View source for Sanskrit literature

{{Short description|Literature of Sanskrit language}}
[[File:Devimahatmya (Glory of the Goddess) manuscript LACMA M.88.134.7.jpg|thumb|A 17th-century ''[[Devi Mahatmya|Devimahatmya]]'' manuscript written in [[Newar script|Newari]] script]]
[[File:Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Maitreya Folio.jpeg|thumb|Sanskrit ''[[Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' manuscript written in the [[Ranjana script]]. India, early 12th century.]]
[[File:Unknown (Indian) - Jain Manuscript, Kalakacarya Katha - 71.320.5A - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg|thumb|Jain Manuscript, ''[[Kalakacarya Katha]].'']]
{{History of literature by era}}
'''Sanskrit literature''' is a broad term for all [[literature]] composed in [[Sanskrit]]. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the [[Proto-Indo-Aryan language]] known as [[Vedic Sanskrit]], texts in [[Classical Sanskrit]] as well as some mixed and non-standard forms of Sanskrit.<ref>Fortson, §10.23.</ref>{{efn|"Since the Renaissance there has been no event of such worldwide significance in the history of culture as the discovery of Sanskrit literature in the latter part of the eighteenth century" - Macdonell<ref>Macdonell, p. 1.</ref>}} Literature in the older language begins during the [[Vedic period]] with the composition of the [[Rigveda]] between about 1500 and 1000 BCE, followed by other [[Vedic]] works right up to the time of the grammarian [[Pāṇini]] around 6th or 4th century BCE (after which Classical Sanskrit texts gradually became the norm).{{Sfn|Burrow|1973|p=35-44}}{{efn|"The R̥gveda is a monumental text with signal significance for both world religion and world literature" - Jamison & Brereton <ref>Jamison & Brereton p. 1.</ref>}}

Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the extensive liturgical works of the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]], while [[Classical music|Classical]] Sanskrit is the language of many of the prominent texts associated with the major [[Indian religions]], especially [[Hinduism]] and the [[Hindu texts]], but also [[Buddhism]], and [[Jainism]].{{efn|'The style of the [Vedic] works is more simple and spontaneous while that of the later works abounds in puns, conceits and long compounds. Rhetorical ornaments are more and more copious and complex and the rules of Poetic and Grammar more and more rigidly observed as time advances.' - Iyengar,<ref>Iyengar, p. 2.</ref>}} Some [[Sanskrit Buddhist literature|Sanskrit Buddhist texts]] are also composed in a version of Sanskrit often called [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] or Buddhistic Sanskrit, which contains many [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indic]] ([[prakrit]]ic) elements not found in other forms of Sanskrit.<ref>Edgerton, Franklin. ''The Prakrit Underlying Buddhistic Hybrid Sanskrit.'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol. 8, No. 2/3, page 503.</ref>

Early works of Sanskrit literature were transmitted through an [[oral tradition]]{{efn|The preeminent Sanskritist [[William Jones (philologist)|Sir William Jones]] is said to be the first who ever printed an edition of a Sanskrit text - the Ṛtusaṃhāra of Kālidāsa.<ref>Macdonell, p. 3.</ref>}} for centuries before they were written down in manuscript form.<ref>Keith, §1.</ref><ref>Macdonnell, §1.</ref>{{Sfn|Burrow|1973|p=64-66}}

While most Sanskrit texts were composed in [[ancient India]], others were composed in [[Central Asia]], [[East Asia]] or [[Southeast Asia]].

Sanskrit literature is vast and includes [[Hindu texts]], [[Religious text|religious scripture]], various forms of [[poetry]] (such as [[Epic poetry|epic]] and [[Lyric poetry|lyric]]), [[drama]] and [[Prose|narrative prose]]. It also includes substantial works covering secular and technical sciences and the arts. Some of these subjects include: [[law]] and [[Customary law|custom]], [[grammar]], [[politics]], [[economics]], [[medicine]], [[astrology]]-[[astronomy]], [[arithmetic]], [[geometry]], [[music]], [[dance]], [[Theatre studies|dramatics]], [[Magic (illusion)|magic]] and [[divination]], and [[Human sexuality|sexuality]].<ref>Winternitz (1972) Vol I, pp. 3-4.</ref>

== Overview ==

Literature in the Vedic and the Classical language differ in numerous respects. The Vedic literature that survives is almost entirely religious, being focused on the prayers, hymns to the gods ([[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]]), [[Homa (ritual)|sacrifices]] and other concerns of the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]].<ref>Iyengar, p. 4.</ref> The language of this archaic literature (the earliest being the [[Rigveda]]), [[Vedic Sanskrit]], is different in many ways (and much less regular) than the "classical" Sanskrit described by later grammarians like [[Pāṇini]].<ref name="Gombrich2006p24">{{cite book |author=Richard Gombrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZyJAgAAQBAJ |title=Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo |publisher=Routledge |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-134-90352-8 |pages=24–25}}</ref> This literature was transmitted orally during the Vedic period, only later was it written down.<ref name="Meier-Brügger2003">{{cite book |last=Meier-Brügger |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49xq3UlKWckC |title=Indo-European Linguistics |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2003 |isbn=978-3-11-017433-5 |page=20}}</ref><ref name="Keith1993">{{cite book |last=Keith |first=A. Berriedale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNALtBMVbd0C |title=A History of Sanskrit Literature |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-208-1100-3 |page=4}}</ref>

Classical Sanskrit literature is more varied and includes the following genres: scripture (Hindu, Buddhist and Jain), [[Indian epic poetry|epics]], court poetry ([[Kāvya|kavya]]), lyric, [[drama]], romance, fairytale, fables, [[grammar]], civil and religious law ([[dharma]]), the science of politics and practical life, the science of love and sexual intercourse ([[kama]]), [[Indian philosophy|philosophy]], medicine, astronomy, astrology and [[mathematics]], and is largely secular in subject-matter.<ref name=Iyengar5>Iyengar, p. 5.</ref> On the other hand, the Classical Sanskrit language was much more formalized and homogeneous, partly due to the influence of Sanskrit grammarians like [[Pāṇini]] and his commentators.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gérard Huet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2f1hneiV08C |title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: First and Second International Symposia Rocquencourt, France, October 29–31, 2007 Providence, RI, USA, May 15–17, 2008, Revised Selected Papers |author2=Amba Kulkarni |author3=Peter Scharf |publisher=Springer |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-642-00154-3 |pages=v–vi}}</ref>

Sanskrit was an important language for medieval Indian religious literature. Most pre-modern [[Hindu texts|Hindu literature]] and philosophy was in Sanskrit and a significant portion of [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist literature]] was also written in either classical Sanskrit or [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]].<ref>{{cite book |author=John Kelly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_eqr833q9qYC&pg=PA87 |title=Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit Language |publisher=BRILL Academic |year=1996 |isbn=978-90-04-10613-0 |editor=Jan E.M. Houben |pages=87–102}}</ref> Many of these Sanskrit Buddhist texts were the basis for later translation into the [[Chinese Buddhist canon|Chinese Buddhist Canon]] and [[Tibetan Buddhist canon|Tibetan Canon]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Stephen K. Stein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QmOWDgAAQBAJ |title=The Sea in World History: Exploration, Travel, and Trade [2 volumes] |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4408-3551-3 |page=147}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Taliaferro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CfWoAwAAQBAJ |title=A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion |date=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4411-8504-4 |pages=245–246}}</ref> Many [[Jain literature|Jain texts]] were also written in Sanskrit, like the  [[Tattvartha Sutra|''Tattvartha sutra'']], [[Bhaktamara Stotra]], etc.<ref name="Parret1976p102">{{cite book |author=J.F. Staal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQh0bC5RAe8C&pg=PA102 |title=History of Linguistic Thought and Contemporary Linguistics |publisher=Walter de&nbsp;Gruyter |year=1976 |isbn=978-3-11-005818-5 |editor=Herman Parret |pages=102–130}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Paul Dundas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efaOR_-YsIcC |title=Between the Empires: Society in India 300&nbsp;BCE to 400&nbsp;CE |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-977507-1 |editor=Patrick Olivelle |pages=395–396}}</ref>

Classical Sanskrit also served as a common language of scholarship and elites (as opposed to local vernacular who were only understood regionally).{{Sfn|Burrow|1973|p=60}}

The [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|invasions of northern India by Islamic powers]] in the 13th century severely damaged Indian Sanskrit scholarship and the dominance of Islamic power over India eventually contributed to the decline of this scholarly language, especially since Muslim rulers promoted Middle Eastern languages.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1017/s001041750100353x | title=The Death of Sanskrit | year=2001 | last1=Pollock | first1=Sheldon | journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History | volume=43 | issue=2 | pages=392–426 | doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 | s2cid=35550166 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Hanneder|first=J.|title=On 'The Death of Sanskrit'|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=45|issue=4|year=2002|pages=293–310|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1021366131934|s2cid=189797805|jstor=24664154|doi=10.1163/000000002124994847|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>Deshpande, Madhav M. (1993). Sanskrit & Prakrit, Sociolinguistic Issues. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 118–124. {{ISBN|978-81-208-1136-2}}.</ref> However, Sanskrit remains in use throughout India, and is used in rituals, religious practice, scholarship, art, and other Indian traditions.<ref>Moriz Winternitz (1996). A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 37–39. {{ISBN|978-81-208-0264-3}}.</ref>

== Vedic literature ==
[[File:1500-1200_BCE,_Vivaha_sukta,_Rigveda_10.85.16-27,_Sanskrit,_Devanagari,_manuscript_page.jpg|thumb|Hymn 10.85 of the ''Rigveda'', which includes the Vivaha-sukta (above). Its recitation continues to be a part of [[Hindu wedding|Hindu wedding rituals]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Singh |first=N. |year=1992 |title=The vivaha (marriage) Samskara as a paradigm for religio-cultural integration in Hinduism |journal=Journal for the Study of Religion |volume=5 |pages=31–40 |jstor=24764135 |number=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Vivekananda |first=Swami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJjXAAAAMAAJ |title=Prabuddha Bharata |publisher=Prabuddha Bharata Press |year=2005 |pages=362, 594 |isbn=978-81-7823-180-8 |trans-title=Awakened India}}</ref>]]

=== Chronology ===
Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within the literature of [[Vedic Sanskrit]]:<ref>Witzel, 1989, p. 1.</ref>{{Sfn|Burrow|1973|p=43}}{{efn|"The literature of the Veda is one of the most original and interesting productions of human endeavor." – Jan Gonda<ref>Gonda, p. 1</ref>}}

# [[Rigveda|Rigvedic]] Hymns
# [[Mantra]]s
# [[Saṃhitā]] prose
# [[Brāhmaṇa]] prose
# [[Sūtras]]

The first three are commonly grouped together, as the Saṃhitās{{efn-ua|'compiled', 'put together'<ref>MWW, p. 1123.</ref>}} comprising the four Vedas:{{efn-ua|from ''vid-'', 'to know', cognate with Eng. 'wit'<ref>MWW, p.963.</ref>}} ṛk, atharvan, yajus, sāman, which together constitute the oldest texts in Sanskrit and the canonical foundation both of the Vedic religion, and the later religion known as Hinduism.<ref name=jb12>J&B, pp. 1-2.</ref>

=== Rigveda ===
{{Vedas and Shakhas}}
{{main|RigVeda|l1 = Rigveda}}
The Rigveda, the first and oldest of the four Vedas, is the foundation for the others. The Rigveda is made of 1028 hymns named ''sūktas'', composed of verses in strictly regulated meters. These are collected into [[Samhita|saṃhitās]]. There are about 10,000 of these verses that make up the Rigveda. The Rigvedic hymns are subdivided into 10 ''maṇḍala''s, most of which are attributed to members of certain families. Composition of the Rigvedic hymns was entirely oral, and for much of its history, the Rigveda has been transmitted only orally, written down likely no sooner than in the second half of the first millennium of the Common Era.<ref name="jb23">J&B, pp. 2-3.</ref>

=== The later Vedas ===
The [[Samaveda|''Sāmaveda'']] is not an original composition: it's almost entirely (except 75) made of stanzas taken from the Rigveda and rearranged with reference to their place in the [[Soma (drink)|Soma]] sacrifice. This book is meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, and may thus be called the book of chants, ''sāman''. The ''[[Yajurveda]]'' like the ''Sāman'' is also largely made of verses taken from the Rigveda, but also contains several prose formulas. It is called the book of sacrificial prayers ''yajus''.<ref>Macdonell, p. 30.</ref>

The last of the four, the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'', both by the internal structure of the language used and by comparison with the Rigveda, is a much later work. However, the ''Atharvaveda'' represents a much earlier stage of thought of the Vedic people, being composed mainly of spells and incantations appealing to demons, and is rife with notions of witchcraft, derived from a much earlier period.<ref>Macdonell, pp. 30-31.</ref>{{efn|Originally only the first 3 Vedas were taken as canonical, being termed the ''trayī·vidyā'', 'three-fold knowledge'}}

