories of the past existences of the Buddha. Jl-takn most clearly embodied that synthesis of all-Indian literary and folklore traditions and Buddhist teachings, which is generally characteristic of the Pali canon. Most of the plots of the jatakas (there are five hundred forty-seven of them in the Tipitaka) are drawn from Indian folk art... Therefore, many fables, legends and tales that are used in jatakas are found in other monuments of Indian literature (epic, Panchatantra, Kathasaritsagar, etc.), in Indian and world folklore (for example, jataka about the correct saying, for which is the well-known tale of grateful animals and an ungrateful person). Jatakas also present in the Jatakas the methods of framing, alternating verses and prose, summarizing maxims, etc., traditional for Indian literature, and the idea of ​​metempsychosis, cardinal for the religious and philosophical teachings of India, is realized in them as a series of episodes from various births of Buddha on the way to his final enlightenment. ... In this regard, each jataka falls into three parts: an introduction, which sets out the events that prompted the Buddha to tell the subsequent story, then the story of the past itself, and, finally, the identification of the heroes of this story with the Buddha and his listeners. Instructiveness and a serious tone are combined in jatakas with an entertaining story, and it is no coincidence that they were the main means of Buddhist propaganda, reflecting the most widespread and accessible understanding of Buddhism. In terms of their popularity, few works of world classics can be compared with the Jatakas. They were translated and translated into the languages ​​of all those Asian countries where Buddhism penetrated, and in addition, devoid of Buddhist morality, they were included in dozens of works of didactic and entertaining literature. Therefore, people who have nothing to do with Buddhism and have never heard of the Jatakas, nevertheless, are well aware of some of their stories from the books of Aesop and Babriy, Lafontaine and Krylov, from A Thousand and One Nights and Kalila and Dimna.

Comparing the Buddhist canon with the Vedic, we are convinced that each of them has a special, only inherent specificity. Mythological ideas, which, although at different levels of interpretation, determined the general nature of the content and imagery of Vedic literature, in the books of Tipptakp faded into the background, only sometimes acting as a decorative background. Stylistic accents are placed in different ways: the Vedic texts proclaim the truth, the Buddhist ones convince in it; the majestic, unconditional tone of the Vedic preaching is opposed by the more intimate, trusting top of the Tipitaka; its style is dialogical not only in form, but also in its inner essence. Human experience and perception of the world are presented in the Vedas in abstract categories and symbols, Buddhist monuments sought to find a concrete and tangible embodiment for them. These and other similar differences are due to the peculiarities of the Vedic and Buddhist religions, due to the gap in time between the Vedic "and Buddhist monuments. Nevertheless, there is a lot in common between them, which allows us to attribute them (and with them the Jain and epic texts) to one, namely, to the first period of ancient Indian literature. First of all, the history of other literatures of antiquity shows that the formation of these literatures usually begins with the appearance of monuments of two types: religious vaults and epics. The first works of Chinese literature are considered "Shujing", "Shijing" and "I Ching", included in the Confucian Six Book, the history of Iranian literature opens with "Avesta", Hebrew - the Bible, Greek - "Iliad" and "Odyssey". Fragments of the mythological epic and ritual texts prevail among the oldest monuments of the Mesopotamian, Ugaritic, Hittite and Egyptian literature. Thus, from a comparative point of view, the creation of the four literary complexes in question (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and Epic) marks the beginning of the development of Indian literature.

Further, the Vedas, the Tipptaka, and the epic took shape as a whole over the course of many centuries, and they took shape in the mainstream of the oral rather than written tradition. We know that the letter was already known to the population of the Indus Valley in the III-II millennium BC. BC, then his skills were lost, and the writing system was revived in India only approximately in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. NS. However, initially it was used, apparently, for purely utilitarian, economic and administrative purposes! Therefore, although the "Rig Veda" existed already by 1000 BC. e., Vedic literature in general by 500 BC. e., and the early versions of the epic and the first Buddhist and Jain texts by 400-200 years. BC e., they were not recorded immediately, but somewhere at the turn or in the first centuries of our era and for a long time functioned as oral monuments. This led to several important consequences for the entire Indian literature of the period of antiquity. Since her works were not fixed, but existed in a fluid and dynamic oral tradition, we often deal not with one, but with several texts (reviews) of any monument; and in this case, it makes no sense to look for its original or archetype, but one has to reckon with the fact that various reviews reflect its composition and appearance that regularly changed from performance to performance. Oral existence also explains such features of the style of the Vedas, the epic, the "Tipitaka", such as the abundance of stable phraseological phrases (the so-called "formulas"), repetitions, refrains, etc. Vedas of magical functions, however, first of all, they were a necessary condition for the creation of any kind of text in oral form and its subsequent reproduction "from memory" by new performers. Oral origins finally determine the main ways of constructing ancient Indian monuments (in the form of a sermon, dialogue, invocation, appeal, etc.), as well as some of their names that have come down to us by tradition (shruti, Upanishads, etc.).

