History
Indian Art, Literature and Culture
Literature and Philosophy
Indian literature and philosophy for CGPSC: Vedic and Sanskrit texts, Pali-Prakrit, Sangam and regional literature, Persian works, and the six darshanas.
Prerequisites
- Vedic Age — the society that produced the Vedas and Upanishads.
- Jainism and Buddhism — the heterodox schools and their canons.
- Bhakti and Sufi Movements — the saint-poets of regional literature.
The Hook: Champaran, Rajnandgaon and a Cloud from Ramagiri
Connect
At Champaran, near Raipur, pilgrims visit the place where, by tradition, Vallabhacharya, founder of the Shuddhadvaita school of Vedanta, was born in 1479. In Rajnandgaon, a memorial honours the Hindi writers Muktibodh and Padumlal Punnalal Bakshi; the town was also the birthplace of Vinod Kumar Shukla, who received the 59th Jnanpith Award (for 2024) and died on 23 December 2025. Some scholars even place Kalidasa’s Meghaduta in the Ramgarh hills of Surguja (the identification is still debated).
Chhattisgarh’s own story keeps touching India’s great texts and ideas. Which texts belong to which language and age, who wrote what, and how do the six schools of Indian philosophy differ?
Why it matters: “Who wrote…?”, “which text belongs to which language?” and “match the darshana with its founder” are among the most common culture questions in Prelims.
1. Vedic Literature
graph TD
A["Shruti (revealed)"] --> B["Samhitas
the four Vedas"]
B --> C["Brahmanas
ritual prose"]
C --> D["Aranyakas
forest texts"]
D --> E["Upanishads
philosophy (Vedanta)"]
F["Smriti (remembered)"] --> G["Vedangas, Sutras,
Dharmashastras, Epics, Puranas"]| Veda | Content | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| Rigveda (ऋग्वेद) | Hymns; 10 mandalas, about 1,028 hymns | Gayatri mantra (Mandala 3); Purusha Sukta (Mandala 10) mentions the four varnas |
| Samaveda | Melodies for chanting, mostly drawn from the Rigveda | Root of Indian music |
| Yajurveda | Sacrificial formulas in prose and verse | Two branches: Shukla (white) and Krishna (black) |
| Atharvaveda | Charms, spells, healing, daily life | Closest to popular belief; early medicine |
- Upanishads (उपनिषद्): philosophical texts on Brahman and Atman; traditionally 108. The national motto “Satyameva Jayate” comes from the Mundaka Upanishad.
- Vedangas (six): Shiksha (phonetics), Kalpa (ritual), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (etymology), Chhandas (metre), Jyotisha (astronomy).
- Dharmashastras: Manusmriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti and others.
Epics and Puranas
| Text | Facts |
|---|---|
| Ramayana | Valmiki; 7 kandas; often called the adi-kavya (first poem) |
| Mahabharata | Vyasa; 18 parvas; about 100,000 verses (the Shatasahasri Samhita); the Bhagavad Gita (18 chapters, 700 verses) is in the Bhishma Parva |
| Puranas | 18 Mahapuranas (e.g. Vishnu, Bhagavata, Matsya, Vayu); genealogies of dynasties are a historical source |
2. Classical Sanskrit Literature
| Author | Works | Period / patron |
|---|---|---|
| Panini | Ashtadhyayi (grammar) | c. 5th–4th century BCE |
| Patanjali | Mahabhashya (on Panini) | 2nd century BCE |
| Kautilya | Arthashastra (statecraft) | Mauryan tradition; date of the present text debated |
| Ashvaghosha | Buddhacharita, Saundarananda | Kushana court (Kanishka) |
| Bhasa | Svapnavasavadattam | Early classical; date debated |
| Kalidasa | Plays: Abhijnanashakuntalam, Vikramorvashiyam, Malavikagnimitram; epics: Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava; lyrics: Meghaduta, Ritusamhara | Usually placed in the Gupta age |
| Shudraka | Mrichchhakatika (“The Little Clay Cart”) | Gupta age (date debated) |
| Vishakhadatta | Mudrarakshasa (Chanakya and Chandragupta), Devichandraguptam | Gupta age |
