Kāvya — Classical Literature

काव्य

Belletristic literature — read as literature, not as liturgy or instruction. The classical classification has no slot for it, which is precisely why it needs one: without this shelf, Kālidāsa and the Pañcatantra have nowhere to go.

0 Works 5 Subdivisions Canon · Laukika

Mahākāvya

महाकाव्य Not yet catalogued

The great court epics — the most demanding form in Sanskrit poetics.

Nāṭaka

नाटक Not yet catalogued

Sanskrit drama.

Kathā

कथा Not yet catalogued

Fable, frame-narrative and story literature.

Gīti & Khaṇḍakāvya

गीति एवं खण्डकाव्य Not yet catalogued

Lyric and the shorter poem.

Regional Kāvya

क्षेत्रीय काव्य Not yet catalogued

Classical literature in the regional languages — the five great Tamil epics among them.