Already in itself, the oral nature of creativity speaks of the well-known conventionality of the use of the term "literature" (from the word "litera" - a written sign) to the monuments we have examined. The conventionality of the use of this term is also increasing because within the framework of the antiquity period the autonomization of literature among other types of spiritual activity has not yet occurred. It would be wrong to assert that every ancient Indian text pursued only practical (religious or didactic) goals, but on the whole aesthetically, in fact artistic tasks have not yet come to the fore. And although we are dealing with works whose artistic merit is unique in their own way, they are accidentally included in religious codes, just as it is no coincidence that the nature of the Sanskrit epic, "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", is largely determined by a clearly expressed moral and a philosophical trend.

The lack of artistic self-awareness also affected the fact that in ancient Indian literature the idea of ​​the creator of the text had not yet crystallized into the concept of a poet. The hymns of the Rig Veda were attributed to the holy prophets, inspired by God himself, the prose of the Brahmanas and dialogues of the Upanishads to the ancient sages, the Pali canon to the teacher of the Buddha and his companions. At the same time, the literature remained essentially anonymous, the name of the legendary author did not so much reflect his real participation in the creation of a monument, how many consecrated this monument with their authority. Literary "work was considered more as one of the manifestations of the collective life, than as the creation of an individual. Hence (and also in connection with its oral nature) it is difficult to talk about the signs of an individual style in ancient Indian literature, hence the traditionalism of subject matter and means of expression, which was preserved for a long time in Indian literature, even at its written stage.

Naturally, when literature is not yet aware of its autonomy, literary theory and poetics cannot develop, although the unlimited possibilities of the Word as such have been praised more than once by the creators of Vedic chants. And since there was no literary theory, one cannot speak in relation to ancient Indian literature and about a clear differentiation of genres in it. Therefore, when in the Vedic samhits we distinguish between epic, lyrical and even dramatic hymns, in the Brahmans we separate theological instructions from narrative episodes, in the Upanpshads we isolate philosophical dialogues, and in Tipptak we are fables, parables, biographies, etc., we are in To some extent, we impose a genre grid of later literature on syncretic in their essence monuments. In ancient Indian literature, a work existed as an indivisible whole, subject to special laws, and this literature should be evaluated, first of all, in accordance with the norms and principles recognized by it itself. However, this does not mean at all that in ancient literature, although still in a diffuse, mixed state, new genres and forms did not mature. These genres and forms were adopted by the subsequent literary tradition, developing and refining them in stable outlines. Together with them, she mastered everything that turned out to be viable in the ideological concepts, themes and pictorial means of the Vedas, epics, Buddhist and Jain texts. And these monuments, although they remain intrinsically valuable and unique in their achievements, at the same time can be considered as a prologue to the entire further development of Indian literature.

In this report, the task is to get acquainted with the work of India in the ancient period.

The Vedas are the oldest literary monuments in India. The hymns of the Vedas are collections of texts of the most varied character. In them, along withwith prayers one can find a description of the struggle between good and evil spirits, and many hymns describe nature and human experiences so figuratively and poetically that they can rightfully be considered examples of the poetic genre. This feature of many Vedic texts reflected the specificity of the Vedic religion, where the gods were viewed as beings similar to humans. This can be seen even from the text of the hymns of the earliest Veda - the Rig Veda.