| Amarasimha | Amarakosha (thesaurus) | Gupta age |
| Aryabhata | Aryabhatiya (499 CE) | Astronomy, mathematics |
| Varahamihira | Brihat Samhita, Panchasiddhantika | 6th century |
| Harsha | Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika | King of Kanauj, 7th century |
| Banabhatta | Harshacharita, Kadambari | Harsha’s court poet |
| Bharavi / Magha | Kiratarjuniya / Shishupalavadha | Classical epics (mahakavyas) |
| Bhavabhuti | Uttararamacharita, Malatimadhava | 8th century |
| Kalhana | Rajatarangini (history of Kashmir) | 1148–49 CE |
| Somadeva | Kathasaritsagara | Kashmir, 11th century |
| Jayadeva | Gita Govinda | Bengal, 12th century (Lakshmana Sena) |
| Vishnu Sharma | Panchatantra (fables) | Date uncertain |
| Charaka / Sushruta | Charaka Samhita (medicine) / Sushruta Samhita (surgery) | Ancient Ayurveda |
3. Pali, Prakrit and Sangam Literature
| Tradition | Key works |
|---|---|
| Buddhist (Pali) | Tripitaka: Vinaya (monastic rules), Sutta (discourses), Abhidhamma (philosophy); Jatakas (Buddha’s former lives); Milindapanho (King Menander and monk Nagasena); Sri Lankan chronicles Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa |
| Jain (Prakrit) | Agamas in Ardhamagadhi, written down at the Valabhi council; Kalpasutra (traditionally attributed to Bhadrabahu) |
| Prakrit poetry | Gatha Saptashati, attributed to the Satavahana king Hala |
| Sangam (Tamil) | Tolkappiyam (grammar); anthologies Ettuthogai and Pattuppattu; Tirukkural (Tiruvalluvar, ethics); twin epics Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal) and Manimekalai (Sittalai Sattanar) |
4. Regional and Medieval Literature
| Language | Landmarks |
|---|---|
| Tamil | Devotional hymns of the Alvars (Nalayira Divya Prabandham) and Nayanars (Tevaram); Kamban’s Ramayanam (Chola age) |
| Kannada | Kavirajamarga (Rashtrakuta age, on poetics); the “three gems” Pampa, Ponna, Ranna |
| Telugu | Nannaya began the Telugu Mahabharata; Krishnadevaraya’s Amuktamalyada; the Ashtadiggajas (eight poets) of his court |
| Marathi | Dnyaneshwar’s Dnyaneshwari (commentary on the Gita, 13th century) |
| Bengali | Charyapadas (earliest); Chandidas, Krittivas (Bengali Ramayana) |
| Hindi | Chand Bardai (Prithviraj Raso); Kabir (Bijak); Malik Muhammad Jayasi (Padmavat, Awadhi); Tulsidas (Ramcharitmanas, Awadhi); Surdas (Sursagar, Braj); Mirabai; Bihari (Satsai) |
| Persian | Amir Khusrau (“Tuti-i-Hind”); Minhaj-us-Siraj (Tabaqat-i-Nasiri); Ziauddin Barani (Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi); Gulbadan Begum (Humayun-nama); Abul Fazl (Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari); Badauni (Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh); Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; Dara Shikoh (Majma-ul-Bahrain, Sirr-i-Akbar, a Persian translation of the Upanishads) |
| Turki | Babur’s memoirs, the Baburnama (Tuzuk-i-Baburi) |
Modern literature (selected)
| Writer | Remember for |
|---|---|
| Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay | Anandamath (contains Vande Mataram) |
| Rabindranath Tagore | Gitanjali; Nobel Prize in Literature, 1913; Jana Gana Mana |
| Bharatendu Harishchandra | “Father of modern Hindi literature” |
| Premchand | Godan, Rangbhoomi; Hindi and Urdu fiction of rural India |
| Maithili Sharan Gupt | Bharat-Bharati; called Rashtrakavi |
| Jaishankar Prasad | Kamayani |
| Muhammad Iqbal | Saare Jahan Se Achha |
Literary institutions and awards: Sahitya Akademi (inaugurated 1954); Jnanpith Award, first given in 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam). The Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages. India has 11 classical languages (as of 2026): Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014), and Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali (October 2024).