=== Brāhmaṇas ===
{{main|Brahmanas|l1 = Brāhmaṇas}}

The ''[[Brahmana|Brāhmaṇas]]'' (a subdivision within the Vedas) concern themselves with the correct application of [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic ritual]], and the duties of the Vedic priest ([[Vedic priesthood|hotṛ]]: 'pourer, worshiper, reciter') the word being derived from ''bráhman'' meaning 'prayer'. They were composed at a period in time by which the Vedic hymns had achieved the status of being ancient and sacred revelations and the language had changed sufficiently so that the priests did not fully understand the Vedic texts. The ''Brāhmaṇas'' are composed in prose, unlike the previous works, forming some of the earliest examples of prose in any [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]]. The ''Brāhmaṇas'' intend to explain the relation between the sacred text and ritual ceremony.<ref>Macdonell, p. 31-32.</ref>{{efn|The Brāhmaṇas produced "a ritual system far surpassing in complexity of detail anything the world has elsewhere known" – Macdonell}}

The later part of the ''Brāhmaṇas'' contain material which also discuss [[theology]] and [[philosophy]]. These works were meant to be imparted or studied in the peace and calm of the forest, hence their name the [[Aranyaka|''Āraṇyaka''s]] ("Of the forest") The last part of these are books of Vedic doctrine and philosophy that came to be called [[Upanisads|''Upaniṣads'']] ("sitting down beside"). The doctrines in the Vedic or [[Principal Upanishads|''Mukhya'' ''Upaniṣads'']] (the main and most ancient ''Upaniṣads)'' were later developed into the ''[[Vedanta|Vedānta]]'' (''"end of the Vedas"'') system.<ref>Macdonell, p. 34.</ref>

=== Vedic Sūtras ===
The Vedic [[Sutra|Sūtras]] were [[Aphorism|aphoristic]] treatises concerned either with Vedic ritual ([[Kalpa (Vedanga)|Kalpa]] [[Vedanga]]) or customary law. They arrived during the later period of the ''Brāhmaṇas'' when a vast mass of ritual and customary details had been accumulated. To address this, the Sūtras are intended to provide a concise survey of Vedic knowledge through short aphoristic passages that could be easily memorized. The Sūtras forego the need to interpret the ceremony or custom, but simply provide a plain, methodical account with the utmost brevity.{{efn|"According to [a characteristic aphorism that's been preserved] the composers of grammatical Sūtras delight as much in the saving of a short vowel as in the birth of a son"! – Macdonell}} The word ''sūtra'', derived from the root ''siv-'', 'to sew',{{efn|compare Latin ''sutura'' (suture)}} thus meaning 'sewn' or 'stitched together' eventually became a byword for any work of aphorisms of similar concision.{{efn|An example is the ''Anukramaṇī''s, indexes, designed to preserve the text of the Vedas from loss or change, each of which quotes "the first word of each hymn, its author, the deity celebrated in it, the number of verses it contains, and the metre in which it is composed. One of them states the total number of hymns, verses, words, and even syllables, contained in the R̥gveda, alongside other minute details" – Macdonell }} The sutras in many cases are so terse they cannot be understood without the help of detailed commentaries.<ref>Macdonell, pp. 35-36.</ref>

The main types of Vedic Sūtras include the ''[[Śrauta]] sūtras'' (focusing on ritual), [[Shulba Sutras|''Śulbasûtra'']] (on altar construction), ''[[Grhya Sutras|Gṛhyasūtras]]'' which focus on [[Rite of passage|rites of passage]] and ''[[Dharmaśāstra#The Dharmasutras|Dharmasūtras]].''

== Hindu religious literature ==
{{See also|Vedas|Upaniṣad|Bhagavad Gita|l2=The Upaniṣads|l3=Bhagavad-Gītā|}}
[[File:BhagavadGita-19th-century-Illustrated-Sanskrit-Chapter 1.20.21.jpg|thumb|275px|A 19th-century illustrated Sanskrit manuscript from the Bhagavad Gita, composed c. 400 BCE – 200 BCE.]]

Most ancient and medieval Hindu texts were composed in Sanskrit, either [[Indian epic poetry|epic Sanskrit]] (the pre-classical language found in the two main Indian epics) or classical Sanskrit (Paninian Sanskrit).<ref>Winternitz (1972) Vol I, p. 46.</ref> In modern times, most ancient texts have been translated into other [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] and some in Western languages.<ref name="goodallix">Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20778-3}}, page ix-xliii</ref> Prior to the start of the common era, the Hindu texts were composed orally, then memorized and transmitted orally, from one generation to next, for more than a millennium before they were written down into manuscripts.<ref name="michaelwitzel68">[[Michael Witzel]], "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in: Flood, Gavin, ed. (2003), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|1-4051-3251-5}}, pages 68–71</ref><ref name="graham67">William Graham (1993), Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-44820-8}}, pages 67–77</ref> This verbal tradition{{efn|"The Vedas are still learnt by heart as they were long before the invasion of Alexander, and could even now be restored from he lips of religious teachers if every manuscript or printed copy of them were destroyed.", Macdonell, 1900 <ref>Macdonell, p. 8.</ref>}} of preserving and transmitting Hindu texts, from one generation to next, continued into the modern era.<ref name="michaelwitzel68" /><ref name="graham67" />

=== Classification ===
{{Hindu scriptures}}
Hindu Sanskrit texts are subdivided into two classes:

* ''[[Śruti]]'' ("that which is heard"){{efn-ua|hearing, heard}} are believed to be 'revealed', such as the [[Veda]]s and the [[Upanishad|Upaniṣad]]s.<ref name="iep.utm.edu">{{Cite web |title=Hindu Philosophy {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/hindu-ph/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* The ''[[Smriti|Smṛti]]'' ("that which is remembered") Sanskrit texts are a specific body of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] texts attributed to an author,<ref name="iep.utm.edu"/> as a derivative work they are considered less authoritative than ''Śruti'' in Hinduism.<ref name="jamesmriti">James Lochtefeld (2002), "Smrti", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-8239-3179-8}}, page 656–657</ref> The ''Smṛti'' literature includes but is not limited to [[Vedanga|Vedāṅgas]], Itihasas (the Hindu epics such as [[Mahabharata]] and [[Ramayana]]), the [[Sutra|Sūtras]] and [[Shastra|Śāstras]], and the [[Puranas|Purāṇas]], while some traditions also include Kāvya (courtly poetry), ''[[Bhashya|Bhāṣyas]]'',{{efn-ua|commentaries}} and numerous ''Nibandhas'' (digests) covering politics, ethics, culture, arts and society.<ref name="bilimoriasmrti">Purushottama Bilimoria (2011), The idea of Hindu law, Journal of Oriental Society of Australia, Vol. 43, pages 103–130</ref><ref name="Roy Perrett 1998 pages 16-18">Roy Perrett (1998), Hindu Ethics: A Philosophical Study, University of Hawaii Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8248-2085-5}}, pages 16–18</ref>

=== Indian Epics ===
The first traces of [[Indian epic poetry]] are seen in the [[Vedas|Vedic literature]], among the certain hymns of the [[Rigveda]] (which contain dialogues), as well as the Ākhyānas (ballads), [[Itihasa|Itihāsas]] ('traditional accounts of past events') and the [[Puranas|Purāṇas]] found in the Vedic [[Brahmana|Brāhmaṇas]].<ref name=":5">Winternitz, 1972, pp. 311-12.</ref> These poems were originally songs of praise or heroic songs which developed into [[epic poems]] of increasing length over time. They were originally recited during important events such as during the Vedic [[horse sacrifice]] (the [[Ashvamedha|aśvamedha]]) or during a funeral.<ref name=":5" />

Another related genre were the "songs in praise of men" ([[Gatha (India)|gāthā]] narasamsi), which focus on the glorious deeds of warriors and princes, which also developed into long epic cycles.<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 314</ref> These epic poems were recited by courtly [[bard]]s called ''[[sūta]]s'', who may have been their own [[Caste system in India|caste]] and were closely related to the [[Kshatriya|warrior caste]]. There was also a related group of traveling singers called kusilavas.<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 315</ref> Indian kings and princes seem to have kept bards in their courts which sung the praises of the king, recite poems at festivals and sometimes even recite poetry in battle to embolden the warriors.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 58.</ref>

While there were certainly other epic cycles, only two have survived, the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'' and the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]''.{{sfn|Winternitz|1972|p=314}}<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 314-15.</ref>

==== ''Mahābhārata'' ====
The ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'' is in a sense not just a single 'epic poem', but can be seen as a ''whole'' body of literature in its own right, a massive collection of many different poetic works built around the heroic tales of the [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharata]] tribe.<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 316-318.</ref> Most of this literature was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE by numerous authors, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Christopher R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jCoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |title=Pradyumna: Lover, Magician, and Son of the Avatara |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-005411-3 |page=21 |language=en}}</ref>

Already in the Rigveda, the ''Bharatas'' find mention as a warlike tribe, and the Brāhmaṇas also speak of [[Bharata (Ramayana)|Bharata]], the son of [[Dushyanta|Duṣyanta]] and [[Shakuntala|Śakuntalā]]. The core of the ''Mahābhārata'' is a family feud in the royal house of the [[Kaurava]]s (the descendants of Bharata), leading to a bloody [[Kurukshetra War|battle at Kurukshetra]]. Over the centuries, an enormous mass of poetry, myths, legends, secondary tales, moral stories and more was added to the original core story. The final form of the epic is thus a massive 100,000 ślokas{{efn|the account based on the actual historical 18-day battle itself takes up 20,000 ślokas}} across 18+1 books.{{sfn|Winternitz|1972|pp=317-321}}<ref>Macdonell, p. 282.</ref>

According to Winternitz, the ''Mahābhārata'' also shows the influence of the [[Brahmin|Brahmin class]], which he argues was engaged in a project of appropriating the poetry of the bards (which was mainly a secular heroic literature) in order to infuse it with their religious theology and values.<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 317-319.</ref>

The most influential part of the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'' is the ''[[Bhagavad Gita|Bhagavadgītā]],'' which became a central scripture for the Vedanta school and remains widely read today.<ref>Eliot Deutsch; Rohit Dalvi (2004), ''The Essential Vedānta: A New Source Book of Advaita Vedānta, World Wisdom'', p. 97. Inc, {{ISBN|978-0-941532-52-5}}</ref>

Another important associated text, which acts as a kind of supplement (''khila'') to the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]],'' is the ''[[Harivamsa|Harivanhśa]],'' which focuses on the figure of [[Krishna]]''.''<ref>Winternitz, 1972, pp. 443-444.</ref>

==== ''Rāmāyaṇa'' ====
In contrast to the ''Mahābhārata'', the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]'' consists of only 24,000 [[Shloka|ślokas]] divided into seven books, and in form is more purely regular, ornate epic poetry, a form of style which is the basis of the later [[Kāvya]] tradition.<ref>Macdonell, p. 303,310.</ref>{{sfn|Winternitz|1972|p=467}} There are two parts to the story of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'',<ref>Keith, p. 43.</ref> which are narrated in the five genuine books. The first revolves around the events at the court of King [[Dasharatha|Daśaratha]] at [[Ayodhya (Ramayana)|Ayodhya]] with one of his wives vying for the succession of the throne to her own son Bharata in place of the one chosen by the king, [[Rama|Rāma]]. The second part of the epic is full of myth and marvel, with the banished Rāma combating giants in the forest, and slaying thousands of demons. The second part also deals with the abduction of Rāmā's wife, [[Sita|Sītā]] by king [[Ravana|Rāvaṇa]] of Lankā, leading Rāma to carry out to expedition to the island to defeat the king in battle and recover his wife.<ref>Macdonell, pp. 311-314.</ref>

=== Purāṇa ===
{{main|Purāṇa}}The ''[[Puranas|Purāṇa]]'' are a large class of Hindu scriptures which cover numerous topics such as myth, legends of the [[Hindu deities|Hindu gods]], [[cosmogony]], [[cosmology]], stories of ancient kings and sages, folk tales, information about temples, medicine, astronomy, grammar and Hindu theology and [[Hindu philosophy|philosophy]].<ref>Bailey, Gregory (2001). Leaman, Oliver (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy,'' pp. 437–439. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-17281-3}}.</ref> Perhaps the most influential of these texts is the [[Bhagavata Purana|''Bhāgavata Purāṇa'']], a central text for [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] theology.<ref name="richardthompson">{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Richard L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TZmDSr-1msC&pg=PA10 |title=The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana 'Mysteries of the Sacred Universe |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |year=2007 |isbn=978-81-208-1919-1 |page=10}}</ref><ref>Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20778-3}}, page xli</ref> Other ''Purāṇas'' center on different gods, like the ''[[Shiva Purana|Shiva Purāṇa]]'' and the ''[[Devi-Bhagavata Purana|Devī Bhāgavata Purāṇa]].''