Most of the hymns of the Rig Veda, which are poetic works, are indeed prayers. But among them there are also such works that in no way can be attributed to religion. Only a biased-minded reader is able to associate with religion, for example, such a wonderful lyric poem as the hymn "To the Night". In this hymn we will not find anything directly speaking about religion, it contains only the lyrical perception of the night and the appeal to it of a person who is still completely dependent on the forces of nature and deifies them. Even some hymns dedicated to the gods are not so much religious as epic works of a different nature: from epic heroics to lyrics and straightforward satire. So, in the hymns of Indra we meet not only his heroism, but also a description of him as the most ordinary drunkard who got drunk on soma and who doesn’t care about anything.

Over the centuries, the languages ​​of the peoples of India and their ideas about gods have changed. The Vedas, which retained the meaning of sacred texts, became obscure. Commentaries on the Vedas were required, and they were created within the same schools in which the Vedic canon was formed. Through the efforts of the brahmana priests in the late Vedic period, "Brahmans" were compiled - prosaic texts containing ritual and mythological explanations and commentaries to all four Vedas. The time of compilation of these "Brahman" - X - VII centuries BC. In the same period, a second group of texts was created - "Aranyaki" (literally, "forest books", intended mainly for hermits, revealing all the symbolism of the sacrificial act).

The third group of Vedic literature includes the Upanishads. The "Upanishads" arose on the basis of the further development of those passages from the commentaries of the Brahmins and those "Arenyaks", which explained the meaning of magic and the symbolism of rituals and sacrifices. The term "upa-ni-shad" itself means "to sit near," that is, to be at the feet of the teacher, to listen to his teachings, to comprehend the hidden, secret nature of the text. The goal of the Upanishads was to teach the correct performance of ancient rituals and comprehend their hidden meaning. In the Upanishads, teachings about the unity of animate and inanimate nature, about the cycle of births, were developed, which became the basis of Indian philosophy.

Considering the philosophy of the Upanishads, it should be noted that one of the most important problems was the problem of life and death. The idea of ​​the eternal cycle of life, the life principle, pushed, apparently, the ancient Indian philosophers to the idea of ​​the regularity of the cycle of life and death in general and man in particular. The idea of ​​the separation of the spiritual and bodily principles of man gave this natural cycle the form of transmigration of souls. This was the beginning of the concept of an endless chain of rebirth, the essence of which is that death is not the end, but simply a break in continuity, followed by a new life in a new form, which the soul that has left the body will acquire. The concept of karma developed in the Upanishads provides an answer to the question of what specific form the soul that has left the body will acquire.

Karma is one of the most important provisions of Indian philosophical thought, the essence of which is that the sum of the evil and good deeds of each person (his karma) determines the form of subsequent rebirth. Good karma guarantees rebirth in a new life by a brahmana or prince; average karma will allow you to be reborn in about the same quality as before; bad karma leads to the fact that in a new life you will be reborn as an outcast, slave or untouchable, or even an animal at all, up to a worm, a mosquito, etc. The idea of ​​karma had enormous psychological significance, becoming a regulator of the individual and social behavior of many generations of Indians.

Everyone is subject to the law of karma, with the exception of those few who took the path of an ascetic hermit. These latter, acquiring more and more divine power over the years, eventually reached the worlds of Brahman and dissolved there, not returning to life anymore, falling out of the chain of Rebirths, thereby becoming independent of the law of karma.

In the era when the ancient Upanishads were compiled, completing the literary cycle of the Vedas, epic creativity also developed. In the literature of the Vedas, we find mention of storytellers - sutas and kushilavs (similar, apparently, to the Greek aedam and rhapsodes). It was they who, over the centuries, orally formed two great epic poems: "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana".

" Mahabharata "as an epic was formed from various legends for a very long time. The main core of the" Mahabharata "was created, according to Indian scholars, in XI - X centuries BC Heroic songs and legends, which were sung by court singers and wandering storytellers, formed the basis of the "Mahabharata". They reflect the historical events associated with the emergence of the first large states in the west of the Ganges Valley in the early centuries. I millennium BC

It is difficult to find a reliable reproduction in the epic, which has developed over the centuries in the oral and poetic tradition. historical facts... It captures the pictures of the heroic age, where the memory of real events and faces is refracted through the prism of folk fantasy, and history is combined with myth.

The literature of ancient India did not know a single language. Her works were created in various languages ​​of the peoples who inhabited India at that time. The common name for these languages ​​is Prakrit, which, together with the ancient languages ​​of South India, laid the foundation for those languages ​​spoken by the population of India today.

