“Some people tried to collect gold, others by violence to seize the earth or pearls and all kinds of riches, and the master of this book wisely sought not pearls and expensive beads, and not gold, but a worthy description of the world, and collected wealth that does not disappear; everything in the world smolders, only one word remains. Thus, the unknown Old Russian translator of Kozma Indikoplov's Christian Topography expressed his admiration for the Byzantine "voyager to India" who visited a distant country in the middle of the 6th century.
India is the ancient love of the peoples of our homeland. The streams of early ties with India murmured long before the translation of the "Topography" (XII - XIV centuries). Indian medicinal science was well known to the brilliant Khorezmian Biruni (XI century); The "Canon of Medical Science" by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) brought the achievements of Indian scholarship to the book readers of Kievan Rus.
The Russian epic, dreaming about the mysterious India, did not stint on the gems of the sonorous native word. The epic, with the attention of an ethnographer, captured the solemn exit of the mother of Duke Stepanovich, a guest from India:
Thirty girls lead her by the arm,
And under another thirty girls,
A sunflower is carried over it,
To from the red sun
Her white face was not parched;
Crimson cloths stand in front;
Behind the cloth are removed;
She's wearing a red dress
Heavenly beauty is summed up on the dress;
Baking red sun
And the bright moon shines
Frequent small stars crumble.
The sun, the moon is bright and small stars, despising Nature laws, in good harmony side by side with each other, radiating the affection and tenderness of the Russian singer for the Indian land.
In ancient Russian literature, as well as in oral poetry, India colored with riotous colors of folk fantasy. India ancient Rus'- this is a fabulous country where half-naked men collect outlandish fruits, and mothers carry children tied behind their backs or around their necks; where the magical river Geon flows, along the banks of which the terrible “nostrilhorn” prowls, and the phoenix bird soars in the sky.
Now over the ancient caravan routes leading to India, jet planes have spread their wings. Moscow and Delhi are separated by only a few hours of flight. The 20th century is alien to the disunity of peoples. In the minds of the Soviet people, the image of awakened India, devoid of exotic tinsel, became closer and dearer to the heart.
The true face of India helped us to recreate indian art. There is no country in the world with a richer mythology than India, and there is no country where mythology has been preserved so completely.
The genealogy of Indian literatures exceeds three millennia. No other culture in the world (with the exception of China) knows such a long continuous development of literary traditions.
India is a multilingual country. Since ancient times, its literature has been created in various languages belonging to the Indo-European and Dravidian language families. The earliest available literature in Sanskrit, the oldest language of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family, dates back to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In the middle of the first millennium BC. e. literary use includes other Indo-Aryan languages - Pali and Prakrit. At the beginning of our era, Pali literature in India completes its journey (it continues to develop in other countries of the East). Approximately in the II - I centuries. BC e. literature in Tamil, the most ancient representative of the Dravidian family of languages, is born. By the end of the first millennium A.D. e. almost all the main nationalities of modern India and their languages \u200b\u200b-Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and others, have already been formed, gradually replacing Sanskrit and Prakrit from literary use. At the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd millennium, along with the Tamil language, other Dravidian languages - Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam - were used in literature. The invasion of India by troops from the neighboring countries of the Middle East, the mass migration of the Iranian-speaking population to the northwestern regions of India, the formation of states with the ruling Muslim elite and the spread of Islam - all this could not but affect Indian literature; in the XI - XIV centuries. an Indian Persian-speaking community is emerging. Implementation in English in various spheres of life in India led in the first quarter of the XIX century. to the birth of Indian English-language literature.
The centuries-old economic, political and cultural ties of the peoples of India laid the foundation for unity indian culture in particular literature. The increasing convergence of literatures over time makes it legitimate to use the collective term "Indian literature". The singularity that was already outlined in the literatures of ancient and early medieval India is significantly strengthened as the position of literatures in living languages is strengthened.
The unity of Indian literatures is manifested in the similarity of their historical destinies. The overwhelming majority of the literatures of modern India went through approximately the same stages of development: origin in the 7th - 8th centuries. in a number of literatures of North India, religious and mystical poetry, which has an anti-feudal orientation; the rise in the XV - XVII centuries, associated with the growth of anti-feudal movements and the formation of the urban culture of the Middle Ages; the decline in the eighteenth century caused by the decline of feudalism and English enslavement; the emergence of literature new in content and form in the 19th century, due to the development of bourgeois relations, the awakening of national self-consciousness and the deployment of the national liberation struggle; the growing rapprochement between various Indian literatures after the popular uprising of 1857-1859. and adding them as national literatures; the formation of Indian enlightenment as an ideological and aesthetic movement directed against feudalism and feudal ideology; dissemination of new artistic methods and trends - romanticism, sentimentalism, enlightenment realism, and at the beginning of the 20th century. - critical realism; the widespread manifestation of anti-bourgeois tendencies; the active participation of literatures in the anti-colonial and social liberation struggle; the birth of Indian literature of socialist realism; the growth of fundamental differences between the progressive and reactionary camps in the literature of independent India.
The unity of Indian literatures is rooted in the commonality of ideological and aesthetic aspirations, in the proximity literary forms, types and genres, as well as artistic and visual means. The commonality of cultural heritage, on which the literatures of antiquity and the Middle Ages (mythology, monuments of folklore and ancient written literature) relied, also contributed to the further strengthening of unity.
Belonging of Indian languages to various language families did not prevent the rapprochement of the literatures of India. The Dravidian literatures (South India) went through the same stages of development in their main features as the Indo-Aryan ones.
The gradual formation of a literary community among the peoples of the country by no means led to the leveling of national identity, to the loss of the national identity of each of the literatures. The rapprochement of literatures had a beneficial effect on each of them, stimulated the exchange of ideological and artistic values, facilitated the maturation of democratic trends, currents, tendencies, and contributed to the formation of new genres. And yet, speaking of the unity of Indian culture and literature (significantly strengthened in the course of the national liberation struggle), one should take into account its well-known relativity.
There are many research and popular works on ancient, medieval, modern and recent Literature of India. A place of honor among literary studies belongs to our domestic science. In the pre-revolutionary years, it was largely guided by antiquity, later (especially after the Second World War) began a broad study of the literature of the Middle Ages and the present. However, the works of both domestic and foreign, including Indian, Indologists are overwhelmingly devoted to individual works, authors or literature, and not to the history of Indian literature as a whole or its most important stages.
Until now, there is no generally accepted (or even the most common) periodization of the history of Indian literature in Indology. The following main stages of the literary development of India can be distinguished: antiquity, medieval literature, the Renaissance, the 18th century (as a literary era), the Enlightenment, the latest literature of colonial India, the literature of independent India.
Introductory article and compilation by P. Grinzer
Literature ancient east, separated from our time by tens of centuries, came to us in two fundamentally different ways. Some literatures, closed in their existence by the framework of the ancient world, became known mainly thanks to happy finds and archaeological discoveries. Others, whose development in this or that way was continued in subsequent centuries, were preserved in the mainstream of their own cultural tradition, far from being exhausted by the period of antiquity. Naturally, literatures of the first kind (such as Egyptian, Sumero-Akkadian, Hittite, Uharptian) are familiar to us mostly in random extracts and fragments. However, it is precisely the accidental acquaintance with them that we owe in many respects to the fact that they appear before us in a lively growth dynamics and a variety of types of texts. Monuments of other literatures, on the contrary, were consciously and systematically selected, combined into extensive collections - usually of a religious nature - carefully edited by the compilers of the collections. We have every reason to believe that the most significant and perfect works were selected; but since they have undergone purposeful processing, a certain kind of speculative reconstruction and a considerable share of the research imagination are required in order to correctly identify them in their original functions and appearance. It is to such ancient literatures, along with Chinese, Iranian and Jewish, that Indian literature belongs.
The overwhelming majority of monuments of Indian literature of antiquity (conditionally: before the first centuries of our era) were included in four grandiose literary complexes: Vedic, Buddhist, Jaya and epic ( Since excerpts from the ancient Indian epic poems "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" will constitute a separate volume of the "Library of World Literature", and the texts of the sacred canon of the Jain religious sect are narrowly pragmatic in content and have relatively little artistic value, both of them are not included in this section. In the future, therefore, we will mainly talk about two of the four named literary complexes - Vedic and Buddhist.). The Indian tradition considers each of these complexes, both formally and in essence, as strictly united, wholly connected with one or another religious one. movement within Indian society I millennium BC. e. But at the same time, it is obvious that they all consist of many independently developed texts, combine heterogeneous and contradictory elements, which are often radically rethought. The Vedic, Buddhist, epic and even Jain complexes, both in terms of their scale and the variety of monuments, are a kind of “literature in literature”, and, like any other literature, they have undergone a long evolution in the course of their creation, have a complex history and background.
One of the most important pages of this prehistory has been revealed to us relatively recently. Over the past fifty years, an urban civilization has been discovered in the vast territory of the Indus River basin and adjacent areas, which archaeologists and historians attribute to the III-II millennium BC. This civilization, called the civilization of the Indus Valley or Harashsh, after one of its main centers, was in no way inferior to the modern advanced cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was distinguished by a highly developed economy, architecture, fine arts; she undoubtedly possessed literature, and not only oral, but possibly written as well, since archaeological excavations introduced us to numerous examples of Harappan writing, which, however, has not yet been deciphered completely.
The latest research has established between the civilization of Harappa and the subsequent, so-called Aryan, civilization of India, approximately the same continuity that existed between the civilizations of Sumer in Babylon or Mycenaean and Homeric Greece. This continuity can be traced in various fields of culture, including literature. In the Hindu pantheon, the Harappan origins of such deities as Aditi, Prithivl, Shiva are obvious; many folklore and literary motifs (for example, Buddhist jatakas and Panchatantras) show clear parallels with images on Harappan seals-amulets; from the distant pre-Aryan past, the central figures of Rama and Krishna penetrated into Indian religions and epic tales. Through the Harappan civilization, which was in close, and perhaps genetically determined, ties with the Sumerian civilization, Indian literature learned some Mesopotamian stories, among which the world-famous legend of the flood, attested both in the epic and in the Vedic Brahmins, cannot be overlooked.
The discovery of the Harappan culture also raised the question of the relationship between ancient Indian literatures of different languages. Since the first monuments in the Tamil (Dravidian) language that have come down to us date from about the 3rd century BC. n. e., the very concept of "ancient Indian literature" was previously applied only to texts compiled in Indo-Aryan languages: Sanskrit and its dialects, Prakrit, Pali. At the same time, indications from Tamil sources that behind them there is a literary tradition that goes deep into the 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd millennium BC seemed untrustworthy. e. Now, when most experts tend to see the language of the Harappan inscriptions as a proto-Dravidian language, these indications suddenly found real ground, and one has to reckon with the presence in ancient Indian culture and literature of an extensive and essential Dravidian substratum.
If, reconstructing the cultural contribution of the Indus Valley civilization, we have the right to speak only about the prehistory of ancient Indian literature, then its own history begins with the arrival in India (about the XIV-XIII centuries BC) of the Indo-Aryan tribes, which before that constituted the territorial, and partly an ethnic community with the ancient Iranian tribes. From their ancestral home, the Indo-Arpis brought beliefs belonging to their Indo-Iranian past, which affected the sometimes surprising closeness of the most ancient Indian and Iranian texts. At the same time, they learned much from the heritage of the pre-Aryan population of India, and also developed new ideas and customs that met the needs of the changed conditions of their life. And all this complex synthesis of autochthonous and newly created traditions brought from outside was the cultural background against which the first works of ancient Indian literature - the Vedas - appeared.
The word "veda" means "knowledge", more precisely - the highest spiritual knowledge, and the monuments of the Vedas are considered by adherents of the Hindu religion as an eternally existing and enduring divine revelation. This cult function of Vedic literature does not prevent it, as we have already said, from being a collection of texts of very different origin, purpose and appearance. The composition of the Vedas includes works in verse and prose, hymns to the gods and folk songs, heroic legends and everyday parables, didactic instructions and philosophical comments. Accordingly, the Vedic monuments are divided into several categories. The first category of Vedic literature includes four collections (samhitas.) of hymns, incantations and sacrificial incantations; to the second - brahmins, theological treatises in prose, to the third - aran-yaki and upapishads, philosophical teachings and dialogues.
In relation to the Samhitas, Brahmins, Arayakas and Upaiishadais, the Indian tradition uses the term shruti (literally: "heard"). This term in meaning corresponds to the concept of "holy scripture" among Christians, but at the same time, it seems to be intended to emphasize that in their ritual quality, the Vedic texts were never written or read, but were first "heard" from God by their creators, saints. sages-rishis, and then "listened" from the priests at religious ceremonies and from the teacher by his students. In turn, monuments of the fourth (and no longer "divine", but "earthly") category of Vedic literature - Vedangas (literally: "parts of the Vedas") adjoin the texts of the shruti category, which set out six auxiliary disciplines necessary for a correct understanding of this literature: ritual, phonetics, grammar, etymology, metrics and astronomy.
The abundance and variety of Vedic monuments in itself suggests that, in a diachronic perspective, Vedic literature has gone through many stages of development. Indeed, the time of the creation of the Vedas covers a whole era: from the end of the 2nd to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. At the same time, the most ancient Vedic samhita "Rigveda" developed, apparently, by 1000 BC. e., the design of other samhitas, "Sachaveda", "Yajurveda" and "Atharvaveda", falls on the IX-VII centuries BC. e, and the final edition of the Brahmins and early Upanishads took place in the VIII - VI centuries. Don. e. (Some Upanshads and Vedangas belong even to a later period - IV-III centuries BC). Separated from each other for centuries, the monuments of the Vedas naturally reflect different levels of socio-political relations (from the primitive communal to the glorious caste system), different levels of artistic comprehension of reality. Nevertheless, within the framework of the Vedic canon, in its main function of an integral religious and cult complex, these monuments are perceived Indian tradition, and to some extent by the modern European reader, as a single and interconnected system of texts.
