Navigation Bar
Marathi
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 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 is 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 Marathi 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.
The modern period has been divided into four ages. The first period
starts from 1800 to 1885, the second from 1885 to 1920, the third from
1921 to 1945, and finally the last period continues till now. In this
period, almost all forms of literature in prose and poetry were
developed and even scientific literature was produced. Under the British
rule, attempts were made to enrich both the language and literature. The
Raja of Tanjore got the first English Book translated to Marathi in
1817. Several more such attempts were made and translation work was
encouraged a lot. Chhatre, Bal Shastri Jambhekar, Lokahitavadi and
Jotiba Phule wrote on various topics in Marathi. The first Marathi
newspaper was started in 1835 and Baba Padamji’s Yamuna Paryatan
was the first Marathi novel written on social reform in 1857.
However, this period was a lean one for original poetry and only
translations of Sanskrit poems were produced. Establishment of the
University of Bombay in 1858 and the starting of the newspaper Kesari in
1880-81 gave a boost to the development of Modern Marathi Literature.
Keshavasuta (1866-1905), the first Marathi revolutionary poet, launched
Modern Marathi poetry with his first poem.
In this period two groups of poets, Ravikiran Mandal and Kavi Tambi,
together encouraged some great poets like Ananta Kanekar (Chandarat),
Kavi Anil (Phulwat) and N G Deshpande. Poetry after 1945 explores human
life in all its shades. B S Mardhekar set the fashion of this trend for
P S Rage, Vinda Karandikar, Vasant Bapat and Shanta Shelke.
Vishnudas Bhave was the pioneer of Marathi drama which was born in
1843. Other great dramatists were B P Kirloskar (Saubhadra), G B Deval
(Sharada), R G Gadkari (Ekach Pyala), Mama Varerkar (Apporva Bangal) and
P L Deshpande (Amaldar). Marathi stage is still following its rich
tradition and is a very popular form of entertainment.
Novels were not far behind, and the first to be published was ‘Madhali
Sthiti’ by Hari Narayan Apte (1864-1919). Natha Madhav, CV Vaidya,
Prof V M Joshi, V S Khandekar, Sane Guruji, Kusumvati Deshpande,
Kamalabai Tilak are the prominent novelists of the Marathi language. The
short story and essay forms came into existence in this period through
Diwakar Krishna, H N Apte and V S Gurjar. S M Mate, Durga Bhagwat, N S
Phadke are well-known essayists in Marathi. Marathi occupies a distinct
position in the field of Indian Literature and will continue to do so in
future.