1. Unit 2: World Literature Sacred Texts and Epic Tales
c B.C. – A.D. 500

2. Focus Questions

3. 1
Which religions began on the Indian subcontinent? The classics of ancient Indian epic poetry were part of what religious tradition?

4. 2 In what ways is Hinduism a social system?
What was a caste in traditional Hinduism?
What were the functions of various castes in traditional Hinduism?

5. 3
List two or more achievements of Indian painters, sculptors, and architects.
What role did Buddhist monks play in the creation of cave art?

6. 4
In what ways is the concept of memory important to the literature of India?
What was the traditional way of studying a subject in ancient India?
Why were the scholars of ancient India wary of written versions of texts?

7. Names and Terms to Know

8. Indus Valley

9. Aryans

10. Dravidians

11. Hinduism

12. Buddhism

13. Jainism

14. Sanskrit

15. Sikh

16. Vocabulary

17. Rig Veda: Creation Hymn
Immortality
Distinguishing
Stems
Palpable

18. Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana
Mitigated
Caricature
Scruples
Pervades
Manifested
Dispel
Invoked
Pristine

19. Panchantantra Obsequiously Rank Elixir Accrue Tardily Reprobate
Extirpate
Skulks

20. Wisdom Literature: types & examples
Literary Terms
Wisdom Literature: types & examples

21. MYTH

22. FABLE

23. PARaBLE

24. Proverb, Maxim, Aphorism

25. Sacred Texts: Philosophical/spiritual

26. Vedic Hymn
A hymn is a poem or song of praise. Vedic Hymns emphasize the importance of gods and nature in Indian life and ponder timeless questions, such as the origin of the universe.
Originally meant to be chanted.
Passed down by word of mouth.
Reflect a sense of awe toward nature.

27. Features of Wisdom Literature

28. Aphoristic Style
Aphorism: a brief, memorable, and often witty saying that expresses a truth about life – as in a proverb or the moral at the end of a fable.

29. Figurative Language and Symbolism
Language not meant to be understood literally. It expresses an imaginative connection.
Symbol: an object, a person, a thing, and animal, an image, that represents both itself and something larger in meaning – usually an abstract idea.

30. Allegory
A literary work with two levels of meaning. Every element has both a literal and a symbolic meaning, with specific characters standing for abstract qualities. Fables and parables are considered types of allegory.

31. Didactic in purpose
It is meant to teach a moral or ethical lesson about life. This lesson may be taught directly, as in a fable, or indirectly, as in a parable, in which the moral is not explicitly stated.