The hymns of the four Vedic Samhitas are formally intended for the four main priests of the Vedic ritual and are directly included in its composition, sanctifying and interpreting each ritual action. The Brahmins explain the exoteric aspect of the ritual, the origin, meaning and purpose of individual ritual ceremonies, while the Aranyakas and Upanishads explain its esoteric aspect, offering a metaphysical interpretation of Vedic dogma. Accordingly, the Samhitas of the Vedas are traditionally regarded as the Vedas proper, and the Brahmins, Aranyakas and Upanishads as the exegetical (“explanatory”) literature of the Vedas, each of the categories of this literature being associated with a certain level (ritual, didactic, philosophical) of the content of the Samhitas.
Of course, this kind of synchronous, systematic approach is rather arbitrary, the Vedic monuments, taken separately, are completely independent and have a clearly expressed specificity. But at the same time, it is undoubted that any of the lnh in overall structure Vedic literature occupies its own, special bridge and acquires a functional load arising from the features of this structure. Let us note in passing that the situation is the same in other literatures of the Ancient East: the unification of heterogeneous texts into a religious canon such as the Bible or the Avesta leads, as a rule, to their rethinking and subordination to the general tasks of the canon.
Diversity and at the same time functional unity characterize individual monuments of Vedic literature. Among the Vedas, the Rigveda (Veda of hymns) stands out for its artistic merit and depth of content, from which, by the way, almost the entire text of the Samaveda and some parts of the Yajurveda and Atharvaveda are borrowed. The overwhelming majority of the hymns of the Rigveda are praises, prayers and requests addressed to the gods. All of them are designed to provide the petitioner with the location of the gods and the material or spiritual blata that he desires. Thus, they are united by a common cult, magical purpose, leveling their individual features with a functional approach to them.
However, it is impossible not to notice that within this cult function, each of the one thousand and twenty-eight hymns of the Rigveda reveals special qualities and appearance, being in its origin sometimes a folk song, sometimes a heroic myth or legend (see "Hymn to Ivdra", glorifying his victory over the demon Vritra - I, 32), sometimes a rethought fragment of secular poetry (for example, the famous "Player's Hymn" - X, 34). Experts find in the Rigveda the beginnings of epic, lyrical and even dramatic genres such as mysteries or dialogues (see the hymn-dialogue of Agastya and Lopamudra - I, 179). As if in the process of its creation, the whole ancient mythology- from the image of personified natural phenomena (hymns to the goddess of the morning dawn Ushas, the sun god Surya, the wind god Vata, etc.) to appeals to the supreme rulers of the world, personifying the concept of cosmic order (see "Hymn to Varuna" - VII, 86), or to such already purely abstract deities as Vishvakaryay - the builder of the world, Shraddha - faith, Manyu - Shev, etc. At the same time, the ancient layers of the text associated with natural myth often turned out to be reworked in the spirit of a later symbolic myth. Thus, the god of fire Agni is usually depicted as a simple embodiment of the fiery element: he has fiery hair and a red beard, he has many tongues and gold teeth, he is a tree-eater, like an angry bull or a racehorse raging in the forest, and at the same time Agni is a priest and mentor of the gods, mediator between the gods and people, an abstract symbol of the final unity of the three worlds: earth, air and sky (see "Hymn of Agpp" - VI, 12). The late layer of the Rigvsda text, in the light of which its more advanced parts often acquire a new, complicated meaning, also includes the so-called philosophical hymns that interpret the questions of the origin of being, the essence of the gods and the inseparability of their nature, the root cause and purpose of creation (see Gimp to all the gods" - X, 72 and "The Gimp on the Creation of the World" - X, 129).
Slightly inferior to the "Rigveda" in its historical and cultural value is the fourth Vedic samhyata - "Atharvaveda" ("Veda of Spells"). It is considered the fourth, since it entered the Vedic canon later than others, samhita and long time not considered sacred. It is believed that its edition was smoked after the first three Vedas were formed. However, the relatively late origin of the Atharvaveda as a whole does not mean the same late origin of its individual hymns, many of them even surpass the early hymns of the Ritveda in age. For the most part, they are the product of a very archaic culture, are fragments of folk magic poetry and, possibly, were borrowed by arias from the folklore of the natives of India. Such hymns in the Atharvaveda primarily include numerous full expressions of spells against all kinds of diseases (see "Conspiracy against leprosy" - I, 23), evil demons and creatures hostile to man, love conspiracies (see "Conspiracy - bewitching a woman "- VI, 9), prayers for health and long life (see "Conspiracy to prolong life" - V, 30). By including these hymns in the Atharva Veda, the priests who compiled the Samhita sought to subjugate folk beliefs and cults to the needs of the Vedic religion, to introduce them, appropriately adapted and trape-shaped, into the Vedic ritual. For the same purpose, spells and incantations in the Atharvaveda were supplemented by the usual appeals to the Vedic deities, which, by inspiration and expressiveness, are able to withstand comparison with the best hymns of the Rigveda (for example, “Gimp to the power of the gods” - IV, 6) , as well as cosmogonic and philosophical hymns, reflecting an even higher level of abstraction and complication of the Vedic religion (see "Hymn of the Time" - XIX, 53).
To the second category of Vedic literature - the Brahmins ("interpretations of the highest outi") belong to the "Aitareya-" and "Kaushitaki-Brahmins" of the "Rig-Vedas", "Taittirpya-" and "Shatapatha-Brahmins" of the "Yajurveda", "Jaiminiya", " Shadvinsha-" and "Tandyamaha-brahmanas" of "Samaveda", as well as about a dozen other works, less ancient and significant. The content of the Brahmins is mainly limited to the interpretation of the ritual, they scrupulously and extensively explain the origin, meaning and purpose of every detail and every attribute of the sacrifice, to which the Brahmins attribute a power higher than the power of the gods and in which they see the root cause of creation and the basis of life. These explanations are given out of touch with the real historical ground, they are built, as a rule, on the identification of concepts of different levels, the magic of numbers, puns and false etymologies. And although in the use of these methods the creators of Brahman achieve great art On the whole, the Brahmin style remains dry and monotonous, only sometimes the rhythmic alternation of repetitions and ritual formulas gives it majesty and inner tension. Therefore, from an artistic point of view, myths, legends and tales interspersed in Brahman prose are of the greatest interest. Usually they are given “on occasion”, illustrating the origin of a particular ritual act or as a commentary on a Vedic text that is no longer completely clear (see the legends about Pururavasa and Urvashi in Shatapatha Brahmana and about Shunahshe-pa in Aitareya Brahmapa "). But often, even in a cult context, they retain relative independence and can be regarded as the oldest, and, moreover, very striking examples of Indian narrative prose. Sometimes these tales, which go back to common Indian folklore in their origins, show a striking resemblance to the tales of other peoples. In particular, the proximity of the legend of Pururavasa and Urvashi to the Roman tale of Cupid and Psyche or the legend of the flood in Shatapatha Brahmana to the corresponding Sumerian, Semitic and Greek myths is undeniable.
Already in the Brahmins (especially in the myths about the creation of the world by the “lord of living beings” Prajapati), we are faced with attempts at philosophical speculation about the essence of the universe, gods and people. However, the works of the third category of Vedic literature - the Upanishads (literally: "sitting-[student]-beside-[teacher"], later - "secret knowledge") are specially devoted to the philosophical exegesis of the Vedic religion. The number of Upanishads is extremely large (there are more than two hundred in all), but ten to fourteen works are truly ancient, directly adjoining the Brahmins along with the Arapyakamps (“forest books”) and concluding the Vedic literature “Shruti”. Among them, the most famous are Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Isha Upanpshad and some others, written partly in verse, partly in prose. The Upaipshads, unlike the Brahmins, set themselves the goal of teaching not the exact and rigorous fulfillment of cult prescriptions, but, having rethought the very concept of a ritual sacrifice into a spiritual sacrifice, a deep understanding of the laws and meaning of being. It is in the Upanishads that the doctrines of samsara (the cycle of births), karma (the predestination of the forms of existence of an individual by his own actions in the past), moksha (liberation) and, above all, the doctrine of Brahman and Atman ( the unity of all things, object and subject). So, in one of the most famous passages from the Chandogya Upanishad (Ch. 6), the sage Uddalaki Aruni instructs his son Shvetaketu that the objectively existing (Brahman) is inseparably present in all phenomena of animate and inanimate nature and at the same time this higher objective substance is identical to the beginning subjective, individual (Atman). Condensed in the formula tat tvam asi ("You are That"), this teaching is the cornerstone of the philosophy of the Upanishads.
As is generally characteristic of ancient religious and philosophical texts, the creators of the Upanishads clothed their ideas in the form of an allegory, a parable, a detailed comparison, found, like Plato, such a specific method of presenting abstract concepts as a dialogue between a teacher and a student. The expressiveness and originality of the style of the Upanishads, which refracted an abstract thought into concrete-sensual images, contributed to the spread of their teaching not only in India, but also far beyond its borders. The influence of the Upanishads can be found in the writings of early Christian thinkers and Neoplatonists, in Persian Sufis and medieval European mystics, and finally in new Western philosophy, starting with Schopenhauer and Emerson.
The Upanishads to some extent reflected a free intellectual reaction to the ossified dogmas of the Vedic religion, which no longer fully corresponded to the changed socio-historical conditions. However, both formally and in essence, they did not break with them, but only outlined new opportunity their interpretations. Meanwhile, in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. there are two reform movements that, although rooted in Indian religious and cultural tradition, nevertheless try to offer a system of spiritual values that is decidedly different from the Vedas. The influence of the first of these movements - Jainism - historically proved to be very limited, but the other - Buddhism - was destined to become one of the great world religions.
The founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, delivered his sermons at the end of the 6th century. to p. e. The Buddha consciously evaded the solution of abstract, metaphysical problems, his teaching was of a practical, predominantly vtic character. The Buddha sought to point out a new way of life that would save a person from suffering. He saw this path not in ritual and sacrifices, but not in asceticism either, but in virtue, self-education, knowledge, giving freedom from life's fetters and attachments. Only such a path, according to the teachings of the Buddha, can save a person from the suffering of samsara - an endless chain of existences in one form or another. The sermons of the Buddha were, according to his followers, the basis of the sacred Buddhist canon, excerpts from which have come down to us in many languages (including Sanskrit), and the full version in the Pali language. The Pali canon "Tipitaka" ("Three baskets [of law]") was written down in 80 BC. e. in Ceylon, but the history of its creation begins much earlier, and it includes texts that have evolved over many centuries - from the 6th to the 2nd century. BC e.
The Tipitaka consists of three sections: the Vinaya Pitaka (Instruction Baskets), the Sutta Pitaka (Text Baskets), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Wisdom Baskets). Each of the sections, in turn, is divided into two parts, and each part contains several books.
In general, the Tipitaka is characterized by a seemingly completely free mixture of styles, genres and forms, often within not only one part, but also one book, there are passages of different time and content origin, but together they give a wide and interconnected panorama of teaching early Buddhism, consistently outlining the rules of behavior and life in the Buddhist community, Buddhist ethics and didactics.
It goes without saying that the texts of the Tipitakpa are primarily of interest to the historian of the Buddhist religion. But this is far from the end of their significance. Many books of the canon, in their purely literary, artistic qualities, belong to the outstanding works of both Indian and world literature. In this regard, the second section of the Tipitakp stands out - "Sut-ta-pitaka", which, being addressed to a wide range of listeners, expounds the Buddhist teaching - dhamma in the least dogmatic way. The texts of the Sutta Pitaka are written in prose and verse, contain instructive dialogues, legends and parables associated with the names of the Buddha or his disciples. The most famous part of the Sutta Pitaka is its last, fifth part, the Khuddaka Nikaya (Collection of Short Teachings). It, along with other monuments, includes books that are rightfully considered masterpieces of Buddhist classics: "Dhammapada" ("The Way of Virtue"), "Sutta-Nipata" ("Small Collection of Texts"), "Thera-Gatha" and "Theri -gatha" ("The Verses of Monks and Nuns") and "Jatakas" ("Stories of Past Births [of the Buddha]").
The Dhammapada is a kind of compendium of Buddhist wisdom; in it, in the form of short maxims that tradition ascribes to the Buddha himself, the main moral principles Buddhism. Each maxim is one stanza, sounding laconically and aphoristically, but exceptionally capacious in thought. Separate stanzas are completely independent and complete, nevertheless they are connected by barely noticeable transitions, either adjoining each other as a thesis and antithesis, or developing and deepening any one idea. This allowed the compilers of the Dhammapada to combine groups of maxims into chapters and name these chapters either thematically (about the wise, about evil, about bliss, about happiness, about anger, etc.), or according to the central, usually allegorical, image linking individual stanzas (the chapter on flowers, the chapter on the elephant-). Comparisons, metaphors, allegories of the Dhammapada are based on the phenomena of everyday experience and drawn from everyday observations. Each of them is skillfully, multilaterally played up and receives additional coloring and meaning in the context of the entire monument as a whole. Oto gives the images of "Dhayma-pada" an unusual volume, ambiguity, and, having become traditional in subsequent Buddhist literature, they always evoke many diverse associations in readers or listeners.
The same as in the Dhammapada, the depth and captivating simplicity of ideas that find consonance in epic literature other peoples, the same persuasiveness of the artistic means of their embodiment led to the world fame of another Buddhist monument - "Sutta-Nipata". Separate aphorisms of the Dhammapada in the Sutta-nivata are, as it were, expanded into small POEUY - suttas illustrating some instructive thought or situation and compositionally organized using the techniques of refrain and syntactic parallelism. Narrative passages alternate in the Sutta-Nipata with dialogic ones (see, for example, the Dhaniya Sutta), many of which, retelling episodes from the life of the Buddha, later served as an impetus for the creation of his epic biographies. The role of the Sutta-Nipata in the Buddhist tradition is generally a relic, since, as its language and content testify, it is one of the oldest books of the canon, and the ethical doctrine of the Buddha, still free from later layers, is presented in it most adequately.