=== Later Upaniṣads ===
The [[Principal Upanishads|principal Upaniṣads]] can be considered [[Vedas|Vedic literature]] since they are included within the ''[[Brahmanas]]'' and ''[[Aranyakas]]''.<ref name="olivelleintro">Patrick Olivelle (2014), ''The Early Upanishads,'' Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-512435-4}}, pages 12-14.</ref><ref name=":0">Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). ''Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India'', pp. 258-259. BRILL.</ref> However, numerous scriptures titled "Upaniṣads" continued to be composed after the closure of the Vedas proper. Of these later "Upaniṣads" there are two categories of texts:<ref>Olivelle, Patrick (1992). ''The Samnyasa Upanisads'', pp. 5, 8–9.. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-507045-3}}.</ref><ref>Varghese, Alexander P. (2008), ''India : History, Religion, Vision And Contribution To The World'', vol. 1, p. 101. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, {{ISBN|978-81-269-0903-2}}</ref>

* 95 canonical Upaniṣads which are part of the [[Muktikā|Muktikā canon]]. These were composed from about the last centuries of 1st-millennium BCE through about 15th-century CE.
* Newer paracanonical Upaniṣads, which were composed through the [[Early modern period|early modern]] and [[modern era]]s and which deal with numerous non-Vedic topics.

===Post-Vedic aphoristic literature===
[[file:Patanjali's Yogabhasya, Sanskrit, Devanagari script, sample pages.jpg|thumb|19th-century manuscript of Patanjali's ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga-bhāṣya]]'', preserved at the [[University of Pennsylvania]].]]
Sūtra style aphoristic literature continued to be composed on numerous topics, the most popular being on the different fields of [[Hindu philosophy]].<ref name="gavinfloodaith54">Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-43878-0}}, pages 54–55</ref>

The main ''Sūtra'' texts (sometimes also called ''[[Karika|kārikās]])'' on [[Hindu philosophy]] include:<ref name=":17">Keith (1956), pp. 470-520.</ref>

* [[Samkhyakarika|''Sāṁkhyakārikā'']]
* ''[[Samkhya Pravachana Sutra|Sāṁkhyapravacanasūtra]]''
* ''[[Purva Mimamsa Sutras|Mīmāṁsā Sūtra]]''
* [[Nyāya Sūtras|''Nyāya Sūtra'']]
* ''[[Vaiśeṣika Sūtra]]''
* [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|''Yoga Sūtras'']] of [[Patanjali]]
* [[Brahma Sutras|''Brahma Sūtra'']] (i.e. ''[[Vedanta]] sutra'')
* ''[[Gaudapada|Gauḍapāda]] Kārikā''
* ''[[Pashupata Shaivism|Pāśupata]] Sūtras''
* [[Shiva Sutras|''Shiva Sūtras'']]
* ''[[Spandakārikā]]''
* ''Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā'' of [[Utpaladeva]]

=== Commentaries ===
[[file:Isha Upanishad Verses 1 to 3, Shukla Yajurveda, Sanskrit, Devanagari.jpg|thumb|A manuscript of the [[Isha Upanishad]], the small text in the margins and edges are an unknown scholar's notes and comments in the typical Hindu style of a minor Bhāṣya.]]
The various Sanskrit literature also spawned a large tradition of commentary texts, which were called ''[[Bhashya|Bhāṣyas]]'', ''Vṛṭṭis, Ṭīkās, Vārttikas'' and other names.<ref name=":17" /> These commentaries were written on numerous genres of Sanskrit texts, including on Sūtras, on Upaniṣads and on the Sanskrit epics.<ref name="richa17">Richa Vishwakarma and Pradip Kumar Goswami (2013), ''A review through Charaka Uttara-Tantra'', International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda, Volume 34, Issue 1, pages 17–20</ref><ref>Karin Preisendanz (2005), The Production of Philosophical Literature in South Asia during the Pre-Colonial Period (15th to 18th Centuries): The Case of the Nyāyasūtra Commentarial Tradition, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Volume 33, pages 55–94</ref><ref>PV Kane (2015 Reprint), History of Sanskrit Poetics, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-0274-2}}, page 29</ref>

Examples include the ''[[Yogabhāṣya]]'' on the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|''Yoga Sūtras'']], [[Shankaracharya|Shankara's]] ''Brahmasūtrabhāṣya,'' the ''Gītābhāṣya'' and ''[[Sri Bhasya|Śrī Bhāṣya]]'' of [[Ramanuja]] (1017–1137), [[Pakṣilasvāmin Vātsyāyana]]'s ''Nyāya Sūtra Bhāṣya'' and the ''Matharavṛṭṭi'' (on the ''[[Samkhyakarika|Sāṁkhyakārikā]]'').

Furthermore, over time, secondary commentaries (i.e. a commentary to a commentary) also came to be written.<ref>Winternitz (1972) Vol I, p. 4.</ref>

=== Tantric literature ===
{{main|Tantras (Hinduism)}}There are a varied group of Hindu [[Tantra|Tantric]] scriptures titled [[Tantras (Hinduism)|Tantras]] or [[Agama (Hinduism)|Agamas.]] [[Gavin Flood]] argues that the earliest date for these Tantric texts is 600 CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards.<ref name=":4">Flood, Gavin D. (1996). ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', pp. 158-159. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-43878-0}}.</ref>

Tantric literature was very popular during the [[Tantra#Tantric Age|"Tantric Age" (c. 8th to the 14th century)]], a period of time when Tantric traditions rose to prominence and flourished throughout India. According to Flood, all Hindu traditions, [[Shaivism|Shaiva]], [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]], [[Smarta tradition|Smarta]] and [[Shaktism|Shakta]] (perhaps excepting the [[Shrauta|Srautas]]) became influenced by Tantric works and adopted some Tantric elements into their literature.<ref name=":4" />

=== Other ===
There are also numerous other types of Hindu religious works, including prose and poetry.

Among prose works there are important works like the ''[[Yoga Vasistha|Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha]]'' (which is important in [[Advaita Vedanta]]), the ''[[Yoga Yajnavalkya|Yoga-Yājñavalkya]]'' and the ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'' (a key [[Shaktism|Shakta]] work).

When it comes to poetry, there are numerous [[stotra]]s (odes), [[List of suktas and stutis|suktas and stutis]], as well as other poetic genres. Some important works of Hindu Sanskrit poetry include the ''[[Vivekachudamani|Vivekacūḍāmaṇi]],'' the ''[[Hanuman Chalisa]]'', the ''[[Ashtavakra Gita|Aṣṭāvakragītā]]'', ''[[Bhaja Govindam]],'' and the ''[[Shiva Tandava Stotra]].''

Another group of later Sanskrit Hindu texts are those which focus on [[Hatha yoga|Hatha Yoga]], and include the ''[[Dattatreya Yoga Shastra|Dattātreyayogaśāstra]]'' (13th century), the ''[[Gorakṣaśataka]]'' (13th century)'','' the ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika|Haṭhayogapradīpikā]]'' (15th century) and the [[Gheranda Samhita|''Gheraṇḍasaṁhitā'']] (17th or 18th-century).<ref>Mallinson, James (2016). "Śāktism and Haṭhayoga". In Wernicke-Olesen, Bjarne (ed.). Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine. Routledge. pp. 109–140. {{ISBN|978-1-317-58521-3}}.</ref>

==Scientific & secular literature==
{{main|Śāstra}}Over time, Sanskrit works on the [[Secularity|secular]] sciences ([[Shastra|''śāstra'']] or ''[[Vidya (philosophy)|vidyā]]'') were composed on a wide variety of topics.<ref>Keith (1956), p. 403.</ref> These include: grammar, poetry, lexicography, geometry, astronomy, medicine, worldly life and pleasure, philosophy, law, politics, etc.<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 403-408</ref>

The learning of these secular sciences took place by way of a [[guru]] expounding the subject orally, using works of [[aphorism]]s, the [[Sutra|sūtra]] texts, which on account of their terseness would be meaningful only to those who knew how to interpret them. The ''[[Bhashya|bhāṣyas]]'', the commentaries that followed the sūtras were structured in the style of student-teacher dialogue wherein a question is posed, a partial solution, the ''[[Purva paksha|pūrvapakṣa]]'', proposed, which is then handled, corrected and the final opinion established, the ''[[Siddhanta|siddhānta]]''. In time, the bhāṣyas evolved to become more like a lecture.<ref>Keith, pp. 406-407.</ref>

The sūtras were initially regarded as definite. This was later circumvented, in the field of grammar, by the creation of ''vārttikas'', to correct or amend sūtras. Another form often employed was the ''[[Shloka|śloka]]'', which was a relatively simple metre, easy to write and remember. Sometimes a mix of prose and verse was used. Some of the later work, such as in law and poetics, developed a much clearer style which avoided a propensity towards obscurity that verse was prone to.<ref>Keith, pp. 409-411.</ref>

The study of these secular works was widespread in India. Buddhist institutions like [[Nalanda]] also focused on the study of four of these secular sciences, known as the vidyāsthānas. These are: linguistic science (sabdavidya), logical science (hetuvidya), medical science (cikitsavidya), science of fine arts and crafts (silpakarmasthanavidya). The fifth main topic studied at Buddhist universities were the spiritual sciences (adhyatmavidya).<ref name="Gold, Jonathan C. 2007 pp.14-15">Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). ''The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet'', pp.14-15. State University of New York Press.</ref> These Indian Sanskrit language disciples also had an influence on [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] cultures, like [[Tibet]], which not only adopted Buddhist religious literature but also these secular works.<ref name=":19">Matthew Kapstein. ''[https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02190087/document Other People's Philology: Uses of Sanskrit in Tibet and China, 14th-19th Centuries.]'' L'espace du sens. Approches de la philologie indienne/The Space of Meaning.Approaches to Indian Philology., 2018.</ref> The Tibetan scholar [[Sakya Pandita]] (1182–1251) was a well known scholar of Sanskrit, and promoted the study of these secular disciplines among Tibetans.<ref>Pal, Pratapaditya (1997). ''Tibet: tradition and change,'' p. 49. Albuquerque Museum.</ref><ref name=":21">Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). ''The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet'', pp. 8-9. State University of New York Press.</ref> The study of Sanskrit grammars and prosody was also practiced in [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Southeast Asia]], even when the [[Pali|Pali language]] focused [[Theravada]] school rose to prominence in those regions.<ref>Gornall, Alastair (2022). ''Rewriting Buddhism: Pali Literature and Monastic Reform in Sri Lanka, 1157–1270,'' pp. 37, 63. UCL Press.</ref><ref>Bronkhorst, Johannes. [https://www.academia.edu/3271323/The_spread_of_Sanskrit_in_Southeast_Asia "The Spread of Sanskrit in Southeast Asia"] in Pierre-Yves Manguin, A. Mani, Geoff Wade (2011) ''Early Interactions between South and Southeast Asia.'' https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814311175-015.</ref>

=== Linguistic literature ===
{{See also|Sanskrit grammar|}}
[[file:Birch bark MS from Kashmir of the Rupavatra Wellcome L0032691.jpg|thumb|Birch bark manuscript from [[Kashmir]] of the ''Rupavatara'', a grammatical textbook based on the Sanskrit grammar of Panini. It was composed by the Sinhalese Buddhist monk Dharmakirti. The manuscript was transcribed in 1663.]]
By the time of the Sūtra period, the Sanskrit language had evolved sufficiently to make increasing parts of the older literature hard to understand, and to recite correctly. This led to the emergence of several classes of works intended to resolve this matter. These works were styled like the religious Sūtras, however they were not religious per se but focused on the [[Linguistics|linguistic]] study of the Sanskrit language.{{efn|"In various branches of scientific literature, in phonetics, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and law, the ancient Indians also achieved notable results. In some of these subjects their attainments are, indeed, far in advance of what was accomplished by the Greeks.", Macdonell<ref>Macdonell, p. 10.</ref>}} The main topics discussed in these works were [[grammar]] (''[[vyākaraṇa]]''), [[phonetics]] ([[Shiksha|''śikṣā'']]) and [[etymology]] (''[[nirukta]]''). These are traditionally part of the [[Vedanga|vedāṅga]] ("limbs of the Veda"), six auxiliary disciplines that developed along with the study of the [[Vedas]].<ref name="jameslochtefeldvedanga">James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vedanga" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pages 744-745</ref>

One of the earliest and most important of these works is the Vedic era ''[[Pratishakhyas|Prātiśākhya Sūtras]]'', which deal with accentuation, pronunciation, prosody and related matters in order to study the phonetic changes that have taken place in Vedic words.

