Indian literature is thought to be the earliest literature of the world. Literature during this time largely incorporated art. In this art, the gods portrayed in the story were depicted and it was grandiose. The most important epics of India are listed in this article.
The Mahabharata is one of the two most important ancient epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. It is believed to be written by Saga Ved Vyasa. The great work depicts the struggle for power between two group of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas in Greater India. The epic contain about 110,000 couplets in eighteen sections. There is also a 19th section named Harivamsha. The Bhagavadgita, a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, is a part of the Mahabharata.
2. Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic about Rama. The epic was originally written by saga Valmiki. The Ramayana plays an important role in Hindu literature. The Ramayana consists of 96,000 verses in seven books and tells the story of Rama, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana the king of Lanka. The characters Rama, Sita, Lakshman, Bharata, Hanuman and Ravana are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India, Nepal and many south-east Asian countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.
3. Panchatantra
The Panchatantra is a legendary collection of short stories from India. Originally composed in the 3rd century BC Panchatantra is believed to be written by Vishnu Sharma.
The Panchatantra is the best guide to enroot moral values in children since its each tale has a moral lesson in its end. The Panchatantra is a great book where plants and animals can speak and converse with human beings too.
4. Buddhacharita
Buddhacharita is a great epic which narrates the life of Buddha-from his birth to Nirvana. Buddhacharita, one of the best Sanskrit epic, was written by Ashvaghosha, a Buddhist poet in 2nd century AD. This epic is renowned for the details about Buddha’s life which can be corroborated by available historical records and the facts available in other chronologies of that period. This epic consists of 28 cantos.