A special place in "Tyapitaka" is occupied by two collections of short lyric poems"Thera-gatha" and "Theri-gatha", attributed respectively to the monks and nuns, the closest associates and disciples of the Buddha. Among other books of the canon, they are distinguished by a pronounced emotional coloring, detailed descriptions natural phenomena and various shades of human feelings. Therefore, while remaining an agitated preaching of the greatness of the Buddha and his teachings, they at the same time anticipate some lines of development of classical Indian lyrics. The lyricism of the gathas is associated with the variety of poetic devices used in them (alpteratsin "1 and assonances, tropes, puns, refrains, repetitions), an abundance of all kinds of hints, allusions and associations, sometimes already incomprehensible to us, but giving the style of the gathas a confessional pathos and a sense of immediacy As in other parts of the capon, careful reconstruction makes it possible to distinguish earlier and later parts in Thera-gat-kp and Theri-gathi, but this does not contradict the final unity of the collections, which on the whole provide an opportunity to look into the inner world members of the ancient Buddhist community.
Finally, the last of the outstanding works included in the Sutta Pitaka are the Jatakas, or stories about the former existences of the Buddha. Jl-takn most clearly embodied that synthesis of all-Indian literary and folk traditions and Buddhist doctrine, which is generally characteristic of the Pali canon. Most of the jataka stories (there are five hundred and forty-seven in total in the Tipitaka) are drawn from Indian folk art. Therefore, many fables, legends and tales that are used in jataks are found in other monuments of Indian literature (epics, Panchatantra, Kathasaritsagara, etc.), in Indian and world folklore (for example, jataka about the right saying, for which stands the well-known tale of grateful beasts and an ungrateful man). Jatakas also feature traditional Indian literature techniques of framing, alternation of verses and prose, summarizing maxims, etc., and the cardinal idea of metempsychosis for the religious and philosophical teachings of India is realized in them as a series of episodes from various births of the Buddha on the way to his final enlightenment. . In this regard, each jataka is divided into three parts: an introduction, which outlines the events that prompted the Buddha to tell the subsequent story, then the story itself about the past, and finally, the identification of the characters in this story with the Buddha and his listeners. Instructiveness and a serious tone are combined in jatakas with the amusement of the story, and it is no coincidence that they were the main means of Buddhist propaganda, reflecting the most common and accessible understanding of Buddhism for the broad masses. In terms of popularity, few works of world classics can compare with Jataks. They were translated and transcribed into the languages of all those Asian countries where Buddhism had penetrated, and besides, devoid of Buddhist morality, they turned into dozens of works of didactic and entertaining literature. Therefore, people who have nothing to do with Buddhism and have never heard of the Jataks, nevertheless, are well aware of some of their plots from the books of Aesop and Babri, La Fontaine and Krylov, from "A Thousand and One Nights" and "Kalila and Dimna".
Comparing the Buddhist canon with the Vedic one, we are convinced that each of them has a special, unique specificity. Mythological representations, which, although n on different levels interpretations, determined the general nature of the content and imagery of Vedic literature, in the books "Tipptakp" faded into the background, only sometimes acting as a decorative background. Stylistic accents are placed differently: Vedic texts proclaim the truth, Buddhist texts convince of it; the majestic, unconditional tone of the preaching of the Vedas is opposed by the more intimate, confidential top of the Tipitaka, its style is dialogical not only in form, but also in its inner essence. Human experience and attitude are presented in the Vedas in abstract categories and symbols, Buddhist monuments sought to find a concrete and tangible embodiment for them. These and other similar differences are due to the peculiarities of the Vedic and Buddhist religions, due to the gap in time between the Vedic and Buddhist monuments. Nevertheless, there is much in common between them, which makes it possible to attribute them (and Jain and epic texts with them) to one, namely, to the first period of ancient Indian literature. First of all, the history of other literatures of antiquity shows that the formation of these literatures usually begins with the appearance of monuments of two types: religious codes and epic. The first works of Chinese literature are considered to be "Shujing", "Shijing" and "Yijing", included in the Confucian "Six Books", the history of Iranian literature opens with the "Avesta", Jewish - with the Bible, Greek - with "Iliad" and "Odyssey". Among the oldest monuments of Mesopotamian, Ugaritic, Hittite and Egyptian literature, fragments of the mythological epic and ritual texts predominate. Thus, from a comparative point of view, the creation of the four literary complexes discussed (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and epic) marks the beginning of the development of Indian literature.
Further, both the Vedas, the Tipptaka, and the epic took shape as a whole over many centuries, and developed in line with the oral rather than written tradition. We know that the letter was already known to the population of the Indus Valley in the III-II millennium BC. e., then his skills were lost, and writing was revived in India only approximately in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. However, initially it was apparently used for purely utilitarian, economic and administrative! purposes. Therefore, although the Rig Veda was already in existence by 1000 B.C. e., Vedic literature as a whole by 500 BC. e., and the early versions of the epic and the first Buddhist and Jain texts by 400-200 years. BC e., they were not recorded immediately, but somewhere at the turn or in the first centuries of our era and for a long time functioned as oral monuments. This led to several important consequences for the entire Indian literature of the ancient period. Since her works were not fixed, but existed in a fluid and dynamic oral tradition, we often deal with not one, but several texts (reviews) of some monument; and in this case, it is pointless to look for its original or archetype, but one has to reckon with the fact that various reviews reflect its composition and appearance, which regularly changed from performance to performance. Oral existence also explains such features of the style of the Vedas, the epic, the Tipitaka, as the abundance of stable phraseological turns (the so-called "formulas"), repetitions, refrains, etc. Vedas of magical functions, but first of all they were a necessary condition for the creation of any kind of text in oral form and its subsequent reproduction “from memory” by new performers. Finally, the main methods of constructing ancient Indian monuments (in the form of a sermon, dialogue, invocation, appeal, etc.) are determined by oral origin, as well as some of their names that have come down to us according to tradition (Sruti, Upanishads, etc.).
In itself, the oral nature of creativity speaks of the well-known conventionality of applying the term "literature" (from the word "letter" - a written sign) to the monuments we have considered. The conditionality of the use of this term also increases because, within the framework of the period of antiquity, the autonomization of literature among other types of spiritual activity has not yet occurred. It would be wrong to say that every ancient Indian text pursued only practical (religious or didactic) goals, but on the whole, aesthetic, artistic goals have not yet come to the fore. And although we are dealing with works whose artistic merits are unique in their own way, they accidentally enter into the composition of religious codes, just as it is no coincidence that the nature of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, is largely determined by a clearly expressed moral and philosophical trend.
The lack of artistic self-awareness also affected the fact that in ancient Indian literature the idea of the creator of the text had not yet crystallized into the concept of the poet. The hymns of the "Rigveda" were attributed to the holy prophets, inspired by God himself, the prose of the Brahmins and the dialogues of the Upanishads - to the ancient sages, the Pali canon - to the teacher Buddha and his companions. At the same time, the literature remained essentially anonymous, the name of the legendary author not only reflected his real participation in the creation of the monument, but consecrated this monument with his authority. Literary" work was considered rather as one of the manifestations of the life of the collective than as the creation of an individual. Hence (and also in connection with its oral nature) it is difficult to speak of signs of an individual style in ancient Indian literature, hence the traditionalism of subject matter and means of expression that has long been preserved in Indian literature, even at its written stage.
Naturally, when literature is not yet aware of its autonomy, literary theory and poetics cannot take shape, although the unlimited possibilities of the Word as such have been praised more than once by the creators of Vedic chants. And since there was no literary theory, it is impossible to speak in relation to ancient Indian literature and a clear differentiation of genres in it. Therefore, when in the Vedic Samhitas we distinguish between epic, lyrical and even dramatic hymns, in the Brahmanas we separate theological instructions from narrative episodes, in the Upanpshads we single out philosophical dialogues, and in the Tipptaka - fables, parables, biographies, etc., we are in To some extent, we impose on the inherently syncretic monuments the genre grid of later literature. In ancient Indian literature, a work existed as an indivisible whole, subject to special laws, and this literature must first of all be evaluated in accordance with the norms and principles recognized by it itself. However, this does not mean at all that new genres and forms did not mature in ancient literature, albeit still in a diffuse, mixed state. These genres and forms were taken up, developed and refined in stable outlines, by the subsequent literary tradition. Together with them, she learned everything that turned out to be viable in ideological concepts, themes and visual means Vedas, epic, Buddhist and Jain texts. And these monuments, although they remain intrinsically valuable and unique in their achievements, at the same time can be regarded as a prologue to the entire further development of Indian literature.
All Vedic literature is divided into four groups:
Samhitas,
Brahmins
Aranyaki,
Upanishads.
Such a division reflects the historical sequence of development of this literature: the Samhitas are the oldest, and the works of other groups are comments and additions to the Samhitas, compiled at a later time. Therefore, the Samhitas are called the Vedas proper. In the broad sense of the word, the Vedas are all four groups, the whole complex of Vedic literature.
To get the right idea about the structure of the Vedas, it must also be taken into account that each group of Vedic literature noted above is not a single whole. Samhitas are four collections: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda. Each Brahmana belongs to a particular Samhita: the Rigveda has its Brahmanas, the Samaveda has its own, and so on. Aranyakas and Upanishads directly adjoin either Samhitas or Brahmanas: not only this or that Samhita, but also this or that Brahman has its Upanishads or Aranyakas. Since, however, the Brahmanas have their origin in the Samhitas, those pertaining to the Aranyakas or the Upanishads also adjoin the Samhitas. Therefore, this whole structure of the Vedas is ultimately determined by the structure of the Samhitas. Therefore, it is sometimes said that Vedic literature consists of four Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda), and each Veda consists of four parts (Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishads).
Thus, the structure of the Vedas reflected both their initial division into four Samhitas and the main stages historical development all Vedic literature. The most important, however, is the historical principle. Consider briefly the era of the emergence and development of the Vedas.
Despite the fact that for a very long time - in India for about two and a half thousand years, and in Europe for about two centuries - Vedologists created a large number of scientifically valuable studies, many questions regarding the origin and dating of the Vedas remain unclear. The literature on the Vedas (old and new) provides a wide variety of data (from the 5th and even the 6th millennium to the middle of the 1st millennium BC). However, most modern scholars believe that the period of Vedic literature covers about a thousand years: the middle of the second - the middle of the first millennium BC.
There is a lot of controversy in the coverage of the social system of India during the creation of Vedic literature. A variety of views are expressed on the nature of Indian society at that time. It seems to us that the closest to the truth is the point of view of Soviet Indologists, set forth in the "World History"
In the second half of the second millennium BC. in India, in the valley and in the regions adjoining it from the south and southwest, a class society was taking shape. The question of what exactly this society was, still remains unresolved. Although slavery was very common in India, it did not play a decisive role in the mode of production, as was the case, for example, in ancient Greece or Rome. Therefore, it is impossible to determine unconditionally social order India of this period as a slave. K. Marx spoke about the "Asiatic mode of production." In the disclosure of the concrete historical content of this concept, in our opinion, one should look for a solution to the problem.
With the intensification of social inequality, with the growth and deepening of class contradictions in India, previously equal free people began to be divided into four groups, or varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishya Shudras), differing in their social status, rights and duties. The varna of the brahmins was made up of priests, the varna of the kshatriyas - mostly warriors, the varna of the vaishyas - farmers, artisans, merchants. The lowest group of this social organization was the Sudras. Apparently, the emergence of the state in India also dates back to this time.
Therefore, the thousand-year era in which the Vedic literature took shape is characterized by significant changes in the structure of social life of the population of ancient India. Various stages of this development ancient Indian society found their reflection in the Vedas.
The earliest Veda in terms of the time of its compilation and the largest in volume (1028 hymns, more than 10500 verses, which is equal to the Iliad and the Odyssey, taken together) is Rig Veda("Veda of hymns"; "rig" - laudatory verse, song, anthem). It is divided into ten books, or mandalas (lit. "circle", cycle). The hymns of the Rigveda were formed in separate tribal groups and in the early editions were probably the fruit of collective creativity. The poets composed "rigs" in which they praised the gods and the forces of nature. Natural phenomena were considered as powerful, wise, merciful, omniscient, omnipresent, fair deities. They were addressed with requests and prayers, in the hope of their propitiation, sacrifices were made. It was believed that a person, his well-being and longevity, success and wealth, bliss and happiness are completely dependent on these victims.
Many centuries passed, and the hymns compiled at different times and in different regions of India were compiled into special collections - Samhitas. According to the just remark of Academician F.F. Fortunatov, the compilers of the Samhita of the Rig Veda
"were guided by the desire to protect the hymns from corruption or oblivion and did not at all have in mind liturgical purposes; this is indicated by both the volume of the collection and the diverse nature of its hymns, in which others are not related to worship. In later practice, the recitation of the sacred hymns of the Rigveda was also connected with the performance of sacrificial rites (as well as the pronunciation of yajus and sāman5) and lay on the duties of the priest ... But this was not the original purpose of the collection "6.
The legendary collectors of hymns and compilers of the Vedas were called rishis (poeters, sages). Rishis are not historical figures; in the Vedic literature they appear sometimes as the authors of hymns, sometimes as their characters.