During the Mauryan period, writing became quite widespread. Judging by the inscriptions of Ashoka, carved on the columns, the main letter wasbrahmi letter, although there are records, | executed in Aramaic, Greek "other letters. To III v. BC. Brahmi was already a writing system that had passed a long period development.

At a fairly early stage of development, Sanskrit emerged as an official and literary language, as a language of worship. It developed on a broad basis from a number of North Indian languages ​​and dialects, however no living language was its immediate predecessor? A number of grammarians, including the famous ancient Indian linguists - Panini ( V - IV centuries BC) and Patanjali ( II v. BC), streamlined and canonized the grammatical structure of Sanskrit and gave it that harmony that still delights linguists around the world. It is for this harmony that he was called "Sanskrit", which means "perfect", "ordered".

Sanskrit was destined to become the main "classical" language of Indian culture. It was in Sanskrit that religious, philosophical, social, aesthetic and other ideas and ideals of Indian culture were most fully and most universally expressed in the word .. Sanskrit literature is almost the most extensive of the known literatures and one of the most durable.

It was in Sanskrit that the book was written, which is the main source of information about public policy and the government of India during the Mauryan period. Written at the end IV v. BC. Kautilya, Chief Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, the Arthashastra * served as a support and guide for the monarchist policy of the time.

The creation of "Arthashastra" was not an accidental phenomenon, but completed a long period of development of Indian political thought. The treatise consists of 15 books and is devoted to various issues state structure and politics. This is a kind of universal guide to the problems of the "Science of Public Administration", considering all its problems in great detail. The first books of "Arthashastra" set forth information about how the king should plan the engagement in state affairs, build relationships with the closest circle; to carry out the solution of economic and administrative and managerial issues. Special books were devoted to legal and military issues, issues of interstate relations - 1 foreign policy... ! A significant place in "Arthashastra" is occupied by recommendations for the elimination of the unwanted or the establishment of order in the country, while the author clearly demonstrates a complete disregard for moral norms for the good of the state.

" Arthashastra "is undoubtedly the pinnacle of ancient Indian political thought. Its rationalism in approaching various problems of social life, detail in the development of specific issues, skillful use of scientific achievements make it possible to classify this work as one of the most important sources of historical and cultural knowledge of the ancient world.

The text of the "Mahabharata" that has come down to us is also written in Sanskrit. There is reason to believe that the original "Mahabharata" was formed on folk languages- prakritah - and only later was it translated into Sanskrit. The beginning of the design of the epic in its modern form refers approximately to IV century BC.

The creation of these epic works marked a new era of ancient Indian culture. If the Upanishads, overcoming the archaic ritual worldview, demonstrate the beginning of philosophical thought in India, then in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, which build the narrative on a mythological level, we see the ascent artistic creation subsequent centuries, which departs from the ritual and magical orientation of ancient texts. The enormous poem "Mahabharata" has about one hundred thousand couplets (slokas). Its plot is based on the enmity between two royal families - the Kuru and the Pandu. The five sons of Pandu are the main ones goodies poems, they are in everythingoutnumber their cousinsKauravov. An irreconcilable enmity arises between the brothers. The eldest of the brothersKauravov repeatedly tries to destroyPandavas by various devious tricks. Through his efforts, the Pandavas go tothirty years of exile. Upon returnThe Pandavas from exile both warring sides begin to prepare for war. At the end of the Kaurava and Pandava, having gathered their supporters, they decide the issues of power in a brutal, and a battle that lasted eighteen days ended in victory for the Pandavas. This is the main plot. The central part is devoted to this particular event - the descriptiongreat battle. However, the main plot of the "Mahabharata"takes only one fifth of the poem. The plot, glorifying the triumph of trampled justice, is replete with numerous introductory episodes, sometimes weakly connected with the main plot,Thanks to this reception in the "Mahabharata"included not only various legends, but alsowhole philosophical treatises, such as the Bhagavad Gita. This famous religious and philosophical work precedes the story of the battle. The Bhagavad Gita opens with a dialogue between Arjuna, the protagonist from the Pandava camp, overwhelmed by the need to opposehis kindred Kauravas, and his chariot Krishna, who reminds him of his military duty and delivers an inspired sermon in which one can learnearthly embodiment of a supreme deity -Vishnu. The religious and ethical teaching set forth in the Bhagavad Gita expresses the worldview of a new era and acts asreligious and philosophical basis of Hinduism.Another great epic poemancient India is "Ramayana". As well " Mahabharata "," Ramayana "was created in the oral tradition and handed down from generation to generation of the singer pan soda for many centuries. Both "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" finally took shape in approximately the same era. The final edition of the Ramayana contains about twenty thousand slokas. The thread of the main narrative is more clearly visible in it.

