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Although the history of Hindi literature is very old and the accurate year of its origin cannot be dated, it is believed that the literary works began to be produced in the Devanagari script from around the 15th century.
During this period (known as the Adi Kal), Chand Bardai came up with the very first literary work in the history of Hindi literature. He wrote a poem called ‘Prithviraj Raso’ that gained sudden popularity. Thus, looking at this record, it can be assumed that Chand Bardai was the first person to have started or developed Hindi literature.
Bharatendu Harishchandra, born in 1850, is known as the father of Hindi literature for he authored several poems, dramas, magazines, and translations. He used literature to depict the exploitative nature of the Britishers during the time of their rule in India.
Bharatendu followed the Vaishnava tradition and was deeply moved by the concept of the Bhakti Movement and therefore used many of his literary works to promote the continuity of Hindu traditions over the influence of modern education. Later, he was given the title “Vir Vaishnava”.
According to Indian historians and writers, Chand Bardai’s poem called “Prithviraj Raso” was the first Hindi literature published in the Devanagari script. In this poem, the poet has beautifully described the life of Prithviraj Chauhan. However, it is only considered a fictional narrative, bereft of any historical evidence. Most Scholars date this work to the 13th century. It is also considered one of the largest Hindi poetry works to date, comprising more than 10,000 stanzas.
Hindi literature has had a great history of epic literary works composed by unmatched pantheons. It is still blooming and growing. It is difficult to only glorify one writer and title him “the greatest”. But if one name has to be mentioned for producing the most influential and renowned literary works, it would be “Munshi Premchand”.
Born in 1880, Munshi Premchand was known for writing about the plights of women and caste hierarchies back in the late 1880s. He wrote hundreds of short stories and fourteen novels that were later translated into English and other languages.
India is the land of many cultures, traditions, and languages. Indian literature includes all the literary works in different Indian languages by writers from different parts of the country such as Assamese literature, Bengali literature, Sanskrit literature, Kannada literature, Tamil literature, Gujarati literature, Odia literature, etc.
The most renowned Indian literature of all time is the Vedic literature written in the Sanskrit language. The Vedic literature is considered the oldest literature known on this planet and the knowledge mentioned in it is the most perfect, beyond human intelligence and experience. People from different parts of the world travel to India to study the essence of this literature.
The beginning of Sanskrit literature is very hard to tell as it is considered the oldest form of literature even known to humanity. The most revered literary work in this literature is the collection of Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads.
This literature was compiled by Vedvyas, the literary incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Shri Krishna. Vedic literature is so vast and accurate that no person can read it in his entire lifetime. Therefore, the saints have recommended reading the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam to study and understand the essence of all Vedic knowledge.
Sanskrit literature is vast and contains all literature written in the Sanskrit language. There is a wide range of Sanskrit books written by different authors and writers. However, the most renowned and influential Sanskrit books are the Vedas, Puranas, and epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.
There has been a famous writer named “Panini” who wrote a book called “Ashtadhyayi” of Sutras that defines the language and grammar of Sanskrit. Exotic India has a vast collection of Sanskrit books for you to buy and read such as
☛ “महाभारत सर्वस्वम्: The Mahabharata Retold in Sanskrit (An Old Book)
☛ प्रणव संस्कृत पुस्तक- Pranav Sanskrit Book”
☛ “संस्कृतस्वाध्याय: (संक्षेपरामायणम्) - Teach Yourself Sanskrit”.
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