Other Samhitas have much less independent meaning than the Rig Veda. So, the second Samhita - Samaveda ("Veda of tunes") - is a collection of melodies composed mainly on the verses of the Rigveda: 1474 verses out of a total of 1594 are already in the Rigveda. The third samhita - Yajurveda ("Veda of sacrifices") - also largely duplicates the Rig Veda. The fourth samhita, the Atharvaveda ("Veda of Spells"), is significantly different from the others. Her hymns have the character of incantations. According to the Vedic tradition, the first three samhitas are considered the most "authoritative", authentic Vedas. Atharva Veda, according to some scholars, was formalized later and arose in a different social environment8. If the Rig Veda refers to the period of the subjugation of non-Aryan tribes by the Aryan tribes, then the Atharva Veda tells about the time when there was a "mixing of Aryan and non-Aryan ideals", i.e. the views of various nationalities were synthesized. The Atharvaveda can serve as a source for studying the evolution of philosophical and religious ideas during the first period of Vedic literature. The Samhitas are therefore presented in this edition as extracts from the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda.
Brahmins(i.e., written by brahmins and for brahmins) are commentaries on the samhitas, which are mainly ritual in nature. Their appearance was caused by the changed conditions of society, first of all, apparently, by the strengthening of social inequality, the development of the varna system. In addition, over time, many of the texts of the Vedas became incomprehensible, the religious cult and ritual became much more complicated and changed in many ways. The fulfillment of the duties of a priest became a profession. The meaning of sacrifice has changed. Now it was not about appeasing the gods, but about how, with the help of a sacrifice, to force God to give what people considered necessary. Sacrifice, it can be said, acquired more importance than the gods themselves.
The Brahmins, as commentary literature, are of little philosophical value. However, since they are the link between the Samhitas and the Upanishads, and in which some important categories of ancient Indian philosophy are further developed, brief extracts from the Brahmanas (mainly from the Shatapatha Brahmana) are included in this collection.
Later than other parts of the Vedas, the Aranyakas and Upanishads were compiled. Aranyaki (lit. "forest"; forest texts) are mainly behaviors for hermits, old people who retired to forest hermitages or hermit huts to live out their lives there in philosophical reflection on truth and its nature. They are given little space in this edition.
Upanishads- the actual philosophical part of the Vedas. These are not books or philosophical treatises in modern sense of this word, but collections of texts composed by various and mostly anonymous authors at various times on various topics. Each text is more or less summary philosophical reflections of one or another author acting under the name (or on behalf of) a legendary or semi-legendary sage. It is not surprising, therefore, that the texts are heterogeneous in their interpretation of worldview problems: two tendencies can be found in them - materialistic and idealistic. Upanishads covering a fairly large historical period are usually divided into "early" and "late". Among the early (most ancient) Upanishads are Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Aitareya, Kaushitaka, Taittiriya and Kena.
Vedic literature is exceptionally rich and varied in its content. It is of great importance for the study of the history of philosophy, law, psychology, ethics, aesthetics, language, natural science, and, finally, the very forms of social life in ancient India. It is clear that in this article we do not aim to give a comprehensive description of the Vedas, but only note some aspects of Vedic literature as a source for studying the history of Indian philosophy (in accordance with this, a selection of texts was made).
Introduction 2
Ancient India 2
Religion of ancient India. five
Hinduism 6
Buddhism 7
Philosophy 11
Literature of Ancient India 12
VEDAS - the first monument of the thought of the ancient Indians 13
Upanishad 14
Mahabharata 16
Architecture, sculpture, painting of Ancient India. 17
Mathematics, astronomy, medicine of Ancient India. nineteen
Conclusion 20
References: 21
Introduction
It is difficult to imagine a country with a richer mythology than India, and one can hardly find in any other mythology a combination of deep philosophical abstractions and practical applications of myth, such as yoga, asceticism, instructions in the practice of everyday life.
As part of my essay, I will try to make a cursory review of the richness and diversity of the spiritual quests of the peoples inhabiting Hindustan. One of the reasons is that we are not talking about centuries, but about millennia of the development of religious thought.
A remarkable feature of Indian civilization is its continuity: it has been continuously developing for more than 4500 years. For such a long period, the material and spiritual life of the population of the region has undergone changes; these millennia were filled with strife, ups and downs, which manifested itself in the rise and fall of dynasties, in the spread, prosperity and extinction of religious teachings; schools were formed in philosophy, architecture, sculpture, music and dance art.
ancient india
India is one of the cradles of human civilization. It has been inhabited since ancient times.
The Indus Valley Civilization, the first of the highly developed cultures of India, existed in the period 2500-1500 BC. Its material evidence was discovered in the 1920s in the Indus Valley, primarily during excavations at Mohenjodaro in Sindh and Harappa in the Punjab. Archaeological research has revealed remarkable brick buildings, statuettes made of stone and metal, jewelry, knives and various seals with pictographic characters that have not yet been deciphered. The metals used were gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead; iron remained unknown. Further excavations showed that people at that time were familiar with spinning and weaving, grew barley and wheat, and joined the urban lifestyle. The invasion at the beginning of the II millennium BC. people who spoke the Aryan language (Sanskrit), or, for short, the Aryans, marked a turning point in the history of India. The Aryans invaded the territory of the Indian subcontinent from the northwest in several waves, pushing the autochthonous population further east and south and populating the lands between the Indus and Jumna rivers. From there they moved east along the Indo-Gangetic plain, and their earlier expansion to the south stopped before the Vindhya mountains.
The first centers of Indian culture known to us, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and others, already existed in the 3rd millennium BC. on the banks of the Indus. The culture of Harappa became the basis, the basis for further cultural and social evolution. Archaeologists have found numerous stone, copper, bronze tools and weapons, testifying to the ability to process metals, to develop agriculture, knowledge of numerous crafts, writing, and the decimal number system.
In the religion of the era of the Harappan culture, elements were found that were included in later religious ideas. In the 2nd millennium, those important religious traditions, which by the beginning of the 1st millennium received a literary design, referred to in the history of the Indian worldview and ritual practice as the Vedas. Vedism, or the Vedic religion, already contained features characteristic of later Indian religions, including Buddhism.
These include the idea that all living things are interconnected in time by constant transitions from one bodily state to another (transmigration of souls or reincarnation), the doctrine of karma as a force that determines the form of these transitions. The composition of the pantheon of gods, as well as belief in hell and heaven, turned out to be stable. In later religions, many elements of Vedic symbolism, the veneration of certain plants and animals, and most household and family rituals were developed. The Vedic religion already reflected the class stratification of society. She consecrated the inequality of people, declaring that the division of people into varnas (castes in ancient India) was established by the highest deity - Brahma. Social injustice was justified by the doctrine of karma - the fact that all the misfortunes of a person are to blame for the sins committed by him in previous rebirths. She declared the state an institution created by the gods, and equated obedience to rulers with the fulfillment of a religious duty. Even plentiful sacrifices, available only to the rich and noble, allegedly testified to the greater proximity of the latter to the world of the gods, and for the lower varnas, many rites were generally prohibited.
It reached its real development in 2000 BC, in the era of the Rig Veda. On the basis of a large collection of "Rigveda" a kind of spiritual and ideological system of Hinduism was created, which has become an important part of Indian culture. In the same era, the division of society into castes was carried out. Caste is a phenomenon without which it is impossible to understand the nature and originality of Indian culture. In the "Rigveda" moral and legal motives for the division of society into 4 castes were based: Brahmins (priests); Kshatriyas (magi); Vaishviv (diggers); Sudras (servants). A whole system of life and behavior of a person depending on the caste was developed. For example, marriage within the same varna (endogamy) was considered legal, the same was true for choosing a profession, engaging in a certain craft.
The Indian caste is the result of a long process of establishing industrial, legal and cultural relations between people who are separated by origin, profession, customs and laws.
The period from the middle of the II millennium BC. until the first half of the 1st millennium BC, which received the name Vedic in history, was marked by the formation of a class society and state.
In ancient India, the process of state formation was lengthy. Gradually, the tribal aristocracy turned into the top of the emerging early class states, which took shape on a tribal basis. The power of tribal leaders, the rajas, who called themselves kings of the tribe, increased. They claimed absolute power over their subjects and often acted as sovereign rulers - Raja Vishvajanin. In order to raise the prestige of the rajas, to emphasize their special position, complex initiation ceremonies were performed, they were declared to be the bearers of one or another deity. Usually the rulers belonged to the most noble, rich and numerous families.
By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. in the Ganges valley, the process of turning tribal self-government bodies into state ones was completed, but tribal remnants were still strong. The king, although he was the ruler of the people, could not rule without his consent. The most important common affairs of the tribe were decided in the popular assembly, called samiti. It represented the leaders and the people. In the Vedic literature there are references to another assembly called the sabha, reminiscent of a council of elders. The Sabha and the Samiti had certain administrative, legislative and judicial powers. In the early Vedic era, the issue of choosing a king was decided in samiti.
Over time, the people are given the role of a passive observer in state affairs, royal power becomes hereditary, passes from father to eldest son. With the strengthening of the power of the king, sabha and samiti, as tribal institutions, are replaced by “parishads” - councils under the king. The tsar himself commanded the army, disposed of state property, and headed the administrative apparatus. Such an exceptionally high position of the Rajas led to the fact that government became sacred.
Simultaneously with the formation of the state, the development of the administrative apparatus was going on. All the highest positions in the state administration were held by representatives of the nobility. The art of public administration was called dandaniti - "the science of punishment."
Officials had collective names - vira or ratnin. They included treasurers (samgrahitri), tax collectors (bhagadughi), messengers (palagaly), military leaders (senani), etc.
The population paid taxes (known as bali and shulka). There was also a certain system of police organization, the Vedic texts mention police officers (jivagribhas and Ugrians). There was a permanent spy service.
By the end of the Vedic period (the end of the 2nd - the middle of the 1st millennium BC), several dozen states had formed in Northern India - Magadha, Koshala, Vriji, Malla, etc.
The largest and most powerful state of that time was Magadha. This state reached its highest power in the 4th - 2nd centuries. BC. under the Mauryan dynasty, which united almost the entire territory of Hindustan under its rule. The Magadh-Maurian era is regarded as a special milestone in the development of ancient Indian statehood. It was a period of major political events. The creation of a unified Indian state facilitated communication various peoples, the interaction of their cultures, the erasure of narrow tribal boundaries. In the era of the Mauryans, the foundations of many state institutions were laid, which were developed in the subsequent period, many of the main features of the social structure, class-caste organization, the most important institutions of ancient Indian society and the state, arose and took shape. A number of religious and philosophical movements developed, such as Jainism, which questioned Vedic values, and Buddhism, which gradually turned from a sectarian monastic teaching into one of the three world religions.
One of the most important components of the social, social and economic system in the Mauryan period was the community. A significant part of the population - free landowners - united in communities. The most common form of community was rural, although in other parts of the empire primitive tribal communities still existed. For a long time, the communities were isolated from each other, but gradually this limitation and isolation was broken.
The ancient Indian state arose as a slave state, however, in its law there is no clear opposition between free and slaves. Slave labor did not play a significant role in the decisive branches of the economy of ancient India. An essential feature of ancient Indian slavery was the presence of state legislation aimed at limiting the arbitrariness of the owner in relation to slaves. The daily life of the Indians was subject to rules established in norms that are more ethical than legal in nature. These norms had a pronounced religious character. The most famous are the Laws of Manu (Manu is a mythical god). The exact date of the drafting of these laws is not known. It is assumed that they appeared between the II century. BC. and II century. AD they consist of 2685 articles written in the form of couplets (shlok). A few articles, contained mainly in chapters VIII and IX, have a directly legal content (there are 12 chapters in the Laws in total).
Meanwhile, the Mauryan Empire was a conglomerate of tribes and peoples at different stages of development. State-political life on the principles of Buddhism reached its peak during the reign of Ashoka (mid-3rd century BC). Ashoka put forward the idea of conquering the world not by military attacks on neighbors, but by proclaiming the teachings of the Buddha. In culture, a central place was given to religion, which was supposed to spiritually unite a society torn into varnas.
In the first centuries A.D. The Mauryans were replaced by the kings of the Indo-Scythian Kushan dynasty (1-3 centuries AD). After the collapse of the Kushan Empire in the 4th c. AD there was a new rise of Magadha, where the Gupta dynasty reigned. Spreading to the V century. AD in most of northern India, the Gupta state became the last slave state in this part of the country. During this period, agriculture improved, crafts developed (weapons and jewelry, metallurgy, weaving, stone processing, etc.), Buddhism gave way to Hinduism.
One of the most majestic and original cultures that existed on our planet is the Indo-Buddhist philosophy, which was formed mainly in India. The achievements of the ancient Indians in various fields - literature, art, science, philosophy, entered the golden fund of world civilization, had a considerable impact on the further development of culture not only in India itself, but also in a number of other countries. Especially significant was the Indian influence in Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East.
Religion of ancient India.
The thousand-year-old cultural tradition of India has developed in close connection with the development of the religious ideas of its people. The main religious movement was Hinduism (more than 80% of the population of India now follows it). The roots of this religion go back to ancient times.
Vedism
The religious and mythological ideas of the tribes of the Vedic era can be judged from the monuments of that period - the Vedas, containing rich material on mythology, religion, and ritual. Vedic hymns were considered and are considered sacred texts in India, they were passed down orally from generation to generation, carefully preserved. The combination of these beliefs is called Vedism. Vedism was not a pan-Indian religion, but flourished only in Eastern Punjab and Uttar Prodesh, which were settled by a group of Indo-Aryan tribes. It was she who was the creator of the Rigveda and other Vedic collections (samhita).