Chhattisgarh angle
- Dakshin Kosala in the epics: local tradition links Chandkhuri near Raipur with Kaushalya, mother of Rama. See Dakshin Kosala in Literature and the Epics.
- Kabirpanth: Kabir’s disciple Dharamdas founded a major branch; Damakheda is its centre in the state.
- Hindi writers: Muktibodh (Chand Ka Munh Tedha Hai), Padumlal Punnalal Bakshi, Shrikant Verma, and Vinod Kumar Shukla (Naukar Ki Kameez, Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rahti Thi; 59th Jnanpith, for 2024, the first from Chhattisgarh).
Details: Literature and Language of Chhattisgarh.
5. Indian Philosophy: The Darshanas
Darshana (दर्शन) means “seeing” — a way of viewing reality. Schools are grouped by their attitude to the authority of the Vedas:
- Astika (आस्तिक, orthodox): accept the Vedas — the six darshanas.
- Nastika (नास्तिक, heterodox): reject Vedic authority — Charvaka, Jainism, Buddhism, Ajivika.
The six orthodox schools (three pairs)
| School | Founder / text | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Nyaya (न्याय) | Gautama (Akshapada), Nyaya Sutra | Logic and valid knowledge; four pramanas: perception, inference, comparison, testimony |
| Vaisheshika (वैशेषिक) | Kanada, Vaisheshika Sutra | Atomism: the world is made of eternal atoms (paramanu); categories (padartha) |
| Samkhya (सांख्य) | Kapila | Dualism of purusha (consciousness) and prakriti (matter); three gunas; regarded as the oldest system |
| Yoga (योग) | Patanjali, Yoga Sutra | Practical path to liberation; ashtanga (eight limbs): yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi |
| Purva Mimamsa (पूर्व मीमांसा) | Jaimini, Mimamsa Sutra | Interpretation of Vedic ritual and duty (dharma); later Kumarila Bhatta and Prabhakara |
| Vedanta / Uttara Mimamsa (वेदान्त) | Badarayana, Brahma Sutra | Knowledge of Brahman; based on the prasthanatrayi: Upanishads, Brahma Sutra, Bhagavad Gita |
Schools of Vedanta
| School | Teacher | Idea in one line |
|---|---|---|
| Advaita (non-dualism) | Adi Shankaracharya (8th century, born at Kaladi, Kerala) | Brahman alone is real; the world is maya; four mathas: Sringeri (south), Dwarka (west), Puri (east), Jyotirmath (north) |
| Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism) | Ramanuja (11th–12th century) | Souls and matter are real but dependent on Brahman (Vishnu); basis of Sri Vaishnavism |
| Dvaita (dualism) | Madhvacharya (13th century, Udupi) | God and souls are eternally distinct |
| Dvaitadvaita (difference-cum-non-difference) | Nimbarka | Souls are both different and non-different from Brahman |
| Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism) | Vallabhacharya (born, by tradition, at Champaran, Chhattisgarh, 1479) | No maya; the world is real as Krishna’s manifestation; Pushtimarg (path of grace) |
| Achintya Bhedabheda | Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | Inconceivable oneness and difference |
Heterodox schools
| School | Teacher | Core idea |
|---|---|---|
| Charvaka / Lokayata | Attributed to Brihaspati | Materialism: only perception is valid; no afterlife |
| Jainism | Mahavira (24th Tirthankara) | Anekantavada (many-sidedness), syadvada, ahimsa, triratna |
| Buddhism | Gautama Buddha | Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path; later Madhyamaka (Nagarjuna, shunyata) and Yogachara (Asanga, Vasubandhu) |
| Ajivika | Makkhali Gosala | Strict determinism (niyati); Barabar caves were cut for them |
For the philosophy in Mains GS-IV depth, see Indian Philosophy.