==== The Sanskrit grammatical tradition ====
The early grammatical works of the linguist [[Yāska]] (some time between 7th and 4th century BCE), such as his ''[[Nirukta]],'' provides the foundation of the study of Sanskrit grammar and etymology.<ref>Bronkhorst, Johannes (2016), ''How the Brahmins Won: From Alexander to the Guptas'', p. 171. BRILL</ref>

The most influential work for the Indian Sanskrit grammatical tradition is the ''[[Aṣṭādhyāyī]]'' of [[Pāṇini]], a book of succinct Sūtras that meticulously define the language and [[Sanskrit grammar|grammar of Sanskrit]] and lay the foundations of what is hereafter the normative form of Sanskrit (and thus, defines Classical Sanskrit).<ref>Macdonell, pp. 38-39.</ref> After Pāṇini, other influential works in this field were the ''[[Vārttikakāra]]'' of [[Kātyāyana]], the [[Mahābhāṣya|{{IAST|Mahābhāṣya}}]] of the grammarian Patañjali and [[Bhartṛhari|Bhartṛhari's]] ''[[Vākyapadīya]]'' (a work on grammar and [[philosophy of language]]).<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 426-429.</ref>

Over time, different grammatical schools developed. There was a tradition of Jain grammarians and Buddhist grammarians and a later tradition of Paninian grammarians.<ref>Scharfe, Hartmut (1977). ''Grammatical Literature'' [A History of Indian Literature Vol V.], Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.</ref>

==== Lexicography ====
There were numerous [[Lexicography|lexicographical]] works written in Sanskrit, including numerous dictionaries attributed to figures like Bana, Mayura, Murari, and Sriharsha.<ref name="Keith 1956, p. 412">Keith (1956), p. 412.</ref> According to Keith, "of lexica two main classes exist—synonymous, in which words are grouped by subject-matter, and homonymous (anekartha, nanartha), but the important synonymous dictionaries usually include a homonymous section."<ref name="Keith 1956, p. 412"/>

One of the earliest lexicons (''kośaḥ'') is [[Amarasimha|Amarasiṃha's]] ''Nāmalingānusāsana'', better known as the ''[[Amarakosha|Amarākośa]]''. According to Keith, Amarasiṃha, who possibly flourished in the 6th century, was "certainly a Buddhist who knew the Mahāyāna and used Kālidāsa."<ref>Keith (1956), p. 413.</ref> Other lexica are later works, including the short ''Abhidhānaratnamālā'' of the poet-grammarian [[Halayudha|Halāyudha]] (c. 950), Yādavaprakāsha's ''Vaijayantī'', [[Hemachandra|Hemacandra's]] ''Abhidhānacintāmaṇi'' and ''Anekarthasabdakosha'' of Medinikara (14th century).<ref>Keith (1956), p. 414.</ref>

=== Dharma literature ===
{{main|Dharmaśāstra}}
[[file:1407 CE, Naradasmriti Hindu law manuscript, Sanskrit, Bhujimol script, Malla kingdom.jpg|thumb|A manuscript of the ''[[Nāradasmṛti]]'', a ''Dharmaśāstra'' work which focuses solely on legal matters.]]
The Vedic practice of sūtras pertaining to the correct performance of ritual was extended to other matters such as the performance of duties of all kinds, and in social, moral and legal spheres. These works came to be known as [[Dharmaśāstra|''Dharmasūtra''s and ''Dharmaśāstras'']] in contradistinction to the older ''[[Kalpa (Vedanga)|gṛhyasūtras]]'' and ''[[Kalpa (Vedanga)|śrautasūtras]]'' although no distinction was felt initially. Like other sūtras, this was terse prose peppered with a few ślokas or verses in ''[[Trishtubh (Vedic metre)|triṣtubh]]'' metre to emphasize a doctrine here and there. More broadly, works in the field of civil and religious law come under the banner of ''dharmaśāstra''.<ref>Keith, p. 437.</ref>

Examples of such works are:

* ''Gautamīya dharmaśāstra''
* ''Hāritā dharmaśāstra''
* ''Vasiṣṭha dharmaśāstra''
* ''Baudhāyana dharmaśāstra''
* ''Āpastambīya dharmasūtra''
* ''Vaiṣṇava dharmaśāstra''
* ''Vaikhānasa dharmaśāstra''
The most important of all dharma literature however is the ''[[Manusmriti|Manusmṛiti]]'', which was composed in verse form, and was intended to apply to all human beings of all castes.<ref>Keith, pp. 439-440.</ref> The ''Manusmṛiti'' deals with a wide variety of topics including marriage, daily duties, funeral rites, occupation and general rules of life, lawful and forbidden food, impurity and purification, laws on women, duties of husband and wife, inheritance and partition, and much more. There are chapters devoted to the [[Castes in India|castes]], the conduct of different castes, their occupations, the matter of caste admixture, enumerating in full detail the system of social stratification. The Manu·smṛti has been dated to the couple of centuries around the turn of the Common Era.<ref>Keith, pp. 442-444.</ref><ref>Deshpande, p. 85.</ref> According to recent genetic research, it has been determined that it was around the first century CE that population mixture among different groups in India, prevalent on a large scale from around 2200 BCE, ground to a halt with [[endogamy]] setting in.<ref>{{cite journal  |author=Priya Moorjani |author2=Kumarasamy Thangaraj |author3=Nick Patterson |author4=Mark Lipson |author5=Po-Ru Loh |author6=Periyasamy Govindaraj |author7=Bonnie Berger |author8=David Reich |author9=Lalji Singh |date=5 September 2013 |title=Genetic Evidence for Recent Population Mixture in India |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82377598.pdf |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=422–438 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.07.006 |pmc=3769933 |pmid=23932107 |access-date=10 April 2021}}</ref>

=== Other secular literature ===
[[file:Kamasutra vatsyayana Wellcome L0045293.jpg|thumb|A Nepalese manuscript of the Kamasutra, with Buddhist illustrations.]]
Sanskrit literature also covers a variety of other technical and secular topics including:<ref>[http://sdeuoc.ac.in/sites/default/files/sde_videos/scientific%20literature.pdf Sanskrit Scientific Literature (SKT2C08)], University of Calicut, Kerala</ref>

* The ''[[Barhaspatya sutras|Bārhaspatya sūtras]]'', a work of the materialistic [[Charvaka]] school of Indian philosophy.
* [[Astrology|Astrological]] and [[Astronomy|Astronomical]] literature ([[Hindu astrology|Jyotisha]]), including the ''[[Vedanga Jyotisha|Jyotiṣavedāṅga]],'' the ''[[Aryabhatiya|Āryabhaṭīya]]'', the ''[[Surya Siddhanta|Sūrya Siddhānta]],'' and the ''Varāhamihira Bṛhatsaṃhitā.'' These works also discuss other topics like divination and agriculture.
* Closely associated with jyotisha are [[Indian mathematics|Indian Mathematical works]] such as the ''[[Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta]]''
* [[Alchemy|Alchemical literature]] ([[Rasayana|Rasāyana]]), including the works of [[Nagarjuna (metallurgist)|Nāgārjuna]], such as the ''Rasaratanakaram''
* Works on politics, statecraft and other related topics, the most famous of which is the ''[[Arthashastra|Arthaśāstram]].''<ref>Keith (1956), p. 452.</ref> Others include the ''[[Nitisara|Nitisara of Kamandaki]]'', the ''Nitivakyamrta'' of [[Somadeva Suri]] and the ''Yuki-ḵalpataru'' ascribed to Bhoja.<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 462-463.</ref>
* Works on archery (dhanurveda) and the science of horses (asvāyurveda).<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 464-65.</ref>
* The study of jewels ([[ratnaśāstra]]).<ref>Keith (1956), p. 465.</ref>
* Medical [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] literature, including the great Ayurveda classics such as the ''[[Charaka Samhita|Carakasaṃhitā]]'', the ''[[Sushruta Samhita|Suśrutasaṃhitā]]'' and the works of [[Vagbhata|Vāgbhaṭa]]''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayurveda |url=https://www.sahapedia.org/ayurveda-0 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=Sahapedia |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Kamashastra|Kāma Śāstras]] (works on love, pleasure and sexuality), the most famous of which is the ''[[Kama Sutra|Kāma-sūtra]].'' Other works include [[Kokkaka]]'s ''[[Ratirahasya]]'' (13th century) and Kalyanamalla's (16th century) ''[[Anangaranga]]''.
* [[Architecture of India|Indian Architectural]] literature ([[Vastu shastra|''vāstuśāstra'']]), such as the ''[[Manushyalaya Chandrika]]'' and the ''[[Samarangana Sutradhara|Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra]].''
* Literature on arts and crafts (''[[Shilpa Shastras|śilpaśāstra]]),'' such as works on [[Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent|sculpture]], [[Music of India|music]] (such as the ''[[Sangita Ratnakara|Saṅgītaratnākara]]''), acting and dance (described in the ''[[Natya Shastra|Nāṭyaśāstra]])'', painting (''Vishnudharmottara''), etc.

== Buddhist literature ==
[[File:Eastern_India,_Pala_period_-_Seven_Leaves_from_a_Manuscript_of_the_Gandavyuha-sutra_-_1955.49_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif|thumb|Seven Leaves from a Manuscript of the [[Gandavyuha|''Gandavyuha-sutra'']], Eastern India, [[Pala dynasty (Kamarupa)|Pala period]].]]
{{main|Sanskrit Buddhist literature}}

In India, [[Buddhist texts]] were often written in [[classical Sanskrit]] as well as in [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit]] (also known as "Buddhistic Sanskrit" and "Mixed Sanskrit").<ref name=":32">Edgerton, Franklin (1953). ''Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary'', ''Volume 1,'' pp. 1-3. MOTILAL BANARSIDASS. {{ISBN|0-89581-180-4}}.</ref><ref name=":12">Winternitz (1972) pp. 226-227.</ref> While the [[Early Buddhist texts|earliest Buddhist texts]] were composed and transmitted in [[Middle Indo-Aryan]] [[Prakrits]], later Indian Buddhists translated their canonical works into Sanskrit or at least partially Sanskritized their literature.<ref name=":15">Marcus Bingenheimer, Editor in Chief; Bhikkhu Anālayo and Roderick S. Bucknell, Co-Editors. ''The Madhyama Agama: Middle Length Discourses Vol I (Taishō Volume 1, Number 26).'' Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai America, Inc. 2013. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, p. xvi</ref><ref name=":73">Wayman, Alex. ''The Buddhism and the Sanskrit of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.'' Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 85, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1965), pp. 111-115 (5 pages).</ref><ref name=":32"/>

Beginning in the third century, Buddhist texts also began to be composed in classical Sanskrit.<ref name=":15"/> Over time, Sanskrit became the main language of Buddhist scripture and scholasticism for certain Buddhist schools in the subcontinent, especially in [[North India]]. This was influenced by the rise of Sanskrit as a political and literary [[lingua franca]], perhaps reflecting an increased need for elite patronage and a desire to compete with Hindu [[Brahmin]]s.<ref>Johannes Bronkhorst. ''Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism''. Handbook of Oriental Studies (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 46-47, 129.</ref> The Buddhist use of classical Sanskrit is first seen in the work of the great poet and dramatist [[Aśvaghoṣa]] (c. 100 CE).{{Sfn|Burrow|1973|p=62}} The [[Sarvastivada|Sarvāstivāda]] school is particularly known for having translated their entire canon into Sanskrit.<ref name=":2">Prebish, Charles S. (2010) ''Buddhism: A Modern Perspective'', pp. 42-44. Penn State Press.</ref>

Other Indian Buddhist schools, like the [[Mahāsāṃghika]]-[[Lokottaravāda]] and [[Dharmaguptaka]] schools, also adopted Sanskrit or Sanskritized their scriptures to different degrees.<ref name=":152">Eltschinger, Vincent. [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opli-2017-0015/pdf Why did the Buddhists adopt Sanskrit? Open Linguistics 2017; 3: 308–326] Degruyter.</ref><ref>von Hinüber, Oskar. 1989. Origin and Varieties of Buddhist Sanskrit. In Caillat, Colette (ed.), Dialectes dans les langues indo-aryennes, 341-367. Paris: Collège de France, Institut de Civilisation Indienne.</ref> However, other Buddhist traditions, like [[Theravada]], rejected this trend and kept their canon in Middle Indic languages like [[Pali|Pāli]].<ref name=":73"/>

Sanskrit also became the most important language in [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]] and many [[Mahayana sutras|Mahāyāna sūtras]] were transmitted in Sanskrit.<ref name=":73"/> Some of the earliest and most important Mahayana sutras are the [[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā sūtras]], many of which survive in Sanskrit manuscripts.<ref>Williams, Paul. ''Buddhist Thought.'' Routledge, 2000, p. 131.</ref><ref>Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition.'' Routledge, 2009, p. 47.</ref>

[[History of Buddhism in India|Indian Buddhist]] authors also composed Sanskrit [[Shastra|treatises]] and other works on [[philosophy]], [[Buddhist logico-epistemology|logic-epistemology]], [[Jataka tales|jatakas]], [[Mahakavya|epic poetry]] and other topics. While a large number of these works only survive in [[Classical Tibetan|Tibetan]] and [[Chinese language|Chinese]] translations, many key Buddhist Sanskrit works do survive in [[manuscript]] form and are held in numerous modern collections.<ref>Nariman, J.K.; [http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Reference/Early-Buddhist-Texts/02-EBT-Sanskrit-Canon.htm ''Introduction to the Early Buddhist Texts in Sanskritised Prākit from Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514204053/https://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Reference/Early-Buddhist-Texts/02-EBT-Sanskrit-Canon.htm |date=2021-05-14 }}, Ch 1-6.</ref>