For Vedism, the deification of nature as a whole (by the community of celestial gods) and individual natural and social phenomena was characteristic: So Indra is the god of thunder and powerful will; Varuna - the god of world order and justice; Agni is the god of fire and hearth; Soma is the god of the sacred drink. In total, 33 gods are usually attributed to the highest Vedic deities. The Indians of the Vedic era divided the whole world into 3 spheres - heaven, earth, antarijna (the space between them), and certain deities were associated with each of these spheres. Varuna belonged to the gods of the sky; to the gods of the earth - Agni and Soma. There was no strict hierarchy of gods; referring to a specific god, the Vedic endowed him with the characteristics of many gods. The creator of everything: gods, people, earth, sky, sun - was some abstract deity Purusha. Everything around - plants, mountains, rivers - was considered divine, a little later the doctrine of the transmigration of souls appeared. The Vedics believed that after death the soul of a saint goes to heaven, and of a sinner to the country of Yama. Gods, like people, were capable of dying.
Many features of Vedism entered Hinduism; this was a new stage in the development of spiritual life, i.e. emergence of the first religion.
Hinduism
Hinduism encompasses a wide variety of beliefs and rituals. The tolerance with which Hinduism treats a variety of religious forms is perhaps unique among the world's religions. In Hinduism there is no church hierarchy, no supreme authority, it is a completely decentralized religion. Unlike Christianity or Islam, Hinduism did not have a founder whose teachings were spread by followers. Most of the fundamental principles of Hinduism were formulated in the time of Christ, but the roots of this religion are even older; some of the gods worshiped by Hindus today were worshiped by their ancestors nearly 4,000 years ago. Hinduism developed constantly, absorbing and interpreting in its own way the beliefs and rituals of various peoples with which it came into contact. But, despite this, in Hinduism, the demands of social and everyday traditions are extremely strong. Hinduism is extremely intolerant of violations of the many prohibitions and restrictions imposed on the spheres of public, family and personal life and different for numerous groups, castes and podcasts, into which Hinduism divides the population and partitions between which are still considered unshakable.
Despite the contradictions between the various versions of Hinduism, all of them are based on several certain fundamental provisions.
Beyond the ever-changing physical world, there is a single universal, unchanging, eternal spirit, which is called Brahman. The soul (Atman) of every being in the Universe, including the gods, is a particle of this spirit. When the flesh dies, the soul does not die, but passes into another body, where it continues a new life. The fate of the soul in each new life depends on its behavior in previous incarnations. The law of karma says: no sin goes unpunished, no virtue goes without reward; if a person has not received a well-deserved punishment or reward in this life, he will receive them in one of the next. The behavior of a person determines the higher or lower status of the subsequent incarnation, it depends on him whether he will be born in the future as a man, a god, or, say, an insignificant insect.
For most Hindus, an important element of religious beliefs is the host of gods. In Hinduism, there are hundreds of deities, from small gods of local importance to great gods, whose deeds are known in every Indian family. The most revered are Vishnu: Rama and Krishna, two forms or incarnations of Vishnu (the guardian), Shiva (creator, guardian and destroyer at the same time) and the creator god Brahma.
Holy books play a big role in all varieties of Hinduism. "Philosophical Hinduism" emphasizes such classical Sanskrit texts as the Vedas and Upanishads. Folk Hinduism, honoring both the Vedas and the Upanishads, uses epic poems as sacred texts. Ramayana and Mahabharata, often translated from Sanskrit into local languages. Part Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita known to almost every Hindu. Bhagavad Gita closest to what might be called the common scripture of Hinduism.
Buddhism
Much later than Vedism, Buddhism developed in India. The creator of this teaching was born in 563 in Lumbin in a Kshatriya family.
The story of the Buddha is interesting in itself:
GAUTAMA BUDDHA (6-5 centuries BC). At birth, the Buddha received the name Siddhartha, and the name of his clan or family is Gautama. The biography of Siddhartha Gautama is known only as presented by his followers. These traditional accounts, originally transmitted orally, were not written down until several centuries after his death. The most famous stories about the life of the Buddha are included in the collection Jataka, compiled around 2 c. BC. in the Pali language (one of the most ancient Middle Indian languages).
Siddhartha was born in Kapilavastu, in what is now southern Nepal, around the 6th century BC. BC. His father Shuddhodhana, head of the noble Shakya clan, belonged to the warrior caste. According to legend, at the birth of a child, his parents were predicted that he would become either a great Ruler or Teacher of the Universe. The father, who firmly decided that the son should be his heir, took all measures to ensure that the son did not see any signs or sufferings of the world. As a result, Siddhartha spent his youth in luxury, as befits a rich man. young man. He married his cousin Yashodhara, winning her in a contest of skill and strength (swayamvara), in which he put all the other participants to shame. Being a man prone to reflection, he soon tired of an idle life and turned to religion. At the age of 29, despite the efforts of his father, he nevertheless saw four signs that were to determine his fate. For the first time in his life, he saw old age (a decrepit old man), then illness (a man exhausted by illness), death (a dead body) and true serenity (a wandering mendicant monk). In fact, the people Siddhartha saw were gods who took on this form in order to help Siddhartha become a Buddha. Siddhartha was at first very sad, but soon realized that the first three signs point to the constant presence of suffering in the world. The suffering seemed to him all the more terrible because, according to the beliefs of that time, a person after death was doomed to all new births. Therefore, there was no end to suffering, it was eternal. In the fourth sign, in the serene inner joy of a mendicant monk, Siddhartha saw his future destiny.
Even the happy news of the birth of his son did not please him, and one night he left the palace and galloped away on his faithful horse Kanthak. Siddhartha took off his expensive clothes, changed into a monastic dress and soon settled as a hermit in the forest. He then joined the five ascetics in the hope that the mortification of the flesh would lead him to enlightenment and peace. After six years of the strictest austerity, and without getting closer to the goal, Siddhartha parted with the ascetics and began to lead a more moderate lifestyle.
One day, Siddhartha Gautama, who was already thirty-five years old, sat down under a large bo (fig tree) tree near the town of Gaya in eastern India and made a vow that he would not budge until he solved the riddle of suffering. For forty-nine days he sat under a tree. Friendly gods and spirits fled from him when the tempter Mara, the Buddhist devil, approached. Day after day, Siddhartha resisted various temptations. Mara summoned his demons and unleashed a tornado, flood and earthquake on the meditating Gautama. He ordered his daughters - Desire, Pleasure and Passion - to seduce Gautama with erotic dances. When Mara demanded that Siddhartha provide evidence of his kindness and mercy, Gautama touched the earth with his hand, and the earth said: "I am his witness."
In the end, Mara and his demons fled, and on the morning of the 49th day, Siddhartha Gautama learned the truth, solved the riddle of suffering and understood what a person must do to overcome it. Fully enlightened, he reached the ultimate detachment from the world (nirvana), which means the cessation of suffering.
He spent another 49 days in meditation under a tree, and then went to the Deer Park near Benares, where he found five ascetics with whom he lived in the forest. It was to them that the Buddha read his first sermon. Soon the Buddha acquired many followers, the most beloved of which was his cousin Ananda, and organized a community (sangha), in fact, a monastic order (bhikhu - "beggars"). The Buddha instructed the dedicated followers in liberation from suffering and the achievement of nirvana, and the lay people in the moral way of life. The Buddha traveled extensively, returning home briefly to convert his own family and courtiers. Over time, he began to be called Bhagavan ("Lord"), Tathagatha ("Thus came" or "Thus gone") and Shakyamuni ("Sage of the Shakyas").
Buddhism in its origins is associated not only with Brahmanism, but also with other religious and religious-philosophical systems of ancient India.
Initially, the elements of the new religious teaching, according to the Buddhist tradition, were transmitted orally by the monks to their students. They began to receive literary design relatively late - in the 2nd-1st centuries. BC. The Pali corpus of Buddhist canonical literature, created around 80 BC, has been preserved. to Sri Lanka and later called "tipitaka" (Skt. - "tripitaka") - "three baskets of the law."
In the 3-1 centuries. BC. and in the first centuries A.D. further development of Buddhism takes place, in particular, a coherent biography of the Buddha is created, canonical literature is being formed. Monks - theologians develop logical "reasons" for the main religious dogmas, often referred to as the "philosophy of Buddhism." Theological subtleties remained the property of a relatively small circle of monks who had the opportunity to devote all their time to scholastic disputes. At the same time, another, moral-cult side of Buddhism developed, i.e. "path" that can lead everyone to the end of suffering. This "path" was in fact the ideological weapon that for many centuries helped to keep the working masses in obedience.
Buddhism has enriched religious practice with a device related to the field of individual worship. This refers to such a form of religious behavior as bhavana - deepening into oneself, into one's inner world for the purpose of concentrated reflection on the truths of faith, which was further spread in such areas of Buddhism as Chan and Zen. Many researchers believe that ethics in Buddhism is central and this makes it more of an ethical, philosophical teaching, rather than a religion. Most of the concepts in Buddhism are vague, ambiguous, which makes it more flexible and well adapted to local cults and beliefs, capable of transformation. Thus, the followers of the Buddha formed numerous monastic communities, which became the main centers for the spread of religion.
By the Mauryan period, Buddhism developed into two branches: the Sthaviravadins and the Mahasangikas. The latter teaching formed the basis of the Mahayana. The oldest Mahayan texts appear as early as the first century BC. One of the most important in the doctrine of the Mahayana is the doctrine of a Bodhisattva-being capable of becoming a Buddha, approaching the achievement of nirvana, but out of compassion for people, they do not enter it. big cart”) was caused, first of all, by differences in the socio-political conditions of life in separate parts India. Hinayana, more closely associated with early Buddhism, recognizes the Buddha as a person who found the path to salvation, which is considered achievable only through withdrawal from the world - monasticism. Mahayana proceeds from the possibility of salvation not only for hermit monks, but also for the laity, and the emphasis is on active preaching, on intervention in public and state life. Mahayana, in contrast to the Hinayana, more easily adapted to the spread outside of India, giving rise to many rumors and currents, the Buddha gradually becomes the highest deity, temples are built in honor of him, cult actions are performed.
An important difference between Hinayana and Mahayana is that Hinayana completely rejects the path to salvation for non-monks who voluntarily renounce the worldly life. In Mahayana, the cult of bodhisattvas plays an important role - individuals who are already able to enter nirvana, but who hide the achievement of the final goal in order to help others, not necessarily monks, in achieving it, thereby replacing the requirement to leave the world with a call to influence it.
Early Buddhism is notable for its simplicity of ritual. Its main element is: the cult of Buddha, preaching, veneration of holy places associated with the birth, enlightenment and death of Guatama, worship of stupas - places of worship where the relics of Buddhism are kept. The Mahayana added veneration to the bodhisattvas to the cult of the Buddha, thus the rites became more complicated: prayers and all sorts of spells were introduced, sacrifices began to be practiced, and a magnificent ritual arose.
Like any religion, Buddhism contained the idea of salvation - in Buddhism it is called "nirvana". It can be achieved only by following certain commandments. Life is suffering that arises in connection with desire, striving for earthly existence and its joys. Therefore, one should give up desires and follow the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path consists of following the following principles.
1. The correct view is the understanding of the “four noble truths”, i.e. suffering, its causes, its cessation and the path leading to the cessation of suffering.
2. Right thought - liberation from lust, evil will, cruelty and unrighteousness.
3. Correct speech - avoiding lying, spreading gossip, rudeness and empty talk.
4. Right action - abstaining from killing, stealing and sexual immorality.
5. The right way of life is the choice of those activities that do not harm anything living.
6. Right Endeavor - avoiding and overcoming bad inclinations, cultivating and strengthening good and healthy inclinations.
7. Right Attention - observing the state of the body, sensations, mind and objects on which the mind focuses, in order to understand and control them.
8. Right concentration - concentration of the mind in meditation to evoke certain ecstatic states of consciousness leading to insights.
In Buddhism, the ethical side played a huge role. Following the "eightfold path", a person must rely on himself, and not seek help from outside. Buddhism did not recognize the existence of God - the creator, on which everything in the world depends, including human life. The cause of all earthly suffering of man lies in his personal blindness; inability to give up worldly desires. Only by extinguishing any reactions to the world, by destroying one's own "I" one can achieve nirvana.
Jainism
The founder of the Jain doctrine is considered Mahavir Vardhamana(he lived in the VI century BC, there is no more exact date), came from a wealthy Kshatriya family in Videh (present-day Bihar). At the age of 28, he leaves his native home in order to come to the principles of a new teaching after 12 years of asceticism and philosophical reasoning. Then he engaged in preaching activities. He first found disciples and numerous followers in Bihar, but soon his teachings spread throughout India. Vardhamana is also called Gina (The winner - meaning the winner over the cycle of rebirths and karma). According to Jain tradition, he was only the last of 24 teachers - tirthakaras (the creators of the path), whose teaching arose in the distant past. The Jain teaching existed for a long time only in the form of an oral tradition, and a canon was compiled relatively late (in the 5th century AD). Therefore, it is not always easy to distinguish the original core of Jain doctrine from later interpretations and additions.
The Jain doctrine, in which (as in other Indian systems) religious speculation is mixed with philosophical reasoning, proclaims dualism. The essence of human personality is twofold - material (ajiva) and spiritual (jiva). The link between them is karma , understood as subtle matter, which forms the body of karma and enables the soul to unite with gross matter. The connection of inanimate matter with the soul by the bonds of karma leads to the emergence of an individual, and karma constantly accompanies the soul in an endless chain of rebirths. Jains have developed the concept of karma in detail and distinguish between eight types of different karmas, which are based on two fundamental qualities. Evil karmas negatively affect the main properties of the soul, which, according to the Jains, it acquired when it was perfect in its natural form. Good karmas keep the soul in the cycle of rebirths. And only when a person gradually gets rid of evil and good karmas, will his liberation from the fetters of samsara occur. Jains believe that a person, with the help of his spiritual essence, can control and manage the material essence. Only he himself decides what is good and evil and to what to attribute everything that he encounters in life. God is just a soul that once lived in a material body and was freed from the fetters of karma and the chain of rebirth. In the Jain concept, god is not seen as a creator god or a god who interferes in human affairs.