Analysis for Mains: Why These Texts Matter
- Sources of history: Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is close to a modern chronicle; Persian histories and memoirs are core sources for the Sultanate and Mughals.
- Debate and pluralism: astika and nastika schools argued openly; Buddhist and Jain logic sharpened Nyaya.
- Language and people: bhakti poets moved religion from Sanskrit into Awadhi, Braj, Marathi and Tamil, widening access.
- Synthesis: Dara Shikoh’s translations of the Upanishads and Akbar’s Razmnama show cultural exchange.
- Chhattisgarh: Vallabhacharya (Champaran), the Kabirpanth (Damakheda) and modern Hindi writers (Rajnandgaon) place the state inside these all-India currents.
Memory Tricks
Six darshanas in pairs: Logic-Atoms, Theory-Practice, Ritual-Knowledge
Nyaya–Vaisheshika (Gautama–Kanada: logic and atoms) · Samkhya–Yoga (Kapila–Patanjali: theory and practice) · Mimamsa–Vedanta (Jaimini–Badarayana: ritual and knowledge).
Founders: “Go Kiss Kapil’s Pet Jumping Bunny” = Gautama, Kanada, Kapila, Patanjali, Jaimini, Badarayana.
Vedanta teachers in time order: S-R-M-V
Shankara (8th c, Advaita) → Ramanuja (11th–12th c, Vishishtadvaita) → Madhva (13th c, Dvaita) → Vallabha (15th–16th c, Shuddhadvaita, born at Champaran).
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Patanjali — Yoga Sutra (the grammarian of the Mahabhashya is often thought to be a different Patanjali) | vs | Panini — Ashtadhyayi (the grammar Patanjali’s Mahabhashya comments on) |
| Silappadikaram — Ilango Adigal | vs | Manimekalai — Sittalai Sattanar |
| Ramcharitmanas — Tulsidas, Awadhi | vs | Sursagar — Surdas, Braj |
| Humayun-nama — Gulbadan Begum | vs | Akbarnama — Abul Fazl |
| Champaran, Chhattisgarh — Vallabhacharya’s birthplace | vs | Champaran, Bihar — Gandhi’s satyagraha (1917) |
Common Mistakes
MCQ traps
- “Samkhya was founded by Kanada.” False. Samkhya = Kapila; Kanada founded Vaisheshika.
- “Buddhism and Jainism are among the six darshanas.” False. The six are orthodox; Buddhism and Jainism are heterodox.
- “The Baburnama was written in Persian.” Babur wrote it in Turki; Persian translations came later under Akbar.
- “Satyameva Jayate is from the Rigveda.” It is from the Mundaka Upanishad.
- “Kalidasa wrote Mrichchhakatika.” That is Shudraka.
Practice
All questions are original practice questions in CGPSC style, not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir, was written by ______.
- The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the ______ Parva of the Mahabharata.
- The founder of the Shuddhadvaita school, born by tradition at Champaran in Chhattisgarh, was ______.
Answers
- Kalhana (1148–49 CE).
- Bhishma Parva.
- Vallabhacharya.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements:
- Nyaya and Vaisheshika are both orthodox (astika) schools of Indian philosophy.
- The Charvaka school accepted inference and testimony as valid sources of knowledge.
- Samkhya explains the world through the dualism of purusha and prakriti.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1 and 3 only
Answer and explanation
(d) 1 and 3 only. Nyaya and Vaisheshika are two of the six orthodox darshanas. The Charvakas accepted only perception as a valid source of knowledge, so statement 2 is wrong. Samkhya’s purusha–prakriti dualism is its defining idea.