Sanskrit was the main scholastic language of the Indian Buddhist philosophers in the [[Vaibhāṣika|Vaibhasika]], [[Sautrāntika|Sautrantika]], [[Madhyamaka]] and [[Yogachara|Yogacara]] schools.<ref name=":10">Howladar, Mithun. ''Buddhist Sanskrit Literature : A Discussion.'' Research Guru: Online Journal of Multidisciplinary Subjects Volume-11, Issue-4, March-2018.</ref> These include well known figures like [[Kumāralāta|Kumāralatā]], [[Nāgārjuna]], [[Āryadeva]], [[Asaṅga]], [[Vasubandhu]], Yaśomitra, [[Dignāga]], [[Sthiramati]], [[Dharmakīrti]], [[Bhāviveka]], [[Candrakīrti]], [[Shantideva|Śāntideva]] and [[Śāntarakṣita]].<ref name=":10" /> Some Sanskrit works which were written by Buddhists also cover secular topics, such as grammar ([[vyākaraṇa]]), lexicography (koṣa), poetry ([[kāvya]]), poetics (alaṁkāra), and medicine ([[Ayurveda]]).<ref name=":82">2019, Shakya, M. (2019). ''[https://www.academia.edu/39880535/The_Digital_Sanskrit_Buddhist_Canon_Project_Problems_and_Possibilities The Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Project: Problems and Possibilities.]'' Volume 1 Digital Humanities and Buddhism (pp. 111-126). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.</ref>
[[File:Nalanda_university.jpg|thumb|The Buddhist [[Nalanda|Nalanda university]] was a major center of Sanskrit language learning in India from the 5th century CE until the 12th century.<ref>Barua, Jyoti. Ancient Buddhist Universities in Indian Sub-Continent. Fulton Books, Inc., 2016.</ref>]]
The [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] (c. 4th–6th centuries) and [[Pala Empire|Pāla]] (c. 8th–12th centuries) eras saw the growth of large Buddhist institutions such as [[Nālandā]] and [[Vikramashila]] universities, where many fields of knowledge (vidyasthanas) were studied in Sanskrit, including [[Buddhist philosophy]].<ref>The Gupta Empire by Radhakumud Mookerji [https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA133 p. 133 sq]</ref> These universities also drew foreign students from as far away as China. One of the most famous of these was the 7th century Chinese pilgrim [[Xuanzang]], who studied Buddhism in Sanskrit at Nalanda and took over 600 Sanskrit manuscripts back to China for his translation project.<ref>''Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh, story of Buddhism'': {{cite web |title=Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh, story of Buddhism |url=http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/buddhisminandhra.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314205301/http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/buddhisminandhra.htm |archive-date=2007-03-14 |access-date=2006-06-27}}</ref><ref name="Garfield">{{cite book |last1=Garfield |first1=J.L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9a7qBgAAQBAJ |title=Madhyamaka and Yogacara: Allies Or Rivals? |last2=Westerhoff |first2=J. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-023129-3 |pages=139–142}}</ref> Chinese pilgrims to India like [[I Ching|Yijing]] described how in these universities, the study of Buddhist philosophy was preceded by extensive study of Sanskrit language and grammar.<ref>Gold, Jonathan C. (2007). ''The Dharma's Gatekeepers, Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet'', p.21. State University of New York Press.</ref>

During the Indian [[Tantra|Tantric Age]] (8th to the 14th century), numerous [[Tantras (Buddhism)|Buddhist Tantras]] and other Buddhist esoteric literature was written in Sanskrit. These tantric texts often contain non-standard Sanskrit, prakritic elements and influences from regional languages like [[Apabhraṃśa|apabhramśa]] and [[Bengali language|Old Bengali]].<ref name=":142">Newman, John. "Buddhist Sanskrit in the Kālacakra Tantra." 1988, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies.</ref><ref name=":132">Davidson, Ronald M. (2004). ''Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement'', pp. 267-277. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.</ref> These vernacular forms are often in verses ([[Doha (poetry)|dohas]]) which may be found within esoteric Sanskrit texts.<ref>{{cite journal| doi=10.3390/rel12110927| doi-access=free| title=Bliss beyond All Limit: On the Apabhraṃśa Dohā in Tantric Buddhist Texts| year=2021| last1=Stephenson| first1=Jackson Barkley| journal=Religions| volume=12| issue=11| page=927}}</ref>

== Jain literature ==
[[File:12th-century Yogasastra, Hemachandra Jainism, Sanskrit, 1 mm Devanagari script.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|A 12th-century manuscript of Hemachandra's ''Yogasastra'', notable for the miniaturized Devanagari script.]]
The earliest [[Jain literature|Jain scriptures]], the Jain Agamas, were composed and orally transmitted in [[Prakrit]].{{sfn|Winternitz|1972|p=427}} Later in the [[history of Jainism]] (after about the 8th century CE), Jain authors began composing literature in other languages, especially classical [[Sanskrit]] while also retaining the use of Jain Prakrit.<ref>Winternitz (1972), p. 427.</ref>

The most important Jain Sanskrit work is [[Umaswati]]'s (c. sometime between the 2nd-century and 5th-century CE) ''[[Tattvarthasūtra]]'' (''On the Nature of Reality''). The ''Tattvarthasūtra'' is considered an authoritative work on [[Jain philosophy]] by all traditions of Jainism and thus it is widely studied.<ref>Dundas, Paul (2006), Olivelle, Patrick (ed.), ''Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE'', pp. 395–396. Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-977507-1}}</ref>

Other influential Jain Sanskrit authors include: [[Samantabhadra (Jain monk)|Samantabhadra]], [[Pujyapada|Pūjyapāda]] (who wrote the most important commentary to the ''Tattvarthasūtra,'' entitled ''[[Sarvārthasiddhi]])'', [[Siddhasena Divakara|Siddhasēna Divākara]] (c. 650 CE), [[Akalanka]], <dfn>[[Haribhadra|Haribhadra-s]]</dfn>[[Haribhadra|ūri]] (c 8th century) author of the ''[[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]]'', [[Hemachandra]] (c. 1088–1172 CE) who wrote the ''[[Yogaśāstra]],'' and [[Yashovijaya|Yaśovijaya]] (1624–1688) a scholar of [[Navya-Nyāya]].<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 497-498</ref>

== Kāvya ==
{{main|Kāvya}}
[[file:Kalidasa inditing the cloud Messenger, A.D. 375.jpg|thumb|Kalidasa composing the ''[[Meghadūta]]'']]
There is a large corpus of classical Sanskrit poetry from India in a variety of genres and forms.<ref>Lienhard, Siegfried (1984). ''A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit'' (A History of Indian Literature Vol. III) Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.</ref> According to [[Siegfried Lienhard]] in India, the term ''Kāvya'' refers to individual poems, as well as "poetry itself, i.e., all those works that conform to artistic and literary norms."<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 1.</ref> Indian poetry includes epic and lyrical elements. It may be entirely in prose (gadya), entirely in verse (padya) or in a mixed form (misra).<ref name=":6">Lienhard (1984), pp. 2, 46.</ref> Kāvya works are full of [[alliteration]], [[simile]]s, [[metaphor]]s and other figures of speech.<ref>Macdonell, pp. 325-326.</ref><ref>Keith, p. 42.</ref>

Indians divided poetry into two main categories: poetry that can be seen (drsya, preksya, i.e. drama/theater) and poetry that can only be listened to (sravya).<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 45.</ref>

Metrical Indian poetry can also be divided into two other categories:<ref name=":6" />

* ''[[Mahakavya|Mahākāvya]]'' (''Major Poetry''), also known as ''sargabandha,'' which are large poems divided into sections or [[canto]]s (sargas)
* ''[[Laghukāvya]] (Minor Poetry)'', shorter poems or single stanzas
According to Lienhard "whereas metrical poetry led a flourishing existence both as mahakavya and laghukavya, prose poems (gadya) and literature in mixed prose and verse (campu) tended to assume the major form. The only exceptions are the panegyric inscriptions (prasasti) and religious epistles (lekha) commonly found in Buddhist societies which may both be composed in the kavya style. Both are written either all in prose or in a mixture of alternately prose and verse and must therefore be counted as belonging to the minor form representing prose kavya or campu - a point that Indian theorists seem to have neglected."<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 46.</ref>

Kāvya was employed by court poets in a movement that flourished between c. 200 BCE and 1100 CE.{{efn|While it has been demonstrated that there was a vigorous court-epic tradition during this entire period, almost none of it from the first few centuries has survived.<ref>Keith, ch. 2</ref>}} While the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta era]] is considered by many to have seen the highest point of Indian Kāvya, many poems were composed before this period as well as after.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 48.</ref> Sanskrit Kāvya also influenced the literature of [[Myanmar|Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[Cambodia]] and the [[Malay Archipelago]].<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 50.</ref> The study of Sanskrit Kāvya also influenced [[Tibetan literature]], and was promoted by [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] scholars like [[Sakya Pandita]].<ref name="Gold, Jonathan C. 2007 pp.14-15"/>

Sanskrit Kāvya poetry also flourished outside the courts, in towns, learned schools and the homes of pandits and other elites and continues to be composed and studied today.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 2.</ref> Kāvya was often recited in public gatherings, court receptions and in societies which gathered specifically for the study and enjoyment of poetry. Kavis (Kāvya poets) also competed with each other for rewards and for the support of elites and kings (who often appointed court poets).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 16-18.</ref> Kavis were highly educated and many of them would have been pandits with knowledge of other sciences such as grammar, lexicography and other fields. Indian authors held that an important quality of these poets was said to be ''pratibhā'', poetic imagination.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 19.</ref>

The beginnings of Kāvya is obscure. Lienhard traces its beginnings to "the close of the Late Vedic Period (about 550 B.C.)...as this was a time that saw the slow emergence of poetic forms with characteristics of their own, quite different both functionally and structurally from previous models."<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 53.</ref> The earliest Kāvya poems were short stanzas in the minor form ''([[laghukāvya]]),'' sometimes just being one stanza poems (muktakas)''.'' Few of these early works have survived''.''<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 63-64.</ref>

=== Laghukāvya ===
''Laghukāvya'' mainly refers to short poems, which can be single stanza (muktaka), double stanza poems (yugmaka), and several-stanza poems (kulakas). Short poetry was also termed ''khandakavya'' and a collection of stanzas or anthology was called a ''kosa''.<ref name=":8">Lienhard (1984), pp. 65-66.</ref> The earliest ''laghukāvyas'' were in prakrits, but some also began to be written in Sanskrit in time.<ref name=":8" />

The earliest ''laghukāvyas'' where muktakas (also sometimes called [[Gatha (India)|gāthā]]), single stanzas. These were most commonly lyrical nature poems, lyrical love poems, religious poems or reflective didactic poems.<ref name=":9">Lienhard (1984), pp. 71-75.</ref> According to Lienhard "muktaka poetry generally paints miniature pictures and scenes, or else it carefully builds up a description of a single theme."<ref name=":9" />

Some of the earliest of these early poems are found in the [[Tripiṭaka|Buddhist canon]], which contain two the verse anthologies: the ''[[Theragatha|Theragāthā]]'' (''Verses of the Elder Monks'') and ''[[Therīgāthā]] (Verses of the Elder Nuns).'' Only the Pali versions of these survive, but they also existed in Prakrit and Sanskrit.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 75-76.</ref>

There are also some surviving stanzas which are attributed to important figures like the grammarian Panini, the scholar [[Patanjali|Patañjali]], and [[Vararuchi|Vararuci]], but these attributions are uncertain.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 79.</ref>

Some important Sanskrit poets whose collections of short poems have survived include [[Bhartṛhari]] ([[Floruit|fl]]. c. 5th century CE), known for his ''[[Śatakatraya]],'' Amaru (7th century), author of the ''[[Amaru Shataka|Amaruśataka]]'' (which mainly contains erotic poetry) and [[Govardhana (poet)|Govardhana]] (12th century), author of the ''[[Āryāsaptaśatī]]''.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 88-99.</ref>

There are numerous anthologies which collect short Sanskrit poetry from different authors, these works are our main source of short Sanskrit poems.<ref name=":11">Lienhard (1984), p. 87.</ref> One widely celebrated anthology is the ''Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa'' (''Anthology of Well Said Jewels'') of the Buddhist monk and anthologist [[Vidyakara]] (c. 1050–1130).<ref name="ingalls">{{Cite book |title=Sanskrit poetry, from Vidyākara's "Treasury" |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1968 |isbn=0-674-78865-6 |pages=346a |translator=[[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]] |author=Vidyākara}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Mohan Lal |title=Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Five (Sasay To Zorgot), Volume 5 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |page=4480}}</ref> Other important anthologies include:  Jalhana's ''Subhāṣitamuktāvalī'' (13th century), Sridharadasa's ''Saduktikarṇāmṛta'' (1205), Śārṅgadharapaddhati (1363) and Vallabhadeva's ''Subhāṣitāvalī'' (''Chain of Beautiful Sayings'', c. 16th century).<ref name=":11" />

=== Samghatas and Khandakavyas ===
In between muktaka and mahākāvya there are medium length Sanskrit poems which are linked stanzas (between eight and one hundred stanzas) using one [[Sanskrit prosody|Sanskrit metre]] and one theme (such as the six Indian [[season]]s, love and eros, and nature). They are variously called "series of stanzas" (samghata) or khandakavya.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 104-105.</ref>