The liberation of the soul from the influence of karma and samsara is possible only with the help of austerity and the performance of good deeds. Therefore, Jainism pays great attention to the development of ethics, traditionally called three jewels (triratna). It speaks of right understanding based on right faith, right knowledge and right knowledge that follows from this, and finally right living. The first two principles relate primarily to faith and knowledge of the Jain teachings. The right life, in the understanding of the Jains, is essentially a greater or lesser degree of austerity. Principles, various stages and forms of asceticism are devoted to a lot of space in the texts. The path of liberation of the soul from samsara is complex and multi-phased. The goal is personal salvation, for a person can be freed only by himself, and no one can help him. This explains the egocentric character of Jain ethics. Designed primarily for members of Jain communities, the Ethical Guidelines detail the various oaths taken by monks and nuns. They absolutize, in particular, the principles of not causing harm to living beings, the principles relating to sexual abstinence, estrangement from worldly wealth; norms of activity, behavior, etc. are determined.
An integral part of the Jain canon are also various speculative constructions, for example, about the ordering of the world. The cosmos, according to the Jains, is eternal, it was never created and cannot be destroyed. Ideas about the ordering of the world come from the science of the soul, which is constantly limited by the matter of karma. The souls that are most burdened with it are placed the lowest and, as they get rid of karma, gradually rise higher and higher until they reach the highest limit. In addition, the canon also contains discussions about both main entities (jiva - ajiva), about the individual components that make up the cosmos, about the so-called environment of rest and movement, about space and time. It contains, among other things, mythological legends that relate to the life and accomplishments of individual tirthankaras, and legends associated with the personality of Vardhamana, and descriptions of the underworld and the middle world (our Earth).
Over the course of time, two directions were formed in Jainism, which differed, in particular, in their understanding of asceticism. Orthodox views advocated Digambaras . (literally: clothed with air, i.e. rejecting clothes), a more moderate approach was proclaimed shvetambara (literally: dressed in white). The influence of Jainism gradually declined, although it has survived in India to this day.
Philosophy
Philosophy reached a very high development in ancient India. Indian philosophy is truly "living fruits" that continue to nourish world human thought with their juices. Indian philosophy has retained complete continuity. And no philosophy has had such a strong impact on the West as Indian philosophy. Philosophy in India arose out of one of the most ancient human civilizations; its thousand-year traditions dating back to the 15th-10th centuries. BC e., have survived to the present day. Four periods are generally distinguished in the history of Indian philosophy:
1) Vedic period;
2) the classical, or Brahmin-Buddhist, period - from the 6th century. BC e. up to 10 c. n. uh;
3) post-classical - 10-18 centuries;
4) new and modern Indian philosophy.
Already in the first monuments in Vedah, along with hymns in honor of numerous yogis, there is the concept of a single world order - the concept of Rita. Religious and Philosophical Commentaries on the Vedas - Upanishads contain ideas that largely determined the entire subsequent development of Indian philosophy (about the unity of an integral spiritual substance, brahman, and the individual soul, atman; about the immortality of the soul, which passes from one birth to another, according to the law of karma, or retribution) Along with religious-idealistic The teachings in the Upanishads also reflected the views of materialists and atheists, who rejected the authority of the Vedas, the existence of the soul after the death of a person, and considered one of the material principles to be the fundamental principle of the world. In the classical period, philosophy develops under the strong influence of the Vedas and Upanishads. Since the early Middle Ages, a tradition has developed to divide all philosophical schools into orthodox, recognizing the authority of the Vedas, and unorthodox, rejecting the infallibility of the Vedas. Of the orthodox schools, six are considered the main ones: these are mimamsa, sankhoya, yoga, nyaya, vaisheshika and Vedanta. Unorthodox include Buddhist, Jain and numerous materialistic and atheistic schools, the most common of which was the Charvaka school. (Lokaita). Although such a division has historical foundations, it nevertheless hides the true spring of the development of philosophy - the struggle between materialism and idealism. Both Buddhist and "orthodox" sources condemn primarily the materialistic schools. Shankara, the most eminent philosopher of Vedanta, vehemently attacks both the materialistic ideas of the Samkhya thinkers and the empiricism of the Nyaya and Vaisheshika. He dissociates himself from common sense and moves closer to the idealistic and mystical schools. in the womb Buddhism the idealistic schools of the Madhyamikas and Yogacaras waged a struggle against the materialistic teachings of the Theraaadins and Sarvastivadins. Fierce disputes between various philosophical schools brought to life the science of the art of dispute, of the sources of knowledge and of reliable knowledge - logic. The first information about Indian logic can be gleaned already from early Buddhist sources (3rd century BC), then logic develops in the Nyaya school, and later in the treatises of the Buddhist logicians Digna-gi, Dharmakirti, and others. By the end of the classical period Jainism loses its importance, and Buddhism is assimilated Hinduism. At this time, the Vishnuite and Shaivite systems of Hinduism developed, which taught that the Brahman Upanishad is the god Shiva.
Yoga
Yoga is based on the Vedas and is one of the Vedic philosophical schools. Yoga means "concentration", the sage Patanjali (II century BC) is considered its founder. Yoga is a philosophy and practice. Yoga is an individual path of salvation and is intended to achieve control over feelings and thoughts, primarily through meditation. In the yoga system, belief in God is seen as an element of a theoretical worldview and as a condition for practical activity aimed at liberation from suffering. Connection with the One is necessary for the realization of one's own unity. With the successful mastery of meditation, a person comes to the state of samadhi (ie, the state of complete introversion, achieved after a series of physical and mental exercises and concentration). In addition, yoga includes the rules of eating. Food is divided into three categories according to the three modes of material nature to which it belongs. For example, food in the modes of ignorance and passion can increase suffering, misfortune, illness (first of all, this is meat). Yoga teachers pay special attention to the need to develop tolerance towards other teachings.
Literature of Ancient India
The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of text transmission. The two great epic poems of ancient India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are the true encyclopedias of Indian life. They capture all aspects of the life of the ancient Indians. The epic absorbed the material, which, emerging from the oral poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character, included religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent epochs, many prominent Indian artists, among whom was the famous Kalidas, drew their inspiration from these treasures of the wisdom of their people.
In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the Panchatantra, a collection of stories and parables based on folklore, gained particular popularity. It was translated into many languages, and they got to know him quite early in Russia.
From the literature related to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (1-2 centuries AD) stands out clearly. The poem "Buddhacharita" he wrote was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature. The era of the Guptas was the time of the development of ancient Indian theater. There were even special treatises on dramaturgy. The tasks of the theater, the technique of acting by actors were determined. The Indian theatrical tradition preceded the Greek one.
The theory of literary creativity, including poetry, reached a high level in ancient India. The rules of versification, treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of "poetic science" appear, and there are disputes about genres, about the purpose of literature, and about artistic language.
The concept of the divine character of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech is the basis of the sciences and arts. In the grammar of Panini "The Eight Books" the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scholars find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.
VEDAS - the first monument of the thought of the ancient Indians
The first monument of the thought of the ancient Indians was the "VEDAS", literally meaning "knowledge, knowledge" in Sanskrit. The VEDAS, which arose between the second and first millennium BC, played a huge, decisive role in the development of the spiritual culture of the ancient Indian society, including the development of philosophical thought.
Hindus recognize two types of authoritative religious literature: shruti ("heard"), considered either eternal and self-existent, or manifested as a result of divine revelation, and smriti ("remembrance"), considered the creation of man and has less authority. Vedic literature includes all shrutis, and some smritis, and, first of all, four main collections (samhita), each of which is called veda ("sacred knowledge"). Of the Vedas, the oldest and most important is Rig Veda (Veda of hymns), containing 1028 hymns. The hymns average ten stanzas each and were sung during fire and soma rituals (the "sacred libation"); they are grouped into ten sections (mandala), of which sections 2–7 are recognized as the most archaic. The final edition of the monument was probably completed by the 10th century. BC. The main content of the hymns Rigveda is the praise of the Vedic gods and the appeal to them with prayers.
The second Veda Samaveda (Veda of chants), contains 1549 stanzas, almost entirely borrowed from Rigveda and used as tunes during the sacrifice of Soma (and to the god Soma). Samaveda also contains song books (gana) explaining the way these stanzas are performed.
The third veda Yajurveda (Veda of sacrificial formulas), which exists in several editions, was a guide for priests who directly performed the ritual of sacrifice, accompanied by recitation, prayers and chants of other priests. It consists of stanzas mostly borrowed from Rigveda, and prose formulas (yajus) and was edited later than Rig Veda.
The fourth veda Atharva Veda (Veda of spells and conspiracies), exists in several editions and includes 730 hymns containing about 6000 stanzas, as well as prose. Language Atharvaveda indicates that it was compiled later Rigveda from which it borrows some material. Atharva Veda contains a variety of spells against individuals, demons and diseases, or to gain good luck in love, to increase offspring and material well-being.
After the Vedas were compiled, the Vedic sacrifices became even more complicated, and the priests composed a prose called the Brahmins, in which they detailed and explained the practice of performing sacrifices, indicated Vedic stanzas suitable for each case, and developed theological and philosophical provisions. This aspect of Hinduism is often referred to as Brahmanism. All four Vedas have brahmanas, the most important of them - Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana hundred ways), adjacent to one of the editions Yajurveda. In addition to theology and ritual, the Brahmins include many legends, some historical issues and extensive factual data. The brahmins are accompanied by esoteric theological texts called aranyakas ("forest treatises"), intended for use by brahmins of advanced age living in forests far from their former surroundings. The Upanishads are usually associated with the Aranyakas, containing large sections devoted to the mystical interpretation of the universe in relation to man. The Upanishads are the oldest philosophical works of India. They in a casual manner, through some story, riddle, dialogue and religious verse, reveal various ideas that later became the main ones in the famous Indian philosophical systems and influenced Buddhism and Jainism, as well as Hinduism. The sole purpose of the Upanishads was to identify the individual soul with the universal soul. The period of the emergence of the Brahmins with the Upanishads related to them is approximately 8-5 centuries BC. BC e. In later times, other Upanishads were created that were not associated with the Brahmins. With the Upanishads, for many Hindus, with the exception of those who include here also the main texts of the six orthodox philosophical systems (darshana), shruti ends, i.e. literature is "revelation".
The remainder of the Vedic literature is occupied by the Vedangas ("members of the Vedas"), which are designed to ensure the correct use of Vedic materials and are devoted to phonetics, prosody, grammar, etymology, astronomy and ritual. The latter is called Kalpa and includes sutra compositions (“thread”) - aphorisms that were transmitted orally and often inaccessible to understanding without an accompanying commentary. Already at this time, the first elements of philosophical consciousness arose, the formation of the first philosophical teachings (both religious-idealistic and materialistic) began.
Upanishads
Upanishads ("to sit near", i.e. at the teacher's feet, receiving instructions; or - "secret, secret knowledge") - philosophical texts that appeared about one thousand years BC and in form, as a rule, represented the dialogue of a sage - a teacher with his student or with a person who seeks the truth and subsequently becomes his student. In total, about 150 Upanishads are known. They are dominated by the problem of the prime cause, the origin of being, with the help of which the origin of all natural and human phenomena is explained. The dominant place in the Upanishads is occupied by teachings that consider as the root cause and fundamental principle of being spirituality- Brahman or Atman. Brahman and Atman are usually used as synonyms, although Brahman is more often used to denote God, the omnipresent spirit, and Atman is the soul. Beginning with the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman become the central concepts of all Indian philosophy (and above all - Vedanta). In some Upanishads there is an identification of Brahman and Atman with the material root cause of the world - food, breath, material primary elements (water, air, earth, fire), or with the whole world as a whole. In most texts of the Upanishads, Brahman and Atman are interpreted as the spiritual absolute, the incorporeal root cause of nature and man.
The idea of the identity of the spiritual essence of the subject (man) and the object (nature) runs like a red thread through all the Upanishads, which is reflected in the famous saying: "Tat tvam asi" ("You are that", or "You are one with that") .
The Upanishads and the ideas presented in them do not contain a coherent and holistic concept. With the general predominance of the explanation of the world as spiritual and incorporeal, they also present other judgments and ideas and, in particular, attempts are made to explain the natural philosophical explanation of the root cause and fundamental principle of the phenomena of the world and the essence of man. So, in some texts, there is a desire to explain the external and internal world, consisting of four or even five material elements. Sometimes the world is presented as an undifferentiated being, and its development as a successive passage of certain states by this being: fire, water, earth, or gaseous, liquid, solid. This explains all the diversity that is inherent in the world, including human society.
Cognition and acquired knowledge are divided in the Upanishads into two levels: lower and higher. At the lowest level, only the surrounding reality can be known. This knowledge cannot be true, since its content is fragmentary, incomplete. The highest is the knowledge of truth, i.e. spiritual absolute, this perception of being in its entirety, it can be acquired only with the help of mystical intuition, the latter, in turn, is formed largely due to yogic exercises. It is the highest knowledge that gives power over the world.
One of the most important problems in the Upanishads is the study of the essence of man, his psyche, emotional disturbances and forms of behavior. The thinkers of ancient India noted the complexity of the structure of the human psyche and distinguished in it such elements as consciousness, will, memory, respiration, irritation, calm, etc. their interrelation and mutual influence is emphasized. An undoubted achievement should be considered the characteristic of various states of the human psyche and, in particular, the waking state, light sleep, deep sleep, the dependence of these states on external elements and elements of the outer world.
In the field of ethics in the Upanishads, the preaching of a passive-contemplative attitude towards the world prevails: the deliverance of the soul from all worldly attachments and worries is proclaimed the highest happiness. In the Upanishads, a distinction is made between material and spiritual values, between the good, as a calm state of the soul, and the base pursuit of sensual pleasures. By the way, it is in the Upanishads that the concept of transmigration of souls (samsara) and retribution for past actions (karma) is first expressed. Here the desire is expressed to determine the causal relationship in the chain of human actions. An attempt is also made with the help of moral principles (dharma) to correct the behavior of a person at each stage of his existence. The Upanishads are essentially the foundation for all or almost all subsequent philosophical currents that appeared in India, since they set or developed ideas that for a long time "nourished" philosophical thought in India.
