The Science Of Criticism In India

India has a vast, though little known, literature. Even in India itself few people have any idea of the extent and interest of this heritage, being mostly intent on material affairs and on foreign ideas which might prove financially advantageous. They may be dimly aware that there is a considerable religious literature, some old epics of a semi-religious character, a few books of philosophy and a sprinkling of modern novels. It is a rare thing to meet a person who knows anything of the long tradition of literature in the strict sense of poetic and dramatic works and of fiction. Outside India, again, everyone has heard something of the great religious tradition of Brahmanism and Buddhism, but few have stumbled upon a work of literary art from India, a work whose main purpose is to entertain and not to teach. This small volume is not intended to indicate the extent of India’s little known literature but, instead, to discuss the enjoyment of it. Some might think such discussion superfluous: one may simply read, at least in translations (though India has been poorly served by translators, compared, for example, with China), and if one enjoys the story, or the characterizations and descriptions, well and good; if not, one may try something else. But literature does not always yield its pleasures so easily, especially when it belongs to an unfamiliar tradition or to a past epoch. Remoteness always brings a special charm and a safe detachment, but it may result in difficulty of perception unless some aid is provided. It is part of the purpose of the present sketch to indicate the value and interest of literary criticism itself, particularly when objective and scientific, regardless of any special problem of remoteness in time or in culture. The critics whose works we are to discuss were not at al remote in culture from the literature they studied, but belonged to the Indian tradition itself; they were also not far enough to be objective in their appreciation of the authors they wrote about.