Examples of these medium length poems include: the ''[[Ṛtusaṃhāra]],'' the ''Ghatakarpara Kavyam,'' and the ''[[Meghadūta]]'' of [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]] (the most famous of all Sanskrit poets) which popularized the [[Sandesa Kavya|sandeśa kāvya]] (messenger poem), Jambukavi's ''Candraduta'' (8th to 10th century), [[Jinasena|Jinasena's]] ''Parsvabhyudaya'' (a [[Jainism|Jain]] work), [[Vedanta Desika]]'s ''[[Hamsa-Sandesha|Hansasandeśa]]'', the ''[[Kokila Sandeśa]]'', and [[Rupa Goswami|Rūpa Gosvāmin]]'s ''[[Haṃsadūta]]'' (16th century).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 107-127</ref> Another genre of medium length poems were [[panegyric]]s like the ''[[Rājendrakarṇapūra]]'' of Sambhu.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 128.</ref>

Religious medium length ''kāvya'' style poems (often called [[stotra]]s or stutis) were also very popular and they show some similarities with panegyrics. According to Lienhard, some of the figures which are most widely written about in medium length religious poems include: "[[Gautama Buddha]], [[Durga]]-[[Kali]] (or Devi), [[Ganesha|Ganesa]], [[Krishna|Krsna]] (Govinda), [[Lakshmi|Laksmi]], [[Narasimha|Nrsimha]], [[Radha]], [[Rama]], [[Saraswati|Sarasvati]], [[Shiva|Siva]], [[Surya]], the [[Tathāgata|Tathagatas]], the [[Tirthankara|Tirthamkaras]] or Jinas, Vardhamana [[Mahavira]] and [[Vishnu|Visnu]]."<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 128-129</ref> Only some of the Sanskrit hymns to the gods can be considered literary ''kāvya'', since they are truly artistic and follow some of the classic kāvya rules.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 130</ref>

According to Lienhard, the literary hymns of the Buddhists are the oldest of these. [[Aśvaghoṣa]] is said to have written some, but they are all lost.<ref name=":13">Lienhard (1984), p. 132</ref> Two Buddhist hymns of the poet [[Mātṛceṭa]]* (c. 70 to 150 CE), the ''Varṇārhavarṇa Stotra'' or ''Catuḥśataka'' and the ''Satapancasataka'' or ''Prasadapratibha ((Stotra) on the Splendour of Graciousness (of the Buddha))'' have survived in Sanskrit. They are some the finest Buddhist stotras and were very popular in the Buddhist community in India.<ref name=":13" /> There are also some Buddhist stotras attributed to other Buddhist masters like [[Nagarjuna]] (2nd-3rd century CE), [[Chandragomin]] (5th century) and [[Dignāga]] as well as two Buddhist stotras by King [[Harsha]]vadana.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 133.</ref> Some important later Buddhist stotras are ''Sragdharastotra'' (about 700) by Sarvajñamitra, Vajradatta's ''Lokesvara-sataka'' (9th century), the tantric ''[[Mañjuśrīnāmasamgīti|Mañjuśrīnāma-saṃgīti]]'' and [[Ramacandra Kavibharati]]'s 15th century ''[[Bhaktisataka]]'' (which is influenced by the [[Bhakti movement]]).<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 134.</ref>

There are also many Sanskrit Jaina stotras, most of which are dedicated to the Jain [[Tirthankara]]s. They include the ''Bhaktacamarastotra'' by [[Manatunga]] (7th century), Nandisena's ''Ajitasantistava,'' the ''Mahavirastava'' by Abhayadeva (mid 11th century) and the stotras of Ramacandra (12th century).<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 136.</ref>

There are numerous literary Hindu hymns which were written after the time of Kālidāsa. Some of the most important ones are [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Bāṇabhaṭṭa's]] ''[[Caṇḍīśataka]],'' the ''[[Surya Satakam|Suryasataka]]'' by [[Mayurbhatta]], numerous hymns attributed to [[Adi Shankara]] (though the majority of these were likely not composed by him), the ''Mahimnastava'', the Shaiva ''Pañcāśati'' (14th century), [[Abhinavagupta|Abhinavagupta's]] Shaiva stotras'','' the southern ''[[Mukundamala]]'' and ''[[Narayaniyam]],'' the ''[[Shree Krishna Karnamrutam|Krishnakarṇāmrutam]]'', and the poems of [[Nilakantha Diksita]], [[Jagannatha Panditaraja|Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja]], [[Gangadevi]], [[Ramanuja]], [[Jayadeva]], [[Rupa Goswami]], and [[Bhatta Narayana|Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa]] (17th century).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 137-149.</ref>

=== Mahākāvya ===
According to Lienhard, the most important feature of ''mahākāvya'' (Long poems) is that they are divided into chapters or cantos (sargas). Fully versified ''Mahākāvyas'' (called sargabandhas) are written in many different metres. ''Mahākāvyas'' may also be written fully in prose or in a mixture of verse and prose (mostly called campu).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 161-162</ref> Sargabandhas commonly center around a [[hero]] and also include [[villain]]s. They almost never end in a tragic manner.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 161.</ref> Indian epic poetry like the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]'' forms an important influence on Sanskrit ''mahakāvya'' literature.<ref name="Lienhard 1984, p. 164">Lienhard (1984), p. 164</ref>

The oldest extant ''mahākāvyas'' are those of the Buddhist poet and philosopher [[Aśvaghoṣa]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 80 – c. 150 [[Common Era|CE]]).<ref name="Lienhard 1984, p. 164"/> His ''[[Buddhacarita]]'' (''Acts of the Buddha'') was influential enough to be translated into both Tibetan and Chinese.<ref>Macdonell, p. 319.</ref><ref>Keith, ch. 3.</ref><ref>E.B. Cowell, trans. ''The Buddha Carita or the Life of the Buddha'', Oxford, Clarendon 1894, reprint: New Delhi, 1977, p. X (introduction).</ref> The Chinese pilgrim [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]] (635–713 CE) writes that the ''Buddhacarita'' was "...extensively read in all the five parts of India and in the countries of the South Sea (Sumātra, Jāva and the neighbouring islands)...it was regarded as a virtue to read it in as much as it contained the noble doctrine in a neat compact form."<ref name="ancient-buddhist-texts.net">J.K. Nariman: Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism, Bombay 1919. [http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Buddhist-Texts/XX-Early-Buddhist-Texts/05-EBT-Asvaghosa.htm Aśvaghoṣa and his School] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110133430/http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Buddhist-Texts/XX-Early-Buddhist-Texts/05-EBT-Asvaghosa.htm|date=10 January 2011}}</ref> Another ''mahākāvya'' by [[Aśvaghoṣa]] is the ''Saundarananda'', which focuses on the conversion of [[Nanda (half-brother of Buddha)|Nanda]], Buddha's half-brother.<ref>Yoshichika Honda. 'Indian Buddhism and the kāvya literature: Asvaghosa's Saundaranandakavya.' Hiroshima Daigaku Daigakuin Bungaku Kenkyuuka ronshuu, vol. 64, pp. 17–26, 2004. [http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16560383] (Japanese)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=E. H. |url=https://archive.org/download/TFIC_ASI_Books/SaundaranandaOfAsvaghosa.pdf |title=Saundarananda |date=1928 |publisher=University of Panjab |location=Lahore |ref=saundarananda}}</ref>

==== The great mahākāvyas ====
[[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]], called by many the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] of India,{{efn|[[Monier Williams]] said to be the first to do so.<ref>Kale, p. xxvi.</ref>}} is said to have been the finest master of the Sanskrit poetic style. Arthur Macdonell describes this great poets' words as having a "firmness and evenness of sound, avoiding harsh transitions and preferring gentle harmonies; the use of words in their ordinary sense and clearness of meaning; the power to convey sentiment; beauty, elevation, and the employment of metaphorical expressions".<ref>Keith, p. 101</ref> [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]]'s greatest Kāvyas are the ''[[Raghuvaṃśa]]'' and the ''[[Kumārasambhava]].''{{efn|"both distinguished by independence of treatment as well as considerable poetic beauty" - Macdonell}}<ref>Macdonell, p. 326.</ref>

This ''[[Raghuvaṃśa]]'' (''The Genealogy of [[Raghu]]'') chronicles the life of [[Rama|Rāma]] alongside his forefathers and successors in 19 cantos, with the story of Rāma agreeing quite closely that in the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. The narrative moves at a rapid pace, is packed with apt and striking similes and has much genuine poetry, while the style is simpler than what is typical of a mahakāvya. The ''Raghuvaṃśa'' is seen to meet all the criteria of a ''mahākāvya'', such as that the central figure should be noble and clever, and triumphant, that the work should abound in ''[[Rasa (aesthetics)|rasa]]'' and ''bhāva'', and so on. There are more than 20 commentaries of this work that are known.<ref>Macdonell, pp. 326-327.</ref><ref>Keith, §4.7.</ref> The ''[[Kumārasambhava]]'' (''The Birth of Kumāra'') narrates the story of the courtship and wedding of [[Shiva|Śiva]] and [[Parvati|Pārvatī]], and the birth of their son, [[Kartikeya|Kumāra]]. The poem finishes with the slaying of the demon Tāraka, the very purpose of the birth of the warrior-god. The ''Kumārasambhava'' showcases the poet's rich and original imaginative powers making for abundant poetic imagery and wealth of illustration. Again, more than 20 commentaries on the Kumāra·sambhava have survived.<ref>Macdonell, p. 328.</ref><ref>Keith, §4.6.</ref>

These two great poems are grouped by Indian tradition along with four more works into "the six great mahākāvyas". The other four greats are: [[Bharavi|Bhāravi]]'s (6th century CE) ''[[Kirātārjunīya]]'', [[Magha (poet)|Māgha]]'s (c. 7th Century CE) [[Shishupala Vadha|''Śiśupālavadha'']], the ''[[Bhaṭṭikāvya]]'' (also known as ''Rāvaṇavadha'') and [[Shriharsha|Śrīharṣa]]'s (12th century CE) ''[[Naishadha Charita|Naiṣadhīyacarita]],'' which is the most extensive and difficult of the great mahākāvyas (and contains many references to Indian philosophy)''.''<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 171-192.</ref> Over time, various commentaries where also composed on these poems, especially the ''Naiṣadhīyacarita.''<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 172 - 194.</ref>

==== Later mahākāvyas ====
Between [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]]'s time and the 18th century, numerous other sargabandhas were composed in the classic style, such as Mentha's ''Hayagrīvavadha'' (6th century), King Pravarasena II's ''Setubandha,'' the Sinhalese poet Kumaradasa's ''Janakiharana,'' [[Ratnākara|Rājānaka Ratnākara]]'s ''[[Haravijaya]],'' the ''Nalodaya,'' the Buddhist Sivasvamin's ''Kapphinabhyudaya'' (9th century), and Buddhaghosa's ''Padyacudamani'' (a life of the Buddha, c. 9th century).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 196-201</ref> Later sargabandhas tended to be more heavily loaded with technical complexity, erudition and extensive decoration.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 202</ref> Authors of these later works include the 12th century Kashmiri Shaivas [[Kaviraja Rajanaka Mankha]] and Jayaratha, Jayadeva, author of the innovative and widely imitated ''[[Gita Govinda|Gitagovinda]],'' [[Lolimbaraja]]'s ''Harivilasa'' (mid 16th century),<ref>[http://ccras.nic.in/sites/default/files/viewpdf/jimh/JIMH_2009/19%20to%2028.pdf Lolimbaraja and his work]</ref> the Shaivite ''Bhiksatana(kavya)'' of Gokula, Krsnananda's 13th century ''Sahrdayananda,'' and the numerous works of ''[[Ramapanivada]].''<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 201-211</ref>

After the 8th century, many sophisticated Jain mahākāvyas were written by numerous Jain poets (mainly from [[Gujarat]]), including Jatasimhanandi's ''Varangacarita'' (7th century), Kanakasena Vadiraja Suri's ''Yasodharacarita'', and the ''Ksatracudamani'' by Vadibhasimha Odayadeva.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 212-213</ref> Jain authors also wrote their own versions of [[Rama in Jainism#Ravisena's Padmapurana|the ''Ramayana'' with Jain themes]], such as the ''Padmapurana'' of Ravisena (678 A.D.).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 213-214.</ref>

