Medieval Period Literature of India

Medieval Period literature like Hindi, Persian, etc. as discussed by Harsh

India is a very diverse country and hence, home to several cultures. Indian culture is enriched with numerous languages like Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Tamil, Telegu, etc., and thus, literature in these languages evolved with time. Literature is derived from the Latin word ‘litteratura’, which refers to any form of writing with some literary merit. The literature is broadly classified into fiction and non-fiction.

The Medieval period was a transition phase of Indian literature, a major development in the language of Hindi from the ancient Apabhramsa language. The major change was the emergence of Persian as the writing of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal courts. Persian, Urdu, and Hindi and its dialects, etc. were prominent during the Medieval period.

Also Read: Sanskrit Literature in Ancient India

Dravidian (South India) Literature of India

Indian Languages and Its Classifications

Persian Literature in India

The roots of Persian literature are as old as Sanskrit but it came to India along with the Turks and Mongols in the 12^th century. During the age of the Delhi Sultanate, many writers contributed to Persian literature. The most prominent name was Amir Khusrau Dehlavi who wrote Nuh Sipihr and Masnavi Duwal Rani Khizr Khan (tragic love poem). Zia-ud-din Barani and Minhaj-us-Siraj were the most famous historians of the Sultanate period.

Zia-ud-din Barani wrote Tarikh-e-Firuz Shahi (a book about the reign of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq). Several Persian accounts describing the socio-political scenario of the Sultanate were written by travelers like Ibn Battuta. The Persian literature reached its extent during the Mughal period. Babur wrote his biography, Tuzuk-i-Baburi, in Turkish. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri and Humayun-Nama (an account of Humayun’s life and struggles to get the throne, written by his sister, Gulbadan Begum) are important accounts of Mughal history.

Ain-e-Akbari and Akbar Nama were written by the court historian of Akbar, Abul Fazal. Akbar also undertook several other projects to translate works into Persian language, for example, Ramayana, Bhagwat Gita, Upanishads, Mahabharata (Razmnama in Persian), etc. During this period, Poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote his famous poem, Padmavat, Badauni wrote on the ethics of political rule and Faizi was considered a master of Persian poetry.

During the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, prominent works like Shah Jahan-Nama were written by Inayat Khan, and during the reign of Aurangzeb, several satirists like Mir Jafar Zatalli wrote Kulliyat. Other texts like Tabqat-i-Alamgiri and Padshahnama (written by Abdul Hamid Lahori) gave an important picture of this period.

Urdu Literature During Medieval India

Urdu literature developed through the interaction of Persian and Hindi languages. Amir Khusrau was among the biggest contributors to popularizing the Urdu language in India as he wrote several texts in Urdu. Since, Urdu is a mixture of Hindi and Persian and hence, it mostly follows the grammar of Hindi and the form and script of Persian. Urdu was initially used by the Deccan states like Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golconda, etc., and hence, called Dakkani there.

One of the greatest Urdu poets is Mirza Ghalib who composed Diwan (collection of poetry) and several other poets like Sauda, Dard, and Mir Taqi Mir also contributed to Urdu poetry. Bang-i-Dara was written by Iqbal and he is also famous for ‘Saare Jahan Se Achcha’. The last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Jafar also contributed to Urdu poetry and Nawabs of Awadh also patronized several scholars who contributed to Urdu literature.

Literature in Hindi and Its Dialect during Medieval India

Hindi got the biggest boost during the Bhakti movement in the Medieval period after remaining in shadow for so many years. Prithviraj Raso was the major work in Hindi language which documented the life of Prithviraj Chauhan. Kabir, the famous Bhakti saint, wrote his famous Dohas (couplets) in Hindi. Tulsidas produced couplets in Braj and also wrote Ramcharitamanas, one of the most revered Hindu texts.

The life of Lord Krishna also became a common theme of Hindu literature during this period, for example, Sur Sagar written By Surdas; Rahim, Bhushan, and Rakshan also wrote about the devotion of Lord Krishna. Mirabai is also a famous woman who renounced the world and devoted his life to Lord Krishna and wrote Bhakti poetry for him. Bihari’s Satsai is also famous in this regard.