Mahabharata
Speaking about the philosophy of Ancient India, one cannot fail to mention the extensive epic poem Mahabharata, translated from Sanskrit "The Great War", which consists of 18 books telling about the struggle for power between the two clans - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Perhaps this is the longest poem in the world, it includes both the Ramayana and the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song of Heaven, etc. Along with the story of this struggle, various books of the Mahabharata contain texts of philosophical content. Of greatest interest from this point of view are the "Bhagavad-Gita", "Mokshadharma", "Anugita" and some others (VII century BC - II century AD).
In terms of content and orientation, most of the philosophical ideas of the Mahabharata represent a continuation and development of the views prevailing in the Upanishads about Brahman-Atman or Purusha as a spiritual absolute and about its comprehension as a means of salvation and deliverance from the shackles of karma and samsara. However, unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented mainly in the form of separate statements and positions with unstable, sometimes amorphous terminology, in the Mahabharata already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear, giving a more or less unified interpretation of the main worldview problems, ranging from ontological up to ethical and sociological, and having a more strictly fixed and more unambiguous conceptual apparatus.
The main significance among these concepts in the epic is acquired by the teachings of Sankhya and yoga closely related to it, which were already mentioned episodically in the Upanishads. True, these teachings are presented in different parts of the Mahabharata in different ways, but everywhere they are based on the position of prakriti, or pradhana (matter, nature), as the source of all existence (including the psyche and consciousness) and independent of it and pure spirit unaffected by its modifications - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman).
Of greatest interest from a philosophical point of view is one of the books - the Bhagavad Gita (divine song). Unlike the Upanishads, where philosophy is presented in the form of separate statements and provisions, here already developed and integral philosophical concepts appear, giving an interpretation of worldview problems. The most important among these concepts is the teaching of Samkhya and the yoga closely related to it, which were occasionally mentioned in the Upanishads. The basis of the concept is the provision on prakrit (matter, nature), as the source of all being (including the psyche, consciousness) and the pure spirit independent of it - Purusha (also called Brahman, Atman). Thus, the worldview is dualistic, based on the recognition of two principles.
The main content of the Bhagavad Gita (Skt. Song of the Blessed One, Vishnu-Krishna) is the teachings of the god Krishna. This is a religious and philosophical poem of 700 couplets, divided into 18 chapters and included in the 6th book of the great ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. Built in the form of a dialogue between Arjuna, one of the leaders of the Pandava army in the epic battle at Kurukshetra near Panipat, and his charioteer Krishna, who is considered an avatar (earthly incarnation) of the god Vishnu. Just before the battle, Arjuna ordered Krishna to escort him between the two armies lined up for battle. Surveying them, Arjuna became sad, for he realized that tomorrow he would have to fight with blood brothers, friends, revered teachers. Krishna, instructing him, says that a warrior should not shy away from fighting for a righteous cause, and adds that one should not be afraid of harming a person, since the main thing in him is the soul, which cannot be destroyed and is one in all people. Krishna then expounds his teaching on God and the soul and in chapter 11 reveals himself to Arjuna. Convinced and inspired, Arjuna is ready to start the battle that he is destined to win. AT Bhagavad Gita various religious and philosophical views have found expression, but its main idea is that the surest way to know God is zealous service to Him (bhakti).
God Krishna, according to Indian mythology, is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. God Krishna speaks of the need for each person to fulfill their social (varna) functions and duties, to be indifferent to the fruits of worldly activities, to devote all their thoughts to God. Bhagavad Gita contains important ideas of ancient Indian philosophy: about the mystery of birth and death; about the relationship between prakriti and human nature; about genes (three material principles born by nature: tamas - inert inert principle, rajas - passionate, active, exciting principle, sattva - uplifting, enlightened, conscious principle). Their symbols are, respectively, black, red and white colors that define people's lives; about moral law(dharma) performance of duty; about the path of a yogi (a person who has devoted himself to yoga - the improvement of consciousness); about true and false knowledge. The main virtues of a person are called balance, detachment from passions and desires, non-attachment to the earthly.
Architecture, sculpture, painting of Ancient India.
Brick and stone construction begins mainly in the post-Maurian era. The surviving monuments are associated primarily with Buddhism. Religious architecture is represented by cave complexes, temples and stupas (stone structures in which relics of the Buddha were kept). Of the cave complexes, the complexes in the city of Karl and Ellora are the most interesting. The cave temple in Karla is almost 14 m high, 14 m wide and about 38 m long. There are a large number of sculptures and stupas. Halls carved into the rocks reach an area of approximately 500 square meters. m at a height of about 15 m. Their interior design is characteristic, reproducing the traditions wooden architecture(ceilings and other elements that are unnecessary in stone buildings, and even more so in caves).
Of the above ground buildings, the most significant are in Sanchi. Here, on the top of a large hill, not far from the important political center of the post-Maurian era, there was a huge Buddhist monastery. Little remains of the monastery itself and the hotel for pilgrims. And the main attraction of Sanchi is a large stupa built in the II - I centuries. BC e. On the four sides of the world, it is surrounded by carved stone gates depicting scenes from Buddhist legends. Stone stupas are an indispensable accessory of cave temples, being in general the most characteristic monuments of Buddhist architecture. The largest stupa in Lanka is comparable in size to the Egyptian pyramids.
Perhaps the oldest monuments of Indian culture (of course, if we do not talk about the period of the Indus civilization) are the columns on which the inscriptions of Ashoka are carved. All columns were made of stone quarried in the vicinity of Varanasi, carefully polished and delivered to remote areas of the Mauryan state. The sculpture crowning the column, such as the famous lions, shows a certain influence of Persian and possibly Greek art. This is explained, obviously, by the fact that Indian masters at that time were not yet accustomed to working on stone.
In the post-Maurian era, local schools of sculpture developed. The most famous are the schools of Gandhara (North-West India), the Mathura region (the central part of North India) and one of the areas of the Deccan (the Amaravati school).
The heyday of the Gandhara school, which was formed under the strong influence of Hellenistic and Roman art, refers to the first centuries of the Christian era. The Gandhara style, starting from the Kushan era, influenced the Buddhist art of Central and East Asia. To a greater extent, the schools of Mathura and Amaravati are associated with the traditions of the fine arts of India. It was on their basis that medieval art developed not only in India itself, but, to a certain extent, in the countries of Southeast Asia. The spread of "great vehicle" Buddhism contributed to the emergence of a vast pantheon of bodhisattva saints. Massive finds of terracotta figurines speak of a wide demand for works of art related to Buddhism.
worldwide famous monuments Indian paintings are located in Ajanta (Western India). The cave temples and monasteries of Ajanta have been built for nearly a thousand years since the post Mauryan period. The walls of some halls are covered with vivid images of scenes from Buddhist legends. Remarkable fragments of painting, similar to those of Ajanta, are also found in Sri Lanka.
Indian art, which is fundamentally religious, staggers the imagination of a modern person, a large number of works of which are secular in nature and deliver purely aesthetic pleasure. After all, it is rooted in the rich heritage of ancient Indian religions, which absorbed both complex philosophical thought and oral folk tradition. Numerous mythological plots, artistic images and symbols eloquently testify to these origins of art. Ultimately, they all express the desire to break out of the boundaries of ordinary human life and, having passed through the appropriate stages, achieve spiritual enlightenment, which is defined by such concepts as nirvana, moksha, etc. Indian art is a visual embodiment of this main theme, and therefore its artistic images bear the wisdom of divine revelation.
Another characteristic feature of the old Indian culture is the expression in artistic images of the idea of worshiping the god of love - Kama. This meaning was based on the fact that the Indians considered the marriage couple of a god and a goddess as a process of cosmic creation. Therefore, images of God's punishment in a strong embrace are common in temples.
Mathematics, astronomy, medicine of Ancient India.
The discoveries of the ancient Indians in the field of exact sciences influenced the development of the Arabic and Iranian-Persian sciences. A place of honor in the history of mathematics is occupied by the scientist Aryaphata, who lived in the 5th-early 6th century AD. The scientist knew the value of "pi", proposed an original solution to the linear equation. In addition, it was in ancient India that the number system became decimal for the first time (i.e., from zero). This system formed the basis of modern numbering and arithmetic. Algebra was more developed; and the concepts of "number", "sine", "root" first appeared in ancient India. The achievements of ancient Indian mathematicians surpassed what was done in these areas of knowledge in ancient Greece.
Ancient Indian treatises on astronomy testify to the very high development of this science. Regardless ancient science Indian scientist Aryaphata expressed the idea of the rotation of the Earth around its axis, for which he was angrily condemned by the priests. The introduction of the decimal system contributed to accurate astronomical calculations, although the ancient Indians did not have observatories and telescopes.
Until now, Ayurveda, the science of longevity, enjoys great honor in India. It originated in ancient times. Ancient Indian doctors studied the properties of herbs, the impact of climate on human health. great attention focused on personal hygiene and diet. Surgery was also at a high level; it is known about three hundred operations that ancient Indian doctors were able to do; in addition, 120 surgical instruments are mentioned. The Tibetan medicine popular today is based on the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.
Ancient Indian physicians believed that the human body was based on three main vital juices: wind, bile and phlegm - they were identified with the principles of movement, fire and softening. Indian medicine paid special attention to the influence of natural conditions on the human body, as well as heredity. There were also treatises on medical ethics.
Summarizing all these facts, it should be noted that the veneration of knowledge is a distinctive feature of the Indo-Buddhist culture. Experts from many countries came to study in India. In a number of cities in India there were universities that studied religious and philosophical texts, astronomy, astrology, mathematics, medicine and Sanskrit. But it is characteristic that Euclidean geometry did not appear in Indian science. And this is no coincidence. The Indo-Buddhist cultural tradition was not distinguished by particular rationalism. Indian scientists were not interested in the logic of scientific knowledge, they were more concerned with the secrets of the universe and the practical issues of calculation, calendaring and measuring spatial forms.
Conclusion
“As for the Indians, we find that they have succeeded in astronomy, arithmetic and medicine, have mastered the secrets of the medical art. They carve sculptures and images, they have a letter rich in letters ... The Indians have rich poetry, developed oratory, medicine, philosophy, ethics. The science of astronomy comes from them, and other people borrowed it. From them came the science of thinking.
The culture of India not only absorbed the achievements of other cultures, but also made no less contribution to world culture. First of all, it should be noted that the whole of Southeast Asia adopted most of its culture from India. Powerful powers with great cultures developed in this region, leaving such remarkable monuments of their greatness as the Buddhist stupa Boro-bodur in Java or the Shaivite temples of Angkor in Cambodia. The entire Far East is indebted to India for Buddhism, which contributed to the formation of the peculiar cultures of China, Korea, Japan and Tibet.
The culture of India also had a strong influence on the West: Goethe and many other writers of the early 19th century. they read all the works of ancient Indian literature translated by that time. Since Goethe, most of the great German philosophers have been aware to some extent of the teachings of Indian philosophy. Schopenhauer, who had a great influence on literature and psychology, openly admitted that he was influenced by Indian thought, and held true Buddhist views, the monistic teachings of Fichte and Hegel would never have taken their form if there had not been a translation of the Upanishads. In the English-speaking world, the strongest Indian influence was in America, where Emerson, Thoreau, and other "New England" writers avidly studied Indian religious literature; they had an enormous impact on their contemporaries and followers, especially Walt Whitman. Through Carlyle and other thinkers, the German philosophers had an impact on England just as the Americans did through many writers of the late nineteenth century, such as Richard Jeffreys and Edward Carpenter.
In modern India, cultural heritage is treated with respect. This country is characterized by the vitality of ancient traditions and it is not surprising that many achievements of the ancient Indian civilization were included in the general cultural fund of the Indians. They have become an integral component of world civilization, and India itself remains one of the most beloved and mysterious countries in the world, the “land of the sages.”
Bibliography:
1. Polikarpov V.S. Lectures on cultural studies. M.: Gardarika, 1997
2. D.Yu. Stolyarov, V.V. Kortunov Textbook on cultural studies. M., 1998.
3. Ancient world. Versions, hypotheses, opinions. (Web site)
4. Philosophical dictionary. M., 1991.
5. Great Encyclopedia of Molière. CD.
"The Art of Ancient India"
Introduction
One of the most important tasks of understanding the ancient world is understanding the diversity and uniqueness of ancient cultures, distant from the present in time and space. All of them, taken together and representing a certain civilizational whole, with their diversity and uniqueness, to a large extent influenced the formation and character of modern civilization. It is in this role, with their achievements, the basis for the creation of the current scientific and technological world, that their cultural unity acquires significance. It is difficult to imagine a country with a richer mythology than India, and one can hardly find in any other mythology a combination of deep philosophical abstractions and practical applications of myth, such as yoga, asceticism, instructions in the practice of everyday life.
1. Literature
From what has already been said, it is clear that the central place in ancient Indian culture belongs to the monuments of religious literature. The oldest of them - the Vedas - were not only written down late, but were subsequently transmitted mainly from teacher to student orally. At the same time, over many centuries, the language became so different from the spoken language that quite often extensive books were memorized with little or no understanding of their meaning. The complex system of memorization and accurate reproduction of literary texts that developed among the Brahmins had a significant impact on the entire nature of education and science in ancient India.
The great attention that was paid to the accuracy of the transmission and interpretation of the sacred Vedic texts led, ultimately, to the emergence of such special disciplines like phonetics and etymology. On this basis, ancient Indian linguistics subsequently developed. Determining the time for sacrifices required observations of the heavenly bodies, and the construction of complex altars required knowledge of geometry. Thus, already in late Vedic literature, the beginnings of sciences appeared, although they were very peculiar and did not coincide with modern ones, not only in their goals, but also in methods.