The main content of the Ramayana echoes the storyline of the Mahabharata.

The hero of the poem - Rama - the son of King Dashartha from a young age is distinguished by courage and performs feats, protecting from the raids of pious forest hermits. As in the Mahabharata, he is sent into exile for fourteen years. The main theme of the poem is the abduction of Sita, the wife of Rama, which is the cause of a fierce battle between divine monkeys and demons - Rakshasas. The climax of this battle is the duel of Rama and Ravana and the victory of Rama in it.

According to tradition, the creator of this epic is Valmiki, whom Indian sources call adikavi - the first poet, considering his poem as an unattainable ideal, as classic literature. The poetic style of the Ramayana is close to the oral-epic norm, but at the same time, it is in the Ramayana that we first find a rich arsenal expressive means individual poetry. "Ramayana" much more than "Mahabharata" influenced all subsequent development of literature in India and other countries of the East.

The literary qualities of the Ramayana make it possible to speak of a harmonious composition, a conscious selection of artistic means and a purposeful creation of ideal images. It is from the "Ramayana" that Sanskrit classical literature draws its plots. In the Middle Ages, poets recreated. Ramayana in Hindi, Bengali, Natamili and other languages. All versions of the Ramayana - both old and new - are still immensely popular in India.

In ancient Indian literary creativity, a large place is occupied by prosaic literature emerging on the basis of folklore. Fables, parables, fairy tales have come down to us as part of Sanskrit collections such as "Twenty-five stories of Vetala", "Panchatantra" and others. Similar works are also known as part of the Buddhist canon "Jataka".

" The twenty-five stories of Vetala "are a collection of Sanskrit stories compiled in approximately I v. In the collection, all the stories are united by the character of the semi-legendary king Vikram, who, fulfilling the request of a mendicant monk, must remove an unburied corpse from a tree and bring it to the cemetery. A necessary condition is the silence of the king: as soon as he utters a word, the corpse will return to the tree. However, as soon as the king sets off with the corpse on the road, Vetla (the spirit that has taken over the dead man) begins to tell him a story that needs to be solved. Unable to resist, the king gives an answer and the corpse eludes him. This is repeated twenty-four times, while the king, remaining silent for the twenty-fifth time, carries out the task to the end. This work has become widespread both in India itself and abroad. Individual plots of the collection can betime, including those of Goethe and Thomas Mann.

One of the most famous ancient Indian collections of fairy tales in Sanskrit, compiled at the end of III - early IV century was " Panchatantra ". The literal meaning of this name is" five edifying books. "Each of the books is a complete narration, the heroes of which, in the course of the action, tell fables, parables, fairy tales, illustrating a certain thought and having a warning character. The main content of the books:" Separation of friends " - about how a cunning jackal broke the friendship of a lion and a bull; "Making friends" - about how a mouse, a raven, a turtle and a gazelle escaped danger thanks to mutual help; "About crows and owls" - about how cunning brings victory ; "The loss of what has been gained" - about the bitter consequences of deception, and, finally, "Reckless acts" - about greed, pushing for reckless actions.

In the tales of the Panchatantra, the life of different classes of ancient India is clearly reflected, from which we get irreplaceable material for acquaintance with the views of Indians, with their views on virtue and vice, on ( wealth and poverty, etc. In terms of its impact on world literature, "Pan-Chatantra" is promoted to one of the first places. More than two hundred transcriptions in more than sixty languages ​​contributed to the fact that already in the Middle Ages "Panchatantra" was known to the entire Arab world, Europe and, thanks to the Greek translation, Russia. The content and plots of "Panchatantra" were reflected in Boccaccio's short stories, in the fables of La Fontaine and Krylov, and even in the works of Leo Tolstoy.

