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| Home > Regional Literature > Marathi Literature
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| | Marathi Literature
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Marathi can be traced back far beyond the 10th century. It descends from Sanskrit through Pali, Maharashtri and Maharashtra - Apabhramsa. A gradual process of change and modification in the spoken language has led to the rise of the present Marathi.
The origin and growth of Marathi literature is indebted to two important events.
The first was the rise of the Jadhava dynasty whose capital was Devgiri. The Jadhava`s adopted Marathi as the court language and patronized Marathi learned men.
The second event was the coming of two religious sects known as Mahanubhav Panth and Warkari Panth which adopted Marathi as the medium for preaching their doctrines of devotion.
Writers of the Mahanubhav sect contributed to Marathi prose while the saint-poets of Warkari sect composed Marathi poetry. However, the latter group is regarded as the pioneers and founders of Marathi literature.
Marathi literature first made its appearance in the 10th century AD and can be grouped into two ages: Ancient or Old Marathi literature (1000-1800) and Modern Marathi Literature (1800 onwards). The former consisted mainly of poetry composed in metres and restricted to the poet`s choice of words and rhythms. It was particularly devotional, narrative and pessimistic for old Marathi poets hadn`t been able to develop satire, parody, irony and humor into their poetry.
Old Marathi Literature covers about eight centuries. Its pioneers and founders were Mukundaraj (Vivekasindhu) and Dnyaneshwar (Dnyaneshwari) whose younger contemporary Namdeo (1270-1350) wrote devotional verses in a simple language for the people.Two centuries later came the great saint and greater poet Eknath whose Ekanathi Bhagavata is a literary masterpiece of Marathi literature. Eknath had a simple and attractive style of composing poetry and was the founder of secular poetry in Marathi.
Mukteshwar (1574-1645) later developed this style, and his version of the Mahabharata is the best example of a great narrative poem in Marathi.
In the history of Marathi literature, Tukaram (1608-1651) has been given a unique stature. A real genius, Tukaram`s poetry came forth from his wonderful inspirations. He was a radical reformer and has often been called Sant (saint) Tukaram. Terseness, clarity, vigor and earnestness were found in every line of his poetry.
Tukaram`s associate Ramdas` (1608-1681) Dasabodha is an inspiring and impressive piece in Marathi. 18th century poetry is well represented by Vaman Pandit (Yathartha Dipika), Raghunath Pandit (Nala Damayanti Swayamvara) and Shridhar Pandit (Pandavpratap, Harivijay and Ramvijay).
However, the most versatile and voluminous writer among the poets was Moropanta (1729-1794) whose Mahabharata was the first epic poem in Marathi. The historical section of the old Marathi literature was unique as it contained both prose and poetry. The prose section contained the Bakhars that were written after the foundation of the Maratha kingdom by Shivaji. The poetry section contained the Padavas and the Katavas composed by the Shahirs. The period from 1794 to 1818 is regarded as the closing period of the Old Marathi literature and the beginning of the Modern Marathi literature.
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