The language started on its own quite early, but
began its literary career only in 13AD.
¤ The Origin of 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 rise of the present Marathi.
The origin and growth of Marathi literature is indebted to two
The first was the rise of the Jadhava dynasty whose capital was
Devgiri. The Jadhavas 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
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 poets choice of words and rhythms. It was
particularly devotional, narrative and pessimistic for old Marathi
poets hadnt been able to develop satire, parody, irony and humor
into their poetry.
¤ Old Marathi Literature
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
In the history of Marathi literature, Tukaram (1608-1651) has been
given a unique stature. A real genius, Tukarams poetry came
forth from his wonderful inspirations. He was a radical reformer and
has often been called Sant (saint) Tukaram. Terseness, clarity, vigor
and earnestness were found in every line of his poetry.
¤ The Marathi Poets
Tukarams associate Ramdas (1608-1681) Dasabodha is an
inspiring and impressive piece in Marathi. 18th century
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 Divides 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 Padamjis
Yamuna Paryatan was the first Marathi novel written on social reform
¤ The Lean Period of 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.
¤ Marathi Dramas
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.
¤ Publishment of Novels and Short Stories
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, a rich
language in all its forms and branches with a history of over a
thousand years. It occupies a distinct position in the field of Indian
Literature and will continue to do so even in the near future.