Other later mahākāvyas are poems based on historical figures which embellish history with classic poetic themes such as Parimala's ''[[Nava-sahasanka-charita|Navasāhasāṅkacarita]],'' Bilhana's ''[[Vikramāṅkadevacarita]]'' (11th century) and [[Madura Vijayam|''Madhurāvijayam'']] (''The Conquest of [[Madurai]]'', c. 14th-century) by [[Gangadevi]], which chronicles the life a prince of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] and his invasion and conquest of the [[Madurai Sultanate]]. [[Rashtraudha Kavya]] by Rudrakavi chronicles the history of Maratha Bagul kings of [[Baglana]] and [[Khandesh]] and details their role and position in military history involving important figures such as the [[Bahmanis]], [[Mahmud Begada]], [[Humayun]], [[Akbar]], [[Murad Mirza (son of Akbar)|Murad Shah]],etc.<ref name="ernst">{{cite book |last=Ernst |first=Carl W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgIOryEPymcC&pg=RA1-PA297 |title=Eternal garden: mysticism, history, and politics at a South Asian Sufi center |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-7914-0884-1 |edition=Illustrated |page=297}}</ref><ref name="jackson">{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=William Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxvDNBc4qwUC&pg=PA61 |title=Vijayanagara voices: exploring South Indian history and Hindu literature |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7546-3950-3 |edition=Illustrated |pages=61–70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chattopadhyaya |first=Brajadulal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m38UxgHNonIC&pg=PA141 |title=Studying Early India: Archaeology, Texts and Historical Issues |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84331-132-4 |pages=141–143}}</ref><ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 215-221.</ref>

Some later poems focused on specific poetic devices, some of the most popular being [[Pun|paronomasia]] ( [[Bitextual work|slesa]]) and ambiguous rhyme (yamaka). For example, the poems of Vasudeva (10th century), such as ''Yudhiṣṭhira-vijaya'' and ''Nalodaya'', were all yamaka poems while the ''Ramapalacarita'' of Sandhyakara Nandin is a slesakavya.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 222-224</ref>

One final genre is the Śāstrakāvya, a kāvya which also contains some didactic content which instructs on some ancient science or knowledge. Examples include Halayudha's ''Kavirahasya'' (a handbook for poets), Bhatta Bhima's ''Arjunaravaniya'' (which teaches grammar) and Hemacandra's ''Kumarapalacarita'' (grammar).<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 225-227.</ref>

==== Prose mahākāvya ====
While most early mahākāvyas were all in verse, the term mahākāvya could also be applied to any long prose poem and these became more popular after the 7th century, when the great masters of prose (gadya) lived. These are [[Daṇḍi]]n (author of the [[Dashakumaracharita|''Daśakumāracarita'']]) Subandhu (author of the ''[[Vasavadatta|Vāsavadattā]]'') and [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa]] (author of ''[[Kādambari]]'' and ''[[Harshacharita|Harshacarita]]'').<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 228, 234-247</ref> Prose mahākāvyas replaced virtuosity in metre with highly complex and artistic sentences.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 233.</ref> Other important writers of Sanskrit prose poems include Bhūṣaṇa bhaṭṭa, Dhanapala (the Jain author of the ''[[Tilakamañjari]]''), and Vadibhasimha Odayadeva (author of the ''[[Gadyacintāmaṇi]]'').<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 258-263</ref>

=== Campū ===
[[Champu|Campū]] (also known as ''gadyapadyamayi'') is a poetic genre which contains both verse and prose. This genre was rare during the first millennium CE, but later grew in popularity, especially in South India.<ref name=":14">Lienhard (1984), p. 265</ref> The earliest Sanskrit example of this genre is Trivikramabhatta's ''Nalacampu'' (or ''Damayanticampu'', c. 10th century).<ref name=":14" /> While many other Sanskrit works also contain a mixture of verse and prose, like Āryaśūra's ''Jātakamālā'', Lienhard notes that these are not true campūs. This is because "in true campū there is a calculated balance between prose that is as perfect as possible and stanzas in the genuine kavya style."<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 226.</ref>

Some important campūs include Somaprabha Suri's ''[[Yashastilaka|Yaśastilakacampū]]'' (9th century, Jain), Haricandra's ''Jivandharacampū'' (Jain), the ''Ramayanacampū,'' Divakara's ''Amogharaghavacampu,'' the 17th century female poet Tirumalamba's ''Varadambikaparinaya,'' Venkatadhvarin's ''Visvagunadarsacampu,'' [[Jiva Goswami|Jiva Gosvamin]]'s voluminous ''Gopalacampu,'' [[Raghunatha dasa Goswami|Raghunathadasa]]'s ''Muktacaritra'', and the 18th century [[Maithil Brahmin|Maithili]] poet Krishnadutta's ''Shri Janraj Champu''.<ref>Lienhard (1984), pp. 268-272</ref>

=== Works on prosody and poetics ===
{{main|Chandas}}There are also numerous Sanskrit works which discuss [[Prosody (poetry)|prosody]] and [[poetics]]. The earliest work which discusses poetics is Bharatamuni's ''[[Natya Shastra|Nāṭyaśāstra]]'' (200 B.C. to 200 A.D.), a work which mainly deals with drama.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 54.</ref> [[Pingala|Piṅgalá]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 300–200 BCE) authored the ''[[Chandaḥśāstra]]'', an early [[Sanskrit]] treatise on [[Sanskrit prosody|prosody]].

Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri lists four main school of Indian poetics and their main figures:<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 150-153.</ref>

* The '''Alaṅkāra school''' which draws on [[Bhamaha|Bhāmaha's]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 7th century) ''Kāvyālaṅkāra,'' Udbhaṭa's ''Alankarasamgraha'' and Rudrata's ''Kāvyālaṅkāra.''
* The '''Riti school''' - [[Daṇḍi]]n's (<abbr>fl.</abbr> 7th–8th century) ''[[Kavyadarsha|Kāvyādarśa]]'' is influenced by the Alaṅkāra school and introduces the concept of ''[[Guṇa|guna]]''. The ''[[Kavyadarsha|Kāvyādarśa]]'' was very influential for Vāmana, the 8th century founder of the Riti school and author of the ''Kāvyālaṅkāra Sūtra.''
* The '''Rasa school''' draws on the ''Nāṭyaśāstra's'' aphorism on rasa (emotional flavor). The key figure of this school is [[Bhaṭṭanāyaka]], author of the ''Hṛdayadarpaṇa.''
* The '''Dhvani school''' which makes use of [[Anandavardhana|Anandavardhana's]] (c. 820–890 CE) ''[[Dhvanyaloka|Dhvanyāloka]]'' and the commentary of [[Abhinavagupta]] (who also wrote the ''Abhinavabharati'', a commentary on the ''Nāṭyaśāstra''). This school emphasizes "aesthetic suggestion" (''dhvani'').

Later influential works on poetics include [[Mammata Bhatta|Mammaṭa's]] (11th century) ''[[Kāvyaprakāśa]],'' the writings on poetics by [[Kshemendra]], Hemacandra's ''Kavyanusasana'', Vagbhata's ''Vagbhatalankara'', and [[Rupa Goswami|Rupa Gosvamin]]'s ''Ujjvalanilamani''.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 154-155.</ref>

== Subhāṣita ==
{{main|Subhashita}}
Outside of kāvya literature are also numerous poetic works, called [[Subhashita|subhāṣita]], ("well said") which can be classified as [[gnomic poetry]] and [[didactic poetry]].<ref name=":16">Keith (1956), p. 227.</ref><ref>Sternbach, Ludwik (1974). ''Subhasita, Gnomic and Didactic Literature'' (A History of Indian Literature Vol. IV, 1''.'' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.</ref> These are mainly poems which contain some wise saying, [[Aphorism|aphoristic]] lesson (often ethical), popular maxim or a [[proverb]] (lokavakya).<ref>L. Sternbach (1973), ''Subhashita - A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature'', in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pp. 169-254.</ref><ref>Sternbach, Ludwik (1974). ''Subhasita, Gnomic and Didactic Literature,'' pp. 1''-2.'' (A History of Indian Literature Vol. IV, 1''.'' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.</ref> These are thousands of [[Subhashita|Subhāṣitas]] on many themes.<ref>Kashinath Sharma (1952), [[iarchive:SubhashitaRatnaBhandagara|Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara - A collection of over 10,000 subhasitas]], Nirnaya Sagar Press</ref> The ''[[Dhammapada|Dharmapada]]'' is one important early collection of aphorisms.<ref name=":16" />

There are also many didactic works attributed to [[Chanakya|Cāṇakya]] (but actually written by numerous authors), such as the ''Rājanītisamuccaya, Cāṇakyanīti, Cāṇakyarājanīti, Vṛddha-Cāṇakya'', and the ''Laghu-Cāṇakya''.<ref>Keith (1956), p. 228.</ref> Another important collection of gnomic sayings is the ''Nisataka'' of [[Bhartṛhari|Bhartrhari]].<ref>Keith (1956), p. 231.</ref>

Later examples of this genre include the Jain [[Amitagati]]'s ''Subhasitaratnasaridoha'', [[Kshemendra|Kṣemendra's]] ''Cārucaryā, Darpadalana'' and ''Samayamatrka,'' Kusumadeva's ''Dṛṣṭāntaśataka'', Dya Dviveda's ''Nitimañjari'' (1494), and Vallabhadeva's ''[[Subhāṣitāvalī]]'' (15th century).<ref>Sternbach (1974) pp. 2-8</ref><ref>Keith (1956), pp. 237-240.</ref> There are also numerous anthologies of [[Subhashita|subhāṣita]], such as the ''[[Cātakāṣṭaka]]''.<ref>Keith (1956), p. 234.</ref>

== Sanskrit drama ==
{{further|List of Sanskrit plays in English translation}}
[[file:Nirupama Rajendra Dance Theater musical Shakunthala.jpg|thumb|[[Nirupama Rajendra]] in a musical of'' [[Shakuntala (play)|Shakuntala]]'']]
[[Indian classical drama]] (''dṛśya'', ''nātaka'') was also mainly written in Sanskrit and there are many examples of this Sanskrit literary genre. Bharata's ''[[Natya Shastra|Nāṭyaśāstra]]'' (3rd century CE) is the earliest work which discusses Sanskrit [[dramaturgy]].<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 85.</ref> Sanskrit drama focuses on the sentiments and on heroic characters. Classically, the [[Happy ending|endings are happy]], never [[Tragedy|tragic]].<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 8-92</ref> References to Sanskrit drama are found throughout ancient Sanskrit texts, including the great epics.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 95</ref>

Some of the earliest Sanskrit dramas are those of [[Aśvaghoṣa]] (only a fragment of his ''[[Śāriputraprakaraṇa]]'' survives) and the many plays of [[Bhāsa]] (c.1st century BCE), most of which are based on the two great epics (''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'').<ref>Samir Kumar Datta (1979). ''Aśvaghoṣa as a Poet and a Dramatist: A Critical Study'', p. 123. University of Burdwan.</ref><ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 97-103.</ref> [[Kalidasa]] is widely considered to be the greatest Sanskrit playwright, hailed for his linguistic mastery and economy of style.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 104.</ref> He wrote three plays: ''[[Vikramōrvaśīyam]],{{efn-ua|Vikrama and Urvaśī}} [[Mālavikāgnimitram]],{{efn-ua|Mālavika and Agnimitra}} [[Abhijñānaśākuntalam]].{{efn-ua|The Recognition of Śakuntalā}}''

Other important plays include the [[Mrichakatika|''Mṛcchakaṭika'']] (''The Little Clay Cart'', 5th century) and the ''[[Mudrarakshasa|Mudrārākṣasa]].''

[[Harsha|Harṣa]], a 7th-century Indian emperor, was also known as a great playwright with a simple and delicate style.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 107.</ref> His ''[[Ratnavali]], [[Nagananda]],'' and ''[[Priyadarsika]]'' are well known Sanskrit dramas.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |author=Harsha |title="The Lady of the Jewel Necklace" and "The Lady who Shows Her Love" |publisher=New York University Press |year=2006 |page=18 |translator=Wendy Doniger}}</ref>

The [[Mattavilasa Prahasana|''Mattavilāsaprahasana'']] (''A Farce of Drunken Sport'') is a short one-act [[Sanskrit]] play. It is one of the two great one act plays written by Pallava King [[Mahendravarman I]] (571– 630CE) in the beginning of the seventh century in Tamil Nadu.<ref name="Mattavilasa">{{cite book |last1=Mahendravikramavarma Pallava |title=Mattavilasa Prahasana The Farce of Drunken Sport |date=600 |publisher=Christian Literature Society |editor1-last=Lockwood |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Bhat |editor2-first=Vishnu}}</ref>

[[Bhavabhuti]] (8th century) is one of the great playwrights after Kalidasa.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 109</ref> Other major Sanskrit playwrights include [[Vishakhadatta|Visakhadatta]], [[Bhatta Narayana|Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa]], Murari, [[Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)|Rajasekhara]], Kshemisvara, Damodaramishra, and Krishnamishra.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 111-119.</ref>

Later Sanskrit dramaturgical texts also continued to be written in the second millennium, such as the ''[[Shilparatna]]'' which discusses dance and drama.

== Other Sanskrit narratives ==
There are various classical Sanskrit collections of [[fable]]s one of the most influential of which is the early ''[[Panchatantra|Pañcatantra]],'' a work that was widely imitated''.''<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 244-245, 259-263.</ref> Other works include the ''[[Hitopadesha|Hitopadeśa]]'' and Srivara's ''Kathakautuka.<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), pp. 137-138</ref>'' Buddhist [[Jataka tales|Jatakas]] (tales of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha's]] past lives) is a similar genre and includes the ''[[Divyavadana|Divyāvadāna]]'', Āryaśūra's ''[[Jataka tales|Jātakamālā]]'' (a collection of Buddhist fables)'','' and [[Kshemendra|Ksemendra]]'s various works like the ''Avadānakalpalatā.''

