UNIT IV: WEST AND SOUTH

ASIAN LITERATURE
 INTRODUCTION
Asia is a vast land inhabited by a population with diverse culture.
South Asia includes the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan,

India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.

West Asia on the other hand, includes Turkey, Syria, Georgia,

Iraq, Iran,Saudi Arabia, and some countries in the Middle East.

The history of these countries is marked by glorious victories

against foreign invaders and the establishment of the first forms of

civilization.
The three oldest religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - trace

their historic birthplace in West Asia.

 EXPLORING
INDIAN LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION:
The earliest known literature of India is a collection of traditions

handed down by word of mouth - VEDAS.

The literature of India is often called Sanskrit literature

 Indian philosophy and

religion greatly influenced

both the East and the

West.
The word daughter

from the Sanskrit

word duhitr

signifying "to draw

India gave the world

milk." trigonometry, the first

grammar books, the first

study of phonetics, and

the game of chess.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN LITERATURE
The first characteristics of Indian literature is that it is based

on piety, a deeply religious spirit.

The second characteristic of Indian literature is that the

Indian literary masterpieces, written in the form of epics;

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata is considered the greatest epic of India.
The Ramayana recounts the adventures of Rama and his wife

Sita.
 RAMAYANA

MAHABHARATA
 Indian Drama
KALIDASA BHASA
In the second century B.C. Indian drama reached a high stage of

development.
The striking thing about Indian drama is that it is multilingual.
The two great Indian dramatists are Bhasa and Kalidasa, who is called

the Indian Shakespeare.

The first great name in Indian drama is Bhasa.
Kalidasa is called the brightest of the "nine gems of genius."
 SHAKUNTALA
It is written in long passages of beautiful prose and

poetry.
THE PANCHATANTRA (FIVE

HEADINGS)
It is a rich collection of brief stories of
ancient times.
 RABINDRANATH
TAGORE
He was a great Indian poet and

dramatist.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize

for literature in 1913 and was

knighted by the British

government in 1915.
EXPLORING ARABIAN

LITERATURE
 INTRODUCTION:
Arabian literature is the link that connects ancient literature to

modern literature.
The rise of the Arabian Empire and the rapid development of its

literature were the great events that characterize the Middle

ages.
In the seventh and eighth centuries, the power of Arabia extended

rapidly over Asia.

From ninth century, Arabian literature was supreme over the East

and the West.

 LITERATURE:

Arabian literature , in general, is rich and of varied types.

The caliphs, as the rulers were called, were patrons of literature;

HAROUN AS RASCHID and AL MAMOUN

ARABIAN POETRY ARABIAN PROSE

It is emotional and extremely
Arabian prose is rich in

sweet.. mythology;
All verses are divided into two
The Genii
types:
Occasional poems - elegies and

The Peris
The Ghouls
ode
Collection or Anthologies - Al-
Mu-Allkat, a group of pre-

Islamic odes
 ARABIAN NIGHTS
The most famous Arabian stories are in the

collection found under the title Arabian Nights.

It has been translated into many languages.

It was considered as a favorite book, especially

among the young.

The Thousand and One Nights, or Arabian

Nights, has given the world and immortal

characters like Ali Baba, Aladdin, and Sinbad the

Sailor.
 THE KORAN
The greatest book of the
Arabs is the Koran, also

spelled as Quran. It is their

sacred book, their version of

the Christian Bible. It

contains the revelations of

their God, Allah, to

Mohammed.
 EXPLORING

PERSIAN
LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION: IRAN
Iran is the most populous and the

second largest country in the Middle

East, and a major exporter of oil.

Iran, meaning "Land of the Aryans,"

was the center of a great empire of the

ancient world and remained a

monarchy until the Islamic revolution

of 1979 and the establishment of the

Islamic Republic of Iran.

 Much of the literature of Persia have

LITERATURE
been infuenced by the varieties of

ideals, religions, the ways of life of the

different invaders who had

dominated Persian oil.

Practice of Sufism - Sufism believes

that there exists in the universe only

one reality. A part of it is imprisoned

in the human body and this is the

human soul.

 PERSIAN PROSE
The source of prose is like poetry, was in the

Sammanid dynasty.
The spirit of Nationalism, found its finest expression

in the 10th century in Firdausi's Shah Namah.

Persian prose is generally more serious in nature and
did not cater to the majority of the people.
The short stories and tales, were often simple and

uncomplicated expositions popular with the common

people.
PERSIAN POETRY
Didactic and Mystical Poetry -

this type of poetry is natural in a

country whose tradition abounds

in maxims, sayings, and

proverbs.
The Ghazal (lyric) - this art form

was perfected by Hafiz. A fine

example of Sufi lyricism.

 OMAR KHAYYAM
A Persian poet, mathematician,

and astronomer, was born at

Nishapur, in Khorasan.
Khayyam means the "Tent-

maker"
Rubaiyat "Stanzas" - only one

manuscript; it contains 158

quatrains.

 EXPLORING

JEWISH/
HEBREW

LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION: THE STATE OF ISRAEL
The state of Israel, an independent republic in south-west Asia, is

located between the eastern shores of Mediterranean Sea and the

head of the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the red sea.

Historically, the area is considered the Holy Land for Christians,

Jews, and Muslims.

The Hebrews believed in Jehovah, an unseen God who was never

identified with images or sacrifices.

The first rulers of the Hebrews were patriarchs; King Saul and

King David.
INTRODUCTION: THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Inspired by religion, the Hebrews, upon

their return from the exile to the Promised

Land, copied the ancient writings of their

patriarchs and added the teachings of later

prophets.
Because of its religious significance, ancient

Hebrew literature is known to all people. The

Old Testament is read and loved by all

Christian nations.
 LITERATURE:
The greatest literature the

Israelites produced embodied

in the bible, which is

composed of two books - the

Old Testament and the New

Testament.
Love of God is an outstanding

quality of the literature of

Israel.
 LITERATURE:

Their literature is generally emotional, often

passionate. It describes the character of the people,

their daily lives, the beautiful scenery of their land.

Their literature also shows great love of country.
 LITERATURE:
The Israelites developed all literary types: the lyric, the narrative,

and the drama.

 LYRIC POETRY
Ancient Hebrew poetry employs some of the same poetic devices

found in Germanic verse - parallelism of structure and idea,

repetition, and balance.

 LYRIC POETRY
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is

his mercy toward them that fear Him.

As far as the east is far from the west, so far that he

removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord

pitieth them that fear Him.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we

are dust.

Psalm 103: 11-14

 The story of Job
DRAMA
The Song of

Songs

Wisdom literature
NARRATIVES
Tales