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Ancient Culture and
Science in India
LITERATURE between a student and his teacher) educating
Ancient Indian literature is the crowning glory of fashion had paved way for the very first transmis-
Indian civilization and its evolution towards sion of legends, stories, myths or facts, which
contemporary times. No other part of the world further witnessed the gradual descending of this
has probably produced such voluminous litera- knowledge from generations to generations.
ture of knowledge and wisdom. Indian literature However, this very mode of oral transmission of
of ancient times entails all the minute details of invaluable treatises or profound knowledge,
day-to-day existence through spiritual under- gradually posed a problem and a thing to worry
standing acting like a talisman, a polestar guiding about. It was deemed that there would be abso-
the contemporary populace. lutely no use of these priceless words of mouth, if
Ancient Indian literature signifies the earliest they would not be preserved; these chunks of
known and acknowledged form in Indian literary knowledge and information would gradually lose
traditions which manifests its very first traces its importance with time, fading into oblivion.
through the system of oral transmittance or by Thus, it was ushered in the first ever mode of
word of mouth. Even prior to the arrival of scripting down priceless materials in the form of
Aryans into India, the legendary Indus Valley manuscripts, that is witnessed today. And herein
Civilisation possessed amongst them the custom lays the twist in ancient Indian literature and its
of ‘gurukul’ education. Gurukul essentially traditions, which was to henceforth remain a
symbolised that a child during his childhood was viewer of the continuous rise in creation and
to leave his home and travel to his guru’s creators.
(teacher) place in the ashram, wherein he was to The earliest known works of Indian literature was
receive his absolute education, which was to be Rig Veda which is a collection of 1028 hymns
imparted orally. Such guru-shishya (relationship written in Vedic Sanskrit.
Even though majority of the literary works which
have survived from the ancient Indian literature
are religious text, it is not right to define ancient
Indian literature only based on religion. Indian
literature includes everything that can be
included under “literature” broadly- religious and
mundane, epic and lyrics, dramatic and didactic
poetry, narrative and scientific prose along with
oral poetry and songs.
The Rig Veda was followed by Yajur Veda, Sama
Veda and Atharva Veda. There are other works
Gurukul
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