A significant place in the literary prose of ancient India is occupied by "Jataki" - stories about the reincarnations of the Buddha. There are more than 500 of them. "Jatakas" were recorded in the Pali language and represent in their mass episodes from the life of the Buddha. In many stories, the Buddha appears as the wise of the wisest, which is confirmed by his witty answers to tricky questions, the decision complex riddles and fair dispute resolution.

The classic Indian drama drama of Kalidasa and his predecessors, Ashva-ghoshi and Bhasa, testify to the flourishing of this kind of literature in ancient India. The thinker and poet Ashvaghosha, who became famous at the court of Kanishka, is credited with many works, both philosophical and artistic. However, he definitely owns only two epic poems - "The Life of Buddha" and "Beautiful Nanda", as well as the play "Drama about Shariputra". Ashvaghosha borrowed the content of his works from popular legends of Buddhism: in "Beautiful Nanda" he talks about the conversion of Buddha's half-brother, Nanda, to Buddhism. The poem "The Life of the Buddha" tells about the life of the Buddha, from birth to the victory over the demon-tempter Mara and his army. And although Ashvaghosha expounds the events of the Buddha's life in strict accordance with the existing canonomy, the Buddha is not a miracle-working god, but a wise and kind person seeking truth with deep compassion for all living things.

One of the most prominent ancient Indian playwrights - Bhasa, who lived in III v. thirteen drams belong. The plots of two of them are borrowed from the Ramayana, six from the Mahabharata. The influence of the epic on the works of Bhasa is evident from the general concept of the plays, in which the hero sacrifices his personal desires and blessings to the idea of ​​fulfilling his duty. The motives of self-denial and self-sacrifice become one of the main ones in Bhasa's plays. Even in Bhasa's least heroic play "The Dreamed Vasava Datta", its heroes - King Udayana, Queen Vasavadatta and Padmavati - are ready for the sake of a rival or rival to abandon whom they love, and for the welfare of the state, from their own happiness.

The classic of Indian literature Kalidasa lived at the end IV - early V v. Poet, playwright and writer, Kalidasa opened a new bright page in the history of world literature. Peru Kalidasa owns three dramas that have come down to us: "Shakuntala" ("Recognized by the ring of Shakuntala"), "Malavika and Agnimitra" and "Urvashi obtained by courage", the poems "The Herald of the Cloud", "The Clan of Rakhu", "The Birth of Kumara" and "Seasons". In addition to these, quite a few other works are attributed to him. At the heart of all the works of Kalidasa is the image of a person with his experiences, worries, joys and sorrows. Many of the heroes of Kalidasa are kings and gods. Both in the dramas and in the poems of Kalidasa, the plot is dramatic, and the description of nature and human experiences is especially lyric and humanistic. Thus, in the lyric poem "The Herald of the Cloud" the hero of Kalidasa addresses the cloud with a request to convey the message to his beloved and describes the path that the cloud has to travel; describing the path of a cloud from the south to the north of India, the poet creates a colorful and holistic image home country.

In the epic poem "Rod Raghu" the poet refers to the majestic past of his native land. In the images of the kings Dilipa, Raghu, Dasharatha, Rama, the poet depicts his ideal of a ruler who cares about the welfare of the people. Nineteen songs of "Kind of Raghu" show how comprehensively and fully Kali-dasa knew the cultural heritage of the peoples of India, the life and life of his contemporary era.

The pinnacle of the dramatic art of ancient India is the drama of Kalidasa - "Shakuntala". The main theme of the drama is the love of Shakuntala and the king Dushyant. The main conflict in the play is the contradiction between human feelings and the harsh laws of society at the time. And only the intervention of divine forces forces the king Dushyant to follow the path of justice.

During the Gupta period, the ancient Indian theater received its further development, special treatises on theatrical art appeared, in which the tasks of the theater and theater performances, various genres of theatrical compositions, etc. One of these treatises - "Natyashastra", dating from the first centuries of our era, has survived to this day. This work examines a variety of issues of art, ranging from theater architecture, acting, types of dramatic works - to music, stage technique, etc.

As a result of my work, I learned a lot of new and interesting things about the culture of ancient India. The culture of ancient India covers periods from the Harappan civilization to the Kushano-Gupta period, occupying a chronological framework from III millennium BC until the 5th century n. NS.