[[Folklore of India|Folk tale]] (or [[fairy tale]]) collections include the ''[[Baital Pachisi|Vetala Pañcaviṃśati]],'' [[Singhasan Battisi|''Siṃhāsana Dvātriṃśikā'']], and the [[Śukasaptati|''Suktasaptati'']].<ref>Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987), p. 138</ref> There is also Somadeva's ''[[Kathasaritsagara|Kathāsaritsāgara]]'' (''Ocean of the Streams of Stories'').

There are also poetic historical [[:Category:Indian chronicles|chronicles]] like the ''[[Rajatarangini]]'' of Kalhana, [[Rashtraudha Kavya]] of Rudrakavi, Shivbharata and Paramanandkavya of Paramananda, Rajaramcharitra of Keshavbhatt, Sri Janraj Champu of Krishna Dutta.<ref>Lienhard (1984), p. 218.</ref>

[[Hemachandra|Hemacandra's]] (1088-1172) ''Trisastisalakapurusacaritra'' is one example of Jain didactic narrative in Sanskrit.<ref>Keith (1956), p. 294.</ref>

There are also abridged retellings of more ancient lost texts, such as [[Budhasvamin|Budhasvāmin's]] ''[[Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha]]''.<ref>Keith (1956), pp. 272</ref>

== Modern Sanskrit literature ==
{{see also|List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Sanskrit}}
[[File:Sanskrit_College_1999_stamp_of_India.jpg|thumb|A 1999 stamp dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the [[The Sanskrit College and University|Sanskrit College]]]]
Literature in Sanskrit continues to be produced. These works, however, have a very small readership. In the introduction to ''Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets'' (1992), [[Radhavallabh Tripathi]] writes:<ref name=tripathi>{{citation | title=Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets | editor=Radhavallabh Tripathi | publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] | year=1992 | isbn=81-7201-200-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXtWVxJCA7MC&q=%22Harshadev%22}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Sanskrit is known for its classical literature, even though the creative activity in this language has continued without pause from the medieval age till today. [...] Consequently, contemporary Sanskrit writing suffers from a prevailing negligence.}}
Most current Sanskrit poets are employed as teachers, either pandits in ''pāṭhaśāla''s or university professors.<ref name=tripathi/> However, Tripathi also points out the abundance of contemporary Sanskrit literature:
{{blockquote|On the other hand, the number of authors who appear to be very enthusiastic about writing in Sanskrit during these days is not negligible. [...] Dr. Ramji Upadhyaya in his treatise on modern Sanskrit drama has discussed more than 400 Sanskrit plays written and published during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In a thesis dealing with Sanskrit ''[[mahākāvya]]''s written in a single decade, 1961–1970, the researcher has noted 52 Sanskrit ''mahākāvya''s (epic poems) produced in that very decade.}}
Similarly, {{Harvcoltxt|Prajapati|2005}}, in ''Post-Independence Sanskrit Literature: A Critical Survey'', estimates that more than 3000 Sanskrit works were composed in the period after Indian Independence (i.e., since 1947) alone. Further, much of this work is judged as being of high quality, both in comparison to classical Sanskrit literature, and to modern literature in other Indian languages.<ref name=mswk>S. Ranganath (2009), [http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/digitalbook/m/mswk.pdf ''Modern Sanskrit Writings in Karnataka''], {{ISBN|978-81-86111-21-5}}, p. 7: {{blockquote|Contrary to popular belief, there is an astonishing Sanskrit writing is qualitatively of such high order that it can easily be treated on par with the best of Classical Sanskrit literature, It can also easily compete with the writings in other Indian languages.}}</ref><ref name=assp>[http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/ASSP/Index.html Adhunika Sanskrit Sahitya Pustakalaya], Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan: {{blockquote|The latter half of the nineteenth century marks the beginning of a new era in Sanskrit literature. Many of the modern Sanskrit writings are qualitatively of such high order that they can easily be treated at par with the best of classical Sanskrit works, and they can also be judged in contrast to the contemporary literature in other languages.}}</ref>

Since 1967, the [[Sahitya Akademi]], India's national academy of letters, has had an [[List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Sanskrit|award]] for the best creative work written that year in Sanskrit. In 2009, [[Satyavrat Shastri]] became the first Sanskrit author to win the [[Jnanpith Award]], India's highest literary award.<ref>{{Cite news | newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] | title=Sanskrit's first Jnanpith winner is a 'poet by instinct' | date=Jan 14, 2009 | url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sanskrits-first-jnanpith-winner-is-a-poet-by-instinct/410480/0}}</ref>
[[Vidyadhar Shastri#Awards and Honors|Vidyadhar Shastri]]  wrote two epic poems (''Mahakavya''), seven shorter poems, three plays and three songs of praise ({{transliteration|sa|stavana kavya}}, he received the ''Vidyavachaspati'' award in 1962. Some other modern Sanskrit composers include [[Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra]] (known as ''Triveṇī Kavi'', composer of short stories and several other genres of Sanskrit literature), [[Rambhadracharya|Jagadguru Rambhadracharya]] (known as ''Kavikularatna'', composer of two epics, several minor works and commentaries on ''Prasthānatrayī'').

Another great Sanskrit epic that remained largely unrecognised till lately is "Dhruv Charitra" written by Pandit Surya Dev Mishra in 1946. He won laurels of appreciation by renowned Hindi and Sanskrit critics like Hazari Prasad Dwiedi, Ayodhya Singh Upadhyay "Hariaudh", Suryakant tripathi "Nirala", Laldhar Tripathi "Pravasi".<ref>Mishra, Mayank. Karma ka Pujari. Chandigarh : Unistar Publications, 2010. Print</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Literature}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
; Literature
* [[Sanskrit drama]]
* [[Hindu scripture]]
* [[Buddhist texts]]
* [[Early Medieval literature]]
* [[Indian literature]]
* [[List of Indian poets#Sanskrit|List of Sanskrit poets]]
* [[List of ancient Indian writers]]
* [[List of legendary creatures in Hindu mythology|Legendary creatures in Sanskrit mythology]]
{{div col end}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
; Revival and significance
* [[Sanskrit revival]]
* [[Clay Sanskrit Library]]
* [[List of Sanskrit universities in India]]
* [[Sanskrit revival#Revival outside India|List of Sanskrit academic institutes outside India]]
* [[List of historic Indian texts|List of historic Sanskrit texts]] 
* [[Sanskrit#Symbolic usage|Symbolic usage of Sanskrit]]
* [[List of Sanskrit-related topics|Sanskrit-related topics]]
* [[Sanskrit Wikipedia]]
{{div col end}}
== Notes ==
{{notelist|20em}}

== Glossary ==
{{notelist-ua|20em}}

== Brahmic notes ==
{{collapse top|title=Brahmic transliteration}}
{{notelist-lr|20em}}
{{collapse bottom}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Burrow |first1=T |url=https://archive.org/details/BurrowTheSanskritLanguage |title=The Sanskrit Language (3rd edition, 1973) |year=1973 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-1767-2 |edition=1973}}
* {{cite book |last1=Deshpande |first1=Madhav M |title=Sanskrit and Prakrit |year=1993 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-1136-4 |edition=1993}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fortson |first1=Benjamin W |title=Indo-European Language and Culture |year=2010 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-8895-1 |edition=2010}}
* Gonda, Jan (ed.) ''A History of Indian Literature'', Otto Harrasowitz, Wiesbaden.* ''[https://archive.org/details/ideas-of-history-in-sanskrit-literature-r.-c.-majumdar Ideas of History in Sanskrit Literature]'' Oxford University Press, 1961.
* [[R. C. Majumdar|Majumdar, R. C.]], [https://archive.org/details/ideas-of-history-in-sanskrit-literature-r.-c.-majumdar Ideas of History in Sanskrit Literature] Oxford University Press, 1967. 
* ''[http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil_elib/HaB014__Hanneder_Broo_eds_Studies_on_Modern_Sanskrit_Writings_15thWSC-Panel_2012.pdf Studies on Modern Sanskrit Writings: Ādhunika-saṃskṛta-sāhityānuśīlanam.] Papers Presented in the Section on Modern Sanskrit Writings (Proceedings of the 15th World Sanskrit Conference, 2012)''. Edited by Jürgen Hanneder and Måns Broo with an introduction by R. V. Tripathi.
* {{cite book |last1=Iyengar |first1=V. Gopala |title=A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature. Rs. 4 |date=1965}}
* {{citation |last=Jain |first=Vijay K. |title=Acharya Umasvami's Tattvarthsutra |date=2011 |publisher=Vikalp Printers |location=[[Uttarakhand]] |isbn=978-81-903639-2-1 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLmx9bvtglkC |quote={{PD-notice}} |ref={{sfnref|Vijay K. Jain|2011}} }}
* {{citation |last=Jaini |first=Padmanabh S. |author-link=Padmanabh Jaini |title=The Jaina Path of Purification |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wE6v6ahxHi8C |date=1998 |orig-date=1979 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |location=[[Delhi]] |isbn=81-208-1578-5 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Jamison & Brereton |first1=Stephanie & Joel |title=The Rigveda, A guide |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-063336-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kale |first1=M R |title=A Higher Sanskrit Grammar |year=1972 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-0177-6 |edition=2002}}
* {{cite book |last1=Keith |first1=A. Berriedale |title=A History of Sanskrit Literature |date=1956 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Great Britain}}
* Lienhard, Siegfried (1984). ''A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit'' (A History of Indian Literature Vol. III) Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
* [[Arthur Anthony Macdonell|Macdonell, Arthur Anthony]], [[s:A History of Sanskrit Literature|A History of Sanskrit Literature]], New York 1900
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* {{Citation| last = Prajapati| first = Manibhai K.| year = 2005| title = Post-Independence Sanskrit Literature: A Critical Survey| publisher = Standard Publishers (India)}}
* S. Ranganath, [http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/DigitalBook/M/Mswk.pdf ''Modern Sanskrit Writings in Karnataka''], [[Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan]], 2009.
* Gaurinath Bhattacharyya Shastri (1987). ''A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature.'' Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
* Bhattacharji Sukumari, ''History of Classical Sanskrit Literature,'' Sangam Books, London, 1993, {{ISBN|0-86311-242-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Whitney |first1=William Dwight |title=Sanskrit Grammar |date=January 2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0620-7 |edition=2000}}
* [[Moriz Winternitz|Winternitz, M.]] ''A History of Indian Literature.'' Oriental books, New Delhi, 1927 (1907)
* [[Moriz Winternitz|Winternitz, M.]] ''A History of Indian Literature Vol. I. Introduction, Veda, National Epics, Puranas and Tantras.'' Oriental books, New Delhi, 1972
* [[Moriz Winternitz|Winternitz, M.]] ''A History of Indian Literature Vol. II. Buddhist literature and Jaina literature.'' Oriental books, New Delhi, 1972
* {{citation|author=Witzel, Michael|author-link=Michael Witzel| url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/dialects.pdf |title=Tracing the Vedic dialects, in ''Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes''| editor= Colette Caillat| editor-link= Colette Caillat| publisher= Paris: de Boccard |year=1989}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|wikt=no|c=Category:Sanskrit-language literature|n=no|q=no|s=Category:Works originally in Sanskrit|b=Sanskrit|v=Introduction to Sanskrit Language}}
* [http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil.htm GRETIL: Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages] a cumulative register of the numerous download sites for electronic texts in Indian languages.
* [http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/indexe.htm?/texte/texte2.htm#ind TITUS Indica]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111075741/http://vedabase.net/ Vedabase.net]:  Vaishnava literatures with word for word translations from Sanskrit to English.
* [http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org Official page] of the [[Clay Sanskrit Library]], publisher of classical Indian literature with facing-page texts and translations. Also offers numerous downloadable materials.
* [http://sanskritdocuments.org Sanskrit Documents Collection]: Documents in ITX format of Upanishads, Stotras etc., and a metasite with links to translations, dictionaries, tutorials, tools and other Sanskrit resources.
* [http://mahabharata.manipal.edu/ MAHE Mahabharata Digital Concordance] by [https://manipal.edu/philosophy.html/ Department of Philosophy - Manipal]
* [http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=sanskrit_literature Sanskrit Literature] at the [[The Encyclopedia of Fantasy|Encyclopedia of Fantasy]]
{{Sanskrit language topics}}
{{Poetry of different cultures and languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanskrit Literature}}
[[Category:Sanskrit literature| ]]
[[Category:Indian literature by language]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Sanskrit|Literature]]
[[Category:Medieval poetry]]
[[Category:History of literature in India]]
[[Category:Indian religious texts]]
[[Category:Vedas]]
[[Category:Ancient literature]]
[[Category:Epic poetry]]
[[Category:Oral literature]]
[[Category:Vedic hymns]]
[[Category:Nepalese literature by language]]