Q2. Match List I (Work) with List II (Author):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Mudrarakshasa | 1. Banabhatta |
| B. Harshacharita | 2. Vishakhadatta |
| C. Mrichchhakatika | 3. Ilango Adigal |
| D. Silappadikaram | 4. Shudraka |
- (a) A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
- (b) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
- (c) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- (d) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
Answer and explanation
(c) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3. Mudrarakshasa is Vishakhadatta’s political drama about Chanakya. Harshacharita is Banabhatta’s biography of Harsha. Mrichchhakatika is Shudraka’s play. Silappadikaram is the Tamil epic of Ilango Adigal.
Q3. Which pair of Vedanta school and teacher is incorrectly matched?
- (a) Advaita — Shankaracharya
- (b) Dvaita — Ramanuja
- (c) Shuddhadvaita — Vallabhacharya
- (d) Dvaitadvaita — Nimbarka
Answer and explanation
(b). Dvaita was taught by Madhvacharya. Ramanuja taught Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism). The other three pairs are correct.
Q4. In which language did Tulsidas compose the Ramcharitmanas?
- (a) Braj
- (b) Sanskrit
- (c) Awadhi
- (d) Maithili
Answer and explanation
(c) Awadhi. Braj is the language of Surdas’s Sursagar; Vidyapati wrote in Maithili. Mixing Awadhi and Braj between Tulsidas and Surdas is a favourite trap.
Level 3: Mains-Style Answer Writing
Q1. (150–200 words) Explain the distinction between the astika and nastika schools of Indian philosophy, with two examples of each.
Model answer outline
- Intro: Darshana means “seeing”; the schools are classed by their attitude to the Vedas.
- Astika: accept Vedic authority; six schools in three pairs. Examples: Samkhya (Kapila; purusha–prakriti dualism, three gunas) and Vedanta (Badarayana; Brahman; Advaita of Shankara, Shuddhadvaita of Vallabha).
- Nastika: reject Vedic authority. Examples: Charvaka (materialism, perception only) and Buddhism (Four Noble Truths, later Madhyamaka).
- Interaction: debate refined logic (Nyaya vs Buddhist logicians); Jain anekantavada encouraged tolerance of views.
- Chhattisgarh angle: Vallabhacharya, by tradition born at Champaran near Raipur, links the state to Vedanta.
- Conclusion: Indian thought was plural and argumentative, a heritage relevant to democratic debate today.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Satyameva Jayate | Mundaka Upanishad |
| Gayatri mantra | Rigveda, Mandala 3 |
| Six Vedangas | Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chhandas, Jyotisha |
| Bhagavad Gita | Bhishma Parva; 18 chapters, 700 verses |
| Rajatarangini | Kalhana, 1148–49 |
| Gita Govinda | Jayadeva, 12th century |
| Sangam epics | Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal), Manimekalai (Sattanar) |
| Tirukkural | Tiruvalluvar |
| Baburnama | Turki |
| First Jnanpith | G. Sankara Kurup, 1965 |
| Classical languages | 11 (since October 2024) |
| Six darshanas | Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta |
| Advaita / Vishishtadvaita / Dvaita | Shankara / Ramanuja / Madhva |
| Shuddhadvaita | Vallabhacharya; Champaran (CG), 1479 |
| Vinod Kumar Shukla | 59th Jnanpith (for 2024); died 23 Dec 2025 |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Vedic literature runs Samhita → Brahmana → Aranyaka → Upanishad; the Upanishads are the root of Vedanta.
- Classical Sanskrit questions are almost always author → work pairs; learn them as pairs.
- Regional literature carried bhakti to ordinary people; know the language of each major poet.
- The six orthodox darshanas come in three pairs; the heterodox reject Vedic authority.
- Chhattisgarh’s links: Vallabhacharya (Champaran), Kabirpanth (Damakheda), Rajnandgaon’s writers.
What’s Next
- Chapter Quick Revision — the whole chapter on one page
- Indian Philosophy — Mains GS-IV depth on the darshanas
- Literature and Language of Chhattisgarh — the state’s writers and Chhattisgarhi
- Bhakti and Sufi Movements — the saint-poets behind regional literature
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