Along with the Vedic tradition, an epic tradition also took shape. In their final form, the Mahabharata and Ramayana became a true encyclopedia of Hinduism and an inexhaustible treasury of images for poets and artists of subsequent times. The epic, one might say, still exists in oral form, being available to millions of illiterate Indians and having a huge impact on their worldview. By the second half of the 1st millennium BC. also applies to the formation of Buddhist literature - the Tipitaka of the Theravada school. The writings of other schools of Buddhism - the "great vehicle" - have not been completely preserved, sometimes in Sanskrit, but for the most part in Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan translations.
The flowering of ancient Indian culture in the first centuries of the Christian era is expressed in the development of a wide variety of secular genres. Of particular note is the Sanskrit drama, intended both for the court and for the city theater. The collection of fables "Panchatantra" was very popular. His individual stories are strung one on top of the other, being skillfully inserted into common frame. Arabic translation The Panchatantras are known as Kalila and Dimna. The short stories of the Panchatantra and the very method of constructing a literary work influenced many national literatures in the Middle Ages (The Thousand and One Nights, The Decameron, etc.).
In addition to poetic lyrics, panegyric poems and collections of didactic aphorisms, scientific treatises were often compiled in poetic form in order to facilitate their memorization and oral transmission. A large number of poems were included in the treatise on politics - Arthashastra. This treatise vividly depicts court intrigues, insidious provocations and secret murders. The main goal of political art is seen in the subjugation of the surrounding territories, and therefore all neighboring rulers are considered potential opponents, and the neighbors of neighbors are potential allies of the "sovereign striving for conquest."
Of the works of scientific and didactic literature, we should first of all mention the grammar of Sanskrit, compiled by Panini around the 4th century. BC. Ancient Indian philosophy, which included several competing schools, enjoys well-deserved fame. The main philosophical texts can be dated to the first centuries of the Christian era, but in some cases one can assume a long tradition of the development of one or another school in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. The achievements of the Indians in the field of logic and philosophy of language are especially important, and their atomistic theories also deserve attention. However, the main goal of philosophy in ancient India was not a generalization of the achievements natural sciences and the expansion of practical knowledge, and the interpretation of sacred texts and the achievement of religious salvation.
2. Architecture
Brick and stone construction begins mainly in the post-Maurian era. The surviving monuments are associated primarily with Buddhism (for example, the cave monasteries of Western India). Halls carved into the rocks reach an area of approximately 500 square meters. m at a height of about 15 m. interior design, which reproduces the traditions of wooden architecture (ceilings and other elements that are unnecessary in stone buildings, and even more so in caves).
Of the above ground buildings, the most significant are in Sanchi. Here, on the top of a large hill, not far from the important political center of the post-Maurian era, there was a huge Buddhist monastery. Little remains of the monastery itself and the hotel for pilgrims. And the main attraction of Sanchi is a large stupa built in the II-I centuries. BC. On the four sides of the world, it is surrounded by carved stone gates depicting scenes from Buddhist legends. Stone stupas are an indispensable accessory of cave temples, being in general the most characteristic monuments of Buddhist architecture. The largest stupa in Lanka is comparable in size to the Egyptian pyramids.
Perhaps the oldest monuments of Indian culture (of course, if we do not talk about the period of the Indus civilization) are the columns on which the inscriptions of Ashoka are carved. All columns were made of stone quarried in the vicinity of Varanasi, carefully polished and delivered to remote areas of the Mauryan state. The sculpture crowning the column, such as the famous lions, shows a certain influence of Persian and possibly Greek art. This is explained, obviously, by the fact that Indian masters at that time were not yet accustomed to working on stone.
3. Sculpture and painting
In the post-Maurian era, local schools of sculpture developed. The most famous are the schools of Gandhara (North-West India), the Mathura region (the central part of North India) and one of the areas of the Deccan (the Amaravati school).
The heyday of the Gandhara school, which was formed under the strong influence of Hellenistic and Roman art, refers to the first centuries of the Christian era. The Gandhara style, starting from the Kushan era, influenced the Buddhist art of Central and East Asia. To a greater extent, the schools of Mathura and Amaravati are associated with the traditions of the fine arts of India. It was on their basis that medieval art developed not only in India itself, but, to a certain extent, in the countries of South-East Asia. The spread of "great vehicle" Buddhism contributed to the emergence of a vast pantheon of bodhisattva saints. Massive finds of terracotta figurines speak of a wide demand for works of art related to Buddhism.
The world-famous monuments of Indian painting are located in Ajanta (Western India). The cave temples and monasteries of Ajanta have been built for nearly a thousand years since the post Mauryan period. The walls of some halls are covered with vivid images of scenes from Buddhist legends. Remarkable fragments of painting, similar to those of Ajanta, are also found in Sri Lanka. Despite the lack of political unity, the difference in languages and beliefs of the peoples of India, this country during the Middle Ages and modern times preserved the unity of culture that had developed in antiquity. The dominant religion in India - Hinduism - sanctified the traditional nature of the everyday way of life.
The influence of Buddhist religion, literature, philosophy and art can be traced among many peoples medieval East. Ancient Indian medicine and mathematics were famous all over the world, and remarkable achievements in the field of linguistics, logic, psychology can only now be appreciated.
Indian culture can be compared to a mighty river that rises high in the Himalayas and continues its course through forests and plains, gardens and farms, villages and cities. Numerous tributaries flow into it, its banks change, but the river itself remains unchanged. Indian culture is equally characterized by unity and diversity, adherence to tradition and receptivity to the new. Over the centuries of history, India had to go through a lot, adapt to a lot, assimilate elements of various cultures, but at the same time she managed to maintain her ancient heritage.
The nature and climate of the country are unusually diverse; Numerous nationalities live here with their beliefs, languages and culture. However, everything has a unique Indian flavor. The source of this unity is elusive. It can be felt, but not understood. In his famous book The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru gave a brilliant analysis of the unity and integrity of Indian culture, rooted in its amazing diversity.
Already the monuments of the Harappan civilization (3000-1800 BC) already bear those specific traits, which later became associated with India and its culture. This is confirmed by archaeological finds in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The statue of a man immersed in meditation testifies that the practice of yoga was already known in those days. The smooth surface of the torso and the absence of muscular tension are suggestive of the ancient Indian concept of internal energy. The deity depicted on one of the clay seals is very similar to the later images of Shiva. Bracelets, like those that adorn the hands of a bronze dancer, can still be bought at any shop. Latest Research showed that the influence of the Harappan culture extended even to the remote regions of North and West India, and the peoples living in the Indus basin maintained close contacts with the Dravidian civilization that existed long before the arrival of the Aryans in India.
Approximately between 2000 and 1600 B.C. part of the tribes belonging to the large group of Aryans, or Indo-Aryans, moved to India. They spoke Sanskrit and worshiped the gods who personified the elemental forces of nature: Indra the Thunderer, the lord of the atmosphere, the god of the sacrificial fire Agni and the omniscient Varuna, the punishing god-judge and the deity of the water element. The hymns dedicated to these and other gods made up four collections - the Vedas. The oldest of them is the Rigveda (1500-1200 BC), which is characterized by the search for the Highest reality underlying the entire diversity of life. This idea is developed in the dialogues of the Upanishads (900-600 BC). Vedic poetry distinguish spirituality, excellent style and movement from the external formula to the internal experience. Outside the Vedic (Hindu) tradition in the 6th century. BC. two other religions emerged. The personality of the Buddha, with his preaching of love, compassion and harmony, had a huge impact on the development of Indian philosophy and culture, although as a religion, Buddhism took deeper roots outside of India. The founder of Jainism was Mahavira, in whose teaching the ideas of liberation and renunciation of any violence are developed. The Jains also made a great contribution to the development of Indian art and philosophy.
In 326 BC Alexander the Great crossed the Indus, and although he soon turned back his troops, the Greek invasion was an important factor in India's rapprochement with the Greco-Roman world. Six years later, King Chandragupta, the founder of the Maurya dynasty, made an attempt to unite the scattered Indian principalities into a centralized empire with its capital in Pataliputra (now Patna, Bihar). His grandson Ashoka (273-237 BC), filled with disgust for war, became a zealous Buddhist. At his direction, Buddhist sayings were carved on the smooth surface of the stone columns, calling for compassion and mercy. The capitals that complete the columns are excellent examples of sculpture.
The rulers of the Shunga dynasty (185–149 BC) were orthodox Hindus, but under Kanishka (Kushan dynasty), who ruled northwest India (78–101), there was a notable revival of Buddhism. Under the Kushans, the Gandharian style developed in Buddhist sculpture, marked by a noticeable influence of antiquity. Mataura, south of Delhi, became another center of Buddhist art. During the Gupta Empire (319 - 540), which is called the "golden age" of ancient Indian culture, the political and cultural center again moved to Pataliputra. Some kings of the Gupta dynasty, such as Chandragupta and Skandagupta, were poets and musicians. During the reign of Chandragupta, greatest poet and a playwright who wrote in Sanskrit, Kalidasa. The sculptures of the Buddha in Sarnath and the frescoes in the caves of Ajanta (Western India) are considered masterpieces of sculpture and painting of this era. The decline of the Gupta empire was accompanied by political fragmentation.
www.coolreferat.com
Philosophy reached a very high development in ancient India. The most famous school of ancient Indian materialists was the Lokayata. The Lokayatikas opposed the main provisions of religious and philosophical schools, against religious "liberation" and the omnipotence of the gods. They considered sensory perception to be the main source of knowledge. A great achievement of ancient Indian philosophy was the atomistic teaching of the Vainishika school. The Samkhya school reflected many achievements in science with one of the largest ancient indian philosophers was Nacharjuna, who came up with the concept of universal relativity or "general relativity" or "universal emptiness", and also laid the foundations of the school of logic in India. By the end of antiquity, the idealistic Vedanta school was the most influential, but rationalistic concepts played no small role.
The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of text transmission. The two great epic poems of ancient India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are the true encyclopedias of Indian life. They capture all aspects of the life of the ancient Indians. The epic absorbed the material, which, developing an oral-poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character, included religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent epochs, many prominent Indian artists, among whom was the famous Kalidas, drew their inspiration from these treasures of the wisdom of their people.
In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the Panchatantra, a collection of stories and parables based on folklore, gained particular popularity. It was translated into many languages, and they got to know him quite early in Russia.
From the literature attributed to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (1-2 centuries AD) stands out clearly. The poem "Buddhacharita" he wrote was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature.
Theory reached a high level in ancient India literary creativity including poetry. The rules of versification, treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of "poetic science" appear, and there are disputes about genres, about the purpose of literature, and about artistic language.
The concept of the divine character of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech is the basis of science and the arts. In the grammar of Panini "The Eight Books" the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scholars find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.
Bibliography
www.neuch.ru
Philosophy, Literature, Linguistics of Ancient India
Philosophy, Literature, Linguistics of Ancient India
Philosophy reached a very high development in ancient India. The most famous school of ancient Indian materialists was the Lokayata. The Lokayatikas opposed the main provisions of religious and philosophical schools, against religious liberation and the omnipotence of the gods. They considered sensory perception to be the main source of knowledge. A great achievement of ancient Indian philosophy was the atomistic teaching of the Vainishika school. The Samkhya school reflected many achievements in science. One of the largest ancient Indian philosophers was Nacharjuna, who came up with the concept of universal relativity or universal relativity or universal emptiness, and also laid the foundations of the school of logic in India. By the end of antiquity, the idealistic Vedanta school was the most influential, but rationalistic concepts played no small role.
Ancient Indian art was closely connected with religion and philosophy. In addition, it was always addressed to the lower caste peasants, in order to convey to them the laws of karma, the requirements of dharma, etc. In poetry, prose, drama, music, the Indian artist identified himself with nature in all its moods, responded to the connection man and the universe. And, finally, a significant influence on the development of Indian art had a religious prejudice directed against the statues of the gods. The Vedas were against the image of a deity and the image of the Buddha appeared in sculpture and painting only in late period development of Buddhism.
The history of ancient Indian literature is usually divided into several stages: Vedic, epic, the period of classical Sanskrit literature. The first two stages are characterized by the predominance of the oral tradition of text transmission. The two great epic poems of ancient India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are the true encyclopedias of Indian life. They capture all aspects of the life of the ancient Indians. The epic absorbed the material, which, developing an oral-poetic tradition, acquired a didactic character, included religious and philosophical works and ideas. In subsequent epochs, many prominent Indian artists, among whom was the famous Kalidas, drew their inspiration from these treasures of the wisdom of their people.
The era of the Guptas was the period of development of the ancient Indian theater. There were even special treatises on dramaturgy. The tasks of the theater, the technique of acting by actors were determined. The Indian theatrical tradition preceded the Greek one.
In the era of classical Sanskrit literature, the collection of stories and parables Panchatantra, based on folklore, gained particular popularity. It was translated into many languages, and they got to know him quite early in Russia.
From the literature attributed to the Buddhist tradition, the work of the poet and playwright Pshvaghosh (12th century AD) stands out clearly. The Buddhacharita poem he wrote was the first artificial epic to appear in Indian literature.
The theory of literary creativity, including poetry, reached a high level in ancient India. The rules of versification, treatises on the theory of metrics and poetics were developed in detail. Several schools of poetic science appear, there are disputes about genres, about the purpose of literature and about artistic language.
The concept of the divine character of speech influenced the development of the science of language. It was believed that speech is the basis of science and the arts. In the grammar of Panini the Eight Books, the analysis of linguistic material is carried out so deeply and thoroughly that modern scholars find similarities between the theory of the ancient Indians and modern linguistics.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site were used.
