Literature produced in the periods that followed are more interested in rituals, religion and philosophy. Yet in the Brahmanas, Arayankas and the Upanishads there occur passages that are remarkable for their literary beauty.

Then there was a period commencing with the age of Panini (5th century B.C.) when books on ancillsry sciences or Vedangas were written e.g. Panini's Ashtadhyayi, Pingalas work on metres etc. In the third period of Sanskrit known as the Classical period we have the epics, Mahakavyas, Puranas, Narrative poems, Prasasti Kavyas (adultory poems) and Sandesha Kavyas (message poems). The two great epics, Mahabharata of Vyasa and Ramayana of Valmiki are two outstanding creations of the Indian poetical genius. They have considerably influenced the life, culture and literature of India.

The theme of the Mahabharata (the biggest epic of the world) is the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the plains of Kurukshetra. The Bhagvad Gita (the holy book of the Hindus) is one of the many episodes of this epic. The Ramayana deals with the adventures of Rama in 24,000 couplets. Brihatkathamanjari of Kshemendra and Kathasaritasagara of Somdev are important Katha literature. Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma is the oldest collection of fables in Sanskrit literature (4th century A.D.).

The Mahakavyas which according to accepted cannons must contain majestic descriptions of war, nature and political intrigues are th prise of Sanskrit literature. Asvaghosa's Buddha Charita and Saundrananda are Buddhist Mahakavyas, Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa deals with the puranic story of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and the birth of Skanda. The poem opens with the scintillating description of the Himalayas.

Raguvamsham is another Mahakavya of Kalidasa where the poet can be seen at his best. The later poets are guided more by the form than the spirit behind the form. However, the greater among them are Bharavi (c. 600), Bhatti (7th century), Kumaradasa sand Magha (c. 700). Among the message poems it is the Meghaduta of Kalidasa that has set the pattern. Of the other 50 message poems the more well known are Sukasandesa, Chatakasandesa and Hamasasandesa. The Harshacharita and Kadambari, both by Bana Bhatt are justly regarded as the crowning achievements of the Sanskrit prose fiction.

Sanskrit drama has a long history tracing back to Asvaghosha (2nd century A.D.). only fragments of his three plays are available. A century later we have Bhasa who is ascribed to have written 13 plays. The conventions of Sanskrit drama are al,l observed by Bhasa. Kalidasa is the author of three outstanding plays Malavikagnimitra, Abhijnanshakuntalam and Vikramorvasiya. His treatment of the Shakuntala story in Abhijnanshakuntalam in particular reveals him as the master of dramatic art superior to all others in potraying the emotions of love. Sudraka is another important dramatist whose Mrichcha Katika is well known. Of their successors in this literary form, the more important one are Vishakadatta, Harsha, Bhavabhuti, Krishna Misra, Rajasekhra and Bodhyana.

There is also an abundance of philosophical and technical terms in Sanskrit. Of these Vedanta was to exert the most profound effect culminating in the writings of Shankara (A.D. 800) leading to further interpretation by Ramanuja nd Mahadhava. In the sphere of social and domestic conduct there evolved a body of literature known as the Dharmashstra. As regards politics and state craft Kautilya's Arthashstra is well known. Equally well known are the mathematical treartises of Aryabhatta and Bhaskara and the medical books Charaksamhita and Sasruta. The Indian tradition of Kavyashastras and applied literary criticism is by and large the Sanskrit tradition which almost all the Indian languages have adopted.

The great stalwarts Bharata, Dandin, Vamana, Anandavardhana, Kuntaka and Abhinavagupta all belong to the period covering the dark ages of Europe. These theoreticians gave us valueble concepts like rasa, guna, riti, vakrokti, dhwani, rasadhwani and auchitya. Bharata's Natyashashtra is the earliest treatise available on the subject.

Sanskrit continued to be the vehicle of literary expression even in the modern period, though it was less prolific not being the language of the common masses. Mahakavyas were composed on the Buddha, Sankaracharya, Narayana guru and Christ. There were also long poems on Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, Tagore, Jayadev and Jawaharlal Nehru. Quite a few books have been translated from languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam etc. into Sanskrit.

Influenced by the languages of the west and the active modern Indian languages, Sanskrit writers have written poems, biographies, short stories and novels in the contemporary period. Both in quality and quantity they may not compare favorably with similar writings in other Indian languages. But the Sanskrit muse is kept alive by the lovers of this language.