[Ancient History] Literature in Ancient India

Important Ancient Sanskrit Literature :
 

Work	Category	Author (date)	Notes
Mahabharata	Epic	Vyasa
Ramayana	Epic	Valmiki
Ashtadhyayi	Treatise on grammar	Panini (5th -4th c. BCE)	One of the earliest known grammars of Sanskrit
Nirukta	Treatise on grammar	Yaksa
Mrichakatika	Play	Shudraka (2nd c. BCE)	Set in Pataliputra Hindi film Utsav was based on this
Karnabhara, Charudatta	Play	Bhasa (1st BCE – 4thCE)	Bhasa wrote about 13 plays He is considered to be one of most important Sanskrit authors (after Kalidasa)
Urubhanga	Play	Bhasa	Based on Mahabharata Depicts story of Duryodhana after fight with Bhima
Madhyamavyayoga	Play	Bhasa	Based on the Mahabharata
Malavikagnimitram	Play	Kalidasa (4th -5th CE) Gupta period	Tells the story of King Agnimitra falling in love with servant girl Malavika Agnimitra was the son and successor to Pushyamitra Sunga
Abhijanasakuntalam	Play	Kalidasa	Tells story of king Dushyanta and his marriage to Shankuntala Considered to be Kalidasa’s most popular play
Vikramaorvasiyam	Play	Kalidasa	Story of king Pururavas in love with celestial Urvashi
Raghuvamsa	Poetry	Kalidasa	Kings of Raghu dynasty
Kumarasambhava	Poetry	Kalidasa	Story of birth of Karthikeya
Rtusamhara	Poetry	Kalidasa	Describes six seasons using context of love
Meghaduta	Poetry	Kalidasa	Story of a Yaksha sending a message to his lover through a cloud One of Kalidasa’s most popular poems
Ratnavali	Play	Harshavardhana (590-647 CE)	Story of king Udayana and princess Ratnavali Contains one of the earliest references to festival Holi
Nagananda	Play	Harshavardhana	Describes prince Jimutavahana’s self-sacrifice to save serpents
Priyadarsika	Play	Harshavardhana
Kiratarjuniya	Poetry	Bharavi	Describes contest b/w Arjuna and lord Shiva
Shishupala Vadha	Poetry	Magha

Important Ancient Literature in Tamil :

Note that Sangam literature itself contains about 2400 poems by more than 470 poets. For obvious reasons, not all of them can be listed here

Work	Category	Author	Notes
Ettuthokai	Poetry	Various (600 BCE- 300 BCE)	Part of Sangam literature Ettuthokai contains 8 anthologies: Ainkurunuru, Akananuru, Purananuru, Kalittokai, Kuruntokai, Narrinai, Paripatal, Patirrupattu Each of these anthologies in turn contain hundreds of poems by multiple authors Deals with two themes: Akam (personal life) and Puram (war, politics) See here for more information on the Ettuthokai
Pathupattu	Poetry	Various	Part of Sangam literature Pathupattu contains 10 idylls (mid length books): Tirumurugattruppatai, Kurinjipattu, Malaipatukatam, Maturaikkanji, Mullaipattu, Netunalvatai, Pattinappalai, Perumpanatrupatai, Porunaratruppatai, Sirupanatrupatai Deals mainly with themes of nature See here for more information on Pathupattu
Tolkappiyam	Grammar	Tolkappiyar	Earliest available work of Tamil literature
Aimperumkappiyam	Epics	Various	Collection of five large narrative epics The five epics were: Silappadhigaram, Manimegalai, Sivaka Chintamani, Valayapathi and Kundalakesi Specific epics described below
Silappadhigaram	Epic	Ilango Adigal (1st c. CE)	Describes story of Kannagi in her quest to save husband Kovalan Describes in detail life, politics, trade, settlements of Greeks etc Story evolves in themes of three: three kingdoms, three heroes, three heroines etc Considered one of most important ancient Tamil literature
Manimegalai	Epic	Seethalai Sathanar (1st-2nd c. CE)	Story of Manimegalai, daughter of Kovalan Sequel to Silappadhigaram
Sivaka Chintamani	Epic	Tirutakkatevar	Story of man who becomes king and then renounces throne
Valayapathi	Epic	Unknown	Work lost
Kundalakesi	Epic	Nagakuthanar	Original work lost, only fragments survive Supposedly describes story of Buddhist monk Kundalakesi
Tirukkural	Ethics	Thiruvalluvar	Couplets of ethics Contains 1330 couplets Thirukkural remains the book translated into most number of languages in the world