A History of Hindi LiteratureDescription: The ballads of Rajput prowess, the aphorisms of Kabir, Tulsidas, Ramayana, the bhajans of Sur and Mira, the poetical rhetoric of Kesava, the closed-packed epigrams of Behari, the lyrics of mystics Prasada, Pant and Mahadevi make Hindi literature an 'enchanted garden'. The present work seeks to give a glimpse of that 'enchanted garden' to those whose mother-tongue is not Hindi. At the end there is an anthology of Hindi verse containing best pieces of the 'nine gems' of mediaeval Hindi. A glance through the anthology may enduce the reader to read the full text in the original. From the Chhandas of the Vedas to the Khadi Boli of the present day is a long span of five thousand years. From Chhandas to Sanskrit, from Sanskrit to Prakrit, from Prakrit to Apabhramsa, from Apabhramsa to local dialects Dingal, Pingal, Avadhi, Brajbhasa, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Dakhani, and finally a wrench from the past and the birth of a new language, the Khadi Boli of today-is a phenomenon unparalleled in the history of any language. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
appeared beauty became become brought called canto century Chand chapter characters child complete contains continued court criticism deals Delhi described developed devotion died dramas expression eyes followed four give given hands heart Hindi Hindi literature Hindu human India king Kṛṣṇa language later lines literary literature live Lord matter means mention metre mother nature never novel original period Persian plays poems poet poetical poetry Prasāda Prem present prose published Rājā Rāma reader regarded Sanskrit short Singh Skandagupta social started story style supra Sūrdās theme took tradition translated Tulsīdās Urdu verses wanted woman writing written wrote एक कर का की के को क्या जो तुम तो नहीं पर भी मन में मैं यह सब सी से हम ही हूँ है हो