THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERATURE DURING THE MUGHAL PERIOD-A STUDY

History

The greatest growth was witnessed in the Persian literature because it was the official language of the Mughals. All Mughal rulers patronized Persian literary figures and activities. Thus, Babur wrote poems in both Persian and Turkish. Persian prose and poetry reached a climax during Akbar’s reign. Many biographies and historical works were composed during his reign. Some of the important historical works included the Ain-I-Akbari by Abul Fazl. Muntakhab-ul-Tawarikh by Badaun, Tabaqat-I- Akbari by Nizamuddin Ahmed. Besides original works, works in other languages were translated into Persian during Akbar’s time. In this regard, the important translations were the translation of Mahabharat into Persian under the tile of Raim Namah is the most important. Rajput rulers. Urdu language and literature also made progress during the period especially of later Mughals. Urdu beginning its career during the period of Delhi Sultanate acquired the status of literary language in Deccan. Among the Mughals, Muhammad Shah was the first ruler who invited and awarded the Deccani poet Shamsuddin Wali. Urdu gradually became the medium of social intercourse in northern India. Urdu produced brilliant poets like Mir, Sauda, Nazir etc. Regional languages acquired stability and maturity and some of the finest lyrical poetry was produced during this period. The dalliance of Krishna with Radha and stories from Bhagwat figured largely in the lyrical poetry in Bengali, Oriya, Rajasthani and Gujarati. Many devotional hymns of Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into regional languages. Punjabi literature was enriched by composition of Adi Granth by Guru Arjun and Vachitra Natak by Guru Govind Singh. In South India, Malatyalam started its literary career as a separate language in its own right. Marathi reached its apogee at hands of Eknath and Tukaram. Thus, the Mughal period saw the efflorescence of the rich literate tradition in the history of medieval India. Such high efflorescence made Urdu, Hindi and the regional languages the vehicle of though in the subsequent times.

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