Marathi Literature

Marathi literature refers to the literary works written in the Marathi language of the Maharashtra region. These include folk songs, prose, poems, and small verses. It has global patronage, and literature is very famous. The original Marathi literature was translated to other languages and got global recognition.

History Of Marathi Literature:

The language traces its history from the Vedic Sanskrit language around the 3rd century, but surprisingly, the evident written Marathi literature is dated to the 13th century. During the 13th century, the evident Marathi literature belongs from the time of Yadav rule in the region. It is believed that Yadav rulers promoted the language Marathi. With that, they supported the advent of Marathi literature. 

The early Marathi literature was religious and philosophical genre-based. It glorified gods and their stories or taught societal reforms or positive attributes. Later on, Marathi literature turned to the beautification of plain texts on Ayurveda, medicines, astrology, politics, ancient texts like Puranas and Vedanta to verses and prose.

Bhaskarabhatta was an intellectual scholar (mahanubhav) who is believed to have first written hymns in Marathi. 

Religious genre in Marathi Literature:

Dyaneshwar was a very profound scholar who wrote the widely patronized commentary on “the Bhagavad Gita” ; it consists of around 9000 couplets (poetry in the form of 2 lines in each stanza). This commentary was called “dnyaneshwari”.  Namdev Ji was a very famous saint and poet of the bhakti sect of Indian religious history who wrote a lot of hymns and verses in both Marathi and Hindi.

Like these two saints and poets, many other figures rose to become famous with religious writing. They wrote about the relation of god and humans, emotions felt by a “bhakt”, and worked to beautify the ancient scriptures and chronicles. 

As time passed, the political role shifted to sultans of Deccan, but these religious writers continued to write religious literature. Saint Eknath wrote several abhangs (devotional poems or devotional songs) and gave his commentary on Ramayana and Bhagavad. Several other saint poets, even after facing resistance from sultans, kept on writing such literature.

When these scholars wrote, they simplified these complex scriptures for the public, becoming prominent figures. 

During the Maratha dynasty, several other poets like Samarth Ramdas and Tukaram wrote during the bhakti movement. To glorify the historical events and the brave Marathi warriors, works were done to make ballads to motivate soldiers, ballads on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and other political entities like pesewas.

As the literature became more involved, the writers started writing stories for children and other literature that would address the public in a light tone and entertain them.

The literature got more empowered when the print media was started in Marathi during the British raj. 

Modern Era Of Marathi Literature:

During British time, various fictional and novel-type texts were also written and enacted as drama “sangeet Natya”. Modern poets like Keshavsut and Govindarajan wrote romantic and victorian era poetries and these poets became renowned for their works. 

Present Times Of Marathi Literature:

Marathi literature evolved a lot, and with Marathi becoming a renowned language, the literature also became famous. Today some of the famous Marathi literature is included in the syllabus of various exams like UPSC. 

The UPSC syllabus included literary works by the mahanubhav writers, varkari writers, pandit poets, shakari poets, and bakhar literature. It also includes literary works primarily focussing the works from the 18th century onwards on various genres like fiction, which included novels and stories. It also had a collection of poems.

The syllabus also includes drama and literature on political movements of the region, romance, feminism, modernism, and other societal aspects. One must go through the list of prose and poems listed in the UPSC syllabus on the official website if they are a willing candidate. 

Conclusion

Marathi literature traces its roots way back to the 13th century, from where it evolved according to the social events and phases that took on the timeline of history. It followed the bhakti movement, from the glorification of warriors to modern times of short stories and other fictional works. 

It became widely recognized and is so famous and prevalent in modern times that it is taught in schools and is also a part of the UPSC syllabus. Willful candidates must go through the official syllabus notification.