RBSE VU Sahitya Shastra flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ṛgveda maṇḍalas

The Ṛgveda has ten maṇḍalas; the oldest core is maṇḍalas 2–7, known as family books, while 1 and 10 are later additions.

Vedic svara

Vedic Sanskrit had pitch accent with three tones: udātta (raised), anudātta (lowered), and svarita (circumflex); Classical Sanskrit lost this accent.

Aṣṭādhyāyī structure

Pāṇini's grammar has eight chapters (adhyāya) containing 3,959 sūtras, preceded by the Śivasūtras and supplemented by dhātupāṭha and gaṇapāṭha.

Kāraka

In Pāṇinian grammar, kāraka denotes six semantic roles-kartṛ, karma, karaṇa, sampradāna, apādāna, adhikaraṇa-that determine case endings.

Sphoṭa theory

Bhartṛhari's Vākyapadīya holds that meaning is an indivisible whole (sphoṭa) revealed by sequential sounds (dhvani), not a sum of phonemes.

Mahākāvya

A Sanskrit court epic with eight or more cantos, heroic or romantic theme, and descriptions of cities, seasons, and battles; e.g., Kālidāsa's Raghuvaṃśa.

Meghadūta

Kālidāsa's 111-stanza khaṇḍakāvya in Mandākrāntā meter, in which an exiled yakṣa asks a cloud to carry a message to his beloved.

Nāṭya Śāstra

Bharata's treatise (c. 200 BCE–200 CE) in 36 chapters covering drama, dance, music, and rasa theory; foundational text of Indian dramaturgy.

Aṣṭanāyikā

Not a core term; avoid. Use instead: the eight rasas of Bharata are śṛṅgāra, hāsya, karuṇa, raudra, vīra, bhayānaka, bībhatsa, and adbhuta; śānta was added later.

Sandhi (plot junctures)

The five junctures of Sanskrit dramatic plot: mukha (opening), pratimukha (progression), garbha (development), vimarśa (pause), and nirvahaṇa (conclusion).

Bāṇa

7th-century Sanskrit prose writer, author of Harṣacarita (historical ākhyāyikā) and Kādambarī (romance), famed for elaborate compounds and ornate style.

Daśakumāracarita

Daṇḍin's Sanskrit prose narrative recounting the adventures of ten princes; a major example of gadya kāvya with intricate plot and style.

Dhvani

Ānandavardhana's Dhvanyāloka (9th c.) holds that suggestion (vyañjanā) is the soul of poetry, superior to direct statement and figures of speech.

Rasa

Aesthetic relish arising from the combination of vibhāva (stimulus), anubhāva (response), and vyabhicāribhāva (transient states), as theorized by Bharata.

Vakrokti

Kuntaka's Vakroktijīvita treats oblique or deviant expression as the essential principle of poetic language, distinct from direct statement.

Kāvyaprakāśa

Mammaṭa's 11th-century synthesis of Sanskrit poetics, integrating dhvani, alaṃkāra, and rasa; a standard manual of literary criticism.

Chāyāvāda

Hindi Romantic movement (1918–1938) characterized by mysticism, nature, individualism, and musical language; poets include Prasād, Nirālā, Pant, and Mahādevī.

Nayī Kahānī

Hindi short-story movement of the 1950s–60s emphasizing psychological depth, urban alienation, and technical experimentation; Mohan Rākeś a leading figure.

Bihārī Satsaī

Collection of couplets by Bihārī Lāl (17th c.), a masterpiece of Rīti kāla poetry noted for śṛṅgāra and alaṃkāra.

Bhāratendu Maṇḍala

Group of Hindi writers (1850–1900) led by Bhāratendu Hariścandra, who pioneered modern Hindi drama, prose, and journalism.

Comparative literature

The study of literature across linguistic and cultural boundaries, comparing themes, forms, and reception; French school stresses influence, American school parallels.

Defamiliarization

Viktor Shklovsky's Russian Formalist concept (ostranenie): art makes the familiar strange to renew perception and break habitual response.

Orientalism

Edward Said's 1978 critique of Western representations of the East as exotic and inferior, shaping colonial power relations and literary study.

Vedic Vedāṅgas

Six auxiliary disciplines for Vedic study: śikṣā (phonetics), kalpa (ritual), vyākaraṇa (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chandas (meter), jyotiṣa (astronomy).

Upaniṣads

Philosophical texts concluding the Vedic corpus; 108 traditionally, with 13 principal ones including Bṛhadāraṇyaka, Chāndogya, and Kaṭha.

Kādambarī

Bāṇa's Sanskrit prose romance, celebrated for ornate compounds and descriptive power; left incomplete and finished by his son Bhūṣaṇabhaṭṭa.

Abhijñānaśākuntala

Kālidāsa's seven-act nāṭaka dramatizing Śakuntalā's recognition by King Duṣyanta; a model of Sanskrit drama and śṛṅgāra rasa.

Raghuvaṃśa

Kālidāsa's mahākāvya tracing the genealogy of the Raghu dynasty in 19 cantos; admired for its elegant style and varied rasa.

Śiśupālavadha

Māgha's Sanskrit mahākāvya in 20 cantos on the slaying of Śiśupāla; famed for grammatical virtuosity and elaborate figures.

Rīti kāla

Hindi literary period (c. 1700–1900) of courtly poetry emphasizing alaṃkāra, śṛṅgāra, and technical artistry; major poets include Bihārī and Keśavadās.

Pragativāda

Hindi progressive literary movement of the 1930s–40s, influenced by Marxism, promoting social realism and anti-colonial themes.

Sāhityadarpaṇa

Viśvanātha's 14th-century Sanskrit poetics manual defining kāvya as word and meaning together, and covering rasa, dhvani, and alaṃkāra.