Language and Literature in Ancient India Third Set

Reference: Language and Literature in Ancient India Second Set

Pali Literature

Why is Pali more important than Sanskrit?
What are the features of Pali Literature as compared to Sanskrit?
What is the meaning of the word Suparna?
Which is The Land Of Gold?
What is the position of Ambapali in the Buddhist Pali literature?
What was the national hero of Sinahalas as per the Mahavansa?
Whom did Dutthagamani defeat?
Which capital did Dutthagamani from Elara conquer?
What was the name of the elephant of Dutthagamani?
Prakrit Literature:
Which religion had raised voluminous literature in Prakrit?
What are the main features of Prakrit literature?
Which of the literary creation of Jains in Prakrit of more merit?
What is the content of Sutrakritanga?
What is the content of Setubandha?
What is the language of Setubandha?
Was Kalidas the writer of Setubandha?
What is variety of the poem Gaudavadha?
Who was the author of Gaudavadha?
When was Gaudavadha written?
What was the language of Gaudavadha?
Who was the hero of Gaudavadha?
Which was the capital of Yashovarman, the hero of Gaudavadha?
Who was the writer of Kapuramanjari?
Who was the heroine of Kapuramanjari?
When was Kapuramanjari written?
What was the language of Kapuramanjari?
Which is the most important literary work in Prakrit?
Who is the author of Saptashatak?
What is the English translation of the word Saptashatak?
In what metre is Saptashatak written?
When did the royal author of Saptashatak compose the work?
What was the name of the dynasty of Hala?
Which was the audience of the work like Saptashatak?
What were the main features of Saptashatak?
Who were the general characters of Saptashatak?
Which could have been the literary source, which influenced the composition of Saptashatak?

Tamil Literature:

What is the period of the earliest Tamil literature?
What could be the probable time of the composition of the Tamil Literature?
The reigning time of which dynasty helps us to fix the time of Tamil literature composition?
When did Pallava rule Kanchi?
What are the bases of the emergence of the Tamil literature?
How many assemblies were the bases of the rise of the Tamil literature?
What was the name of the assemblies where the Tamil literature emerged?
What were the participants of the first Tamil Samgam?
Where are the works of first Samgam?
Name the only surviving work of the second Samgam.
What is Ettutogai in Samgam literature?
When was Ettutogai written?
Which is the greatest of the ancient Tamil literature?
What is the actual nature of the Tolkappiyam?
When could Tolkappiyam been written?
What were the main patrons of the poets who would have written the Samgam literature?
Where was all the Samgams held?
Where is Ettutogai popular?
What is the actual language of Ettutogai?
What is the importance of Tolkappiyam for Tamil language?
What is the distinctive feature of Tamil, written as per the Tolkappiyam, which differentiate from courtly Sanskrit?
How many writers contributed to Ettutogai?
How many poems are there in Ettutogai?
List the main eight sections of Ettutogai?
What is Pattuppattu?
When was the Samgam literature was known to the world?
Which are the two main groups of Tamil poetry?
What is the aim of agam style of poetry in Tamil?
What is the aim of puram style of poetry in Tamil?
What is tinai in Tamil poetry?
How many tinai are there?
What is kurinji type of Tamil poetry?
What is palai type of poetry?
What is mullai type of poetry?
What is marudam type of poetry?
What is neydal type of poetry?
What is hill poetry called in Tamil Sangam literature?
What is dry lands poetry called in Tamil Sangam literature?
What is jungle and woodland poetry called in Tamil Sangam literature?
What is cultivated plains poetry called in Tamil Sangam literature?
What is coastal poetry called in Tamil Sangam literature?
What does hill poetry symbolize in Tamil Sangam literature?
Which are the five categories in which all the Ettutogai poetry classified?
What do five main categories of poetry in Tamil Sangam literature symbolize?
What is the unique feature of the Tamil poetry?
When did the feature of initial rhyming of Tamil poetry start dominating the Sangam poetry?
What is Tondai in Tamil?
Do we find the Aryan cultural influence on Ettutogai?
Which was the another religion apart from Aryan religion, which influenced the Tamil Ettutogai?
What is Padinenkilkanakku?
Which are the two most popular Padinenkilkanakku?
Which book is called the Bible of the Tamil Land?
What is the importance of Naladiyar section of Padinenkilkanakku?
When did the Aryan religion and culture fully prevail on Tamil land?
The gods of which religions were adorned by the kings of Tamil land after 6th century?
What major change had taken place in writing of the Tamil poetry after the influence of Sanskrit?
Which is the most important Tamil poetry written under the influence of Sanskrit?
Who was the audience of Shilappadigaram?
How did the subject of Tamil poetry differ from the Sanskrit Epics?
Who was the most traditional Tamil poet?
Who was the father of Ilangovadigal?
When did the Chola king Karikalan rule?
Which poem did Ilangovadigal write?
What is the weakness of Shilappadigaram?
What are the strong features of Shilappadigaram?
Who are the two main characters in the poem Shilappadigaram?
Which are the two literary works considered as the national poems of Tamil land?
What cultural aspect do Shilappadigaram and Kamban’s Ramayana depict?
What is the English translation of the word Shilappadigaram?
What is the place where the incidence of Shilappadigaram took place?
Who was the ruling king, when the incidence narrated in Shilappadigaram took place?
Give the story of Shilappadigaram in not more fifty words.

(Special Note: The NET students may be asked such questions in their examinations. The questions on the characters and the incidences narrated in the historic poems and folklore had been asked in Preliminary Examinations of Civil Services. The stories, which are important for competitive examinations are given in Wonder That Was India by A. L. Basham and eleven volumes of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Series on Indian History in abundance. Some of the books of renowned historians and authorities also include such stories and references. It is advised that the students should read the contents of the stories and poems and make notes on the characters, places, incidences, and such references, which depict the culture of the society of different times. The student should understand that literature of the contemporary periods forms an important source for learning the culture of the people of their times.)

Special Note: In order to develop a good bank on Sangam literature, Nilkant Shastris book, History of South India should be consulted. However, there have appeared three question at the maximum in the paper. However, sometimes, one or two questions have also appeared in General Studies also.

Whom did royal family of Madurai consider the goddess of victory?
What were the insignia of royal family of Madurai?
Who was made the goddess of Madurai by the people of Madurai?
Who was the reigning king of Madurai as per Shilappadigaram?
To which dynasty did King Nedunjeliyan belong?
What is the name of the poem written as sequel of Shilappadigaram?
Who was the author of Manimegalai?
What is the nature of the contents of Manimegalai?
To which religion does Manimegalai belong as a literature of that religion?
Who are the main characters of Manimegalai?
What is the main nature of the contents of Manimegalai?
What is Manimegalai?
Who is the main character of Shivaga-shindamani?
What is the language of Shivaga-shindamani?
What are the main merits of the personality of Shivaga?
What is the another name of Shivaga?
Who was the author of Shivaga-shindamani?
Which religion does Shivaga adopt at the end of his life?
What are the features of the poem Shivaga-shindamani by Tiruttakkadevar?
Who was Tiruttakkadevar?
Which is the most important adaptation of North Indian literature in Tamil language?
What is the importance and merit of the Kamban Ramayana?
How had Ravana been depicted in Kamban’s Ramayana?
Which are the best Tamilian literatures?
Who is the latest important Tamil writer in History?
How do the Tamilian and Prakrit literature stands out as different from Sanskrit literature?
What is the best source on the Folk literature?
Who had translated the Sanyutta Nikaya?
What is the importance of the Fa-hsien translation of Sanyutta Nikkaya?

Note: Prepare separate list on the books and authors under separate heading. If you have to repeat it even then prepare such a list. Do it only after answering the above questions.


End of Chapter IX

The next chapter will be chapter no IV, Political Life and Thought in Ancient or The State.

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