Famous Books by Indian Authors

The literary history of India serves as a primary source for restructuring political, social, and economic dynamics across ancient, medieval, and modern periods. For UPSC Civil Services examination aspirants, memorizing canonical texts, their authors, and their foundational themes is indispensable for answering factual and analytical questions in General Studies Paper I (Art and Culture, History) and the Preliminary Examination.

Ancient Indian Literature

Ancient Indian literature predominantly features Sanskrit, Prakrit, and early Tamil compositions. These works range from political treatises and legal codes to court plays and scientific manuals.

Political and Legal Treatises

• Arthashastra by Kautilya (Chanakya): A definitive Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy compiled during the Mauryan era. It introduces the Saptanga (seven organs) theory of the state and the Mandala theory of foreign policy.
• Nitisara by Kamandaka: Also known as the Kamandakiya Nitisara, this text is a Gupta-era adaptation of Kautilya’s principles, focusing primarily on monarchical duties and foreign relations.

Sanskrit Drama and Poetry

• Abhigyanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, and Vikramorvashiyam by Kalidasa: Celebrated Sanskrit plays. Malavikagnimitram provides historical insights into the Shunga dynasty by depicting the love story of King Agnimitra. Kalidasa’s epic poems include Raghuvansham and Kumarasambhava, alongside lyrical works like Meghaduta and Ritusamhara.
• Mricchakatika by Sudraka: Translated as The Little Clay Cart, this Sanskrit drama breaks from courtly traditions to depict a love story between Charudatta, an impoverished Brahmin merchant, and Vasantasena, a wealthy courtesan, offering an authentic look at urban social life in ancient India.
• Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam by Vishakhadatta: Mudrarakshasa is a historical play detailing the political ascent of Chandragupta Maurya with the assistance of Chanakya. Devichandraguptam narrates the narrative of the Gupta ruler Ramagupta surrendering his queen to a Shaka invader, only for Chandragupta II to intervene.
• Svapnavasavadatta by Bhasa: A foundational six-act Sanskrit play based on the legends of King Udayana of Vatsa and his queen Vasavadatta.
• Buddhacharita and Saundarananda by Asvaghosa: Buddhacharita is an epic biography of Siddhartha Gautama written in classical Sanskrit. Asvaghosa was a court poet of the Kushana Emperor Kanishka and played a central role in the Fourth Buddhist Council.
• Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva: An 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales, and folk stories compiled in Sanskrit prose.

Scientific, Medical, and Grammatical Texts

• Ashtadhyayi by Panini: A 4th-century BCE Sanskrit grammatical treatise that established the structural rules for the language across eight chapters.
• Mahabhasya by Patanjali: A definitive commentary on Panini’s grammar, built atop the structural annotations of Katyayana’s Varttika. Patanjali is also credited with compiling the Yogasutra.
• Charaka Samhita by Charaka: A foundational text on Ayurveda (Indian medicine) compiled during the Kushana period, focusing on internal medicine (Kaya-chikitsa).
• Sushruta Samhita by Sushruta: An ancient Sanskrit text dedicated to surgery (Shalya-tantra), featuring detailed records of rhinoplasty, incisions, and surgical instrumentation.
• Ashtanga Samgraha by Vagbhata: A comprehensive medical text synthesizing the canonical teachings of both Charaka and Sushruta.
• Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata: A 5th-century CE astronomical and mathematical treatise written in Sanskrit, introducing concepts such as the earth’s rotation on its axis and early approximations of pi.
• Brihat Samhita and Panchasiddhantika by Varahamihira: Brihat Samhita serves as an encyclopedic Sanskrit text covering astrology, planetary movements, architecture, weather, and agriculture. Panchasiddhantika summarizes five early astronomical schools.
• Brahmasphutasiddhanta by Brahmagupta: A 7th-century mathematical work that formalized rules for computing with negative numbers and defined the mathematical properties of zero.

South Indian Literature (Sangam and Post-Sangam Era)

• Tolkappiyam by Tolkappiyar: The oldest surviving Tamil literary work, focusing on grammar, poetics, and contemporary socio-economic classifications.
• Silappadikaram by Ilango Adigal: The Jewel Anklet is an early Tamil epic chronicling the life, tribulations, and eventual deification of Kannagi and her husband Kovalan.
• Manimegalai by Sittalai Sattanar: A Buddhist sequel to Silappadikaram, tracking the spiritual journey and conversion of Manimegalai, the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.
• Tirukkural by Thiruvalluvar: A classical Tamil text composed of 1,330 couplets (Kurals) addressing ethics, political economy, and love.

Medieval Indian Literature

The medieval phase displays an expansion of court chronicles in Persian, regional language adaptations of epics, and religious compositions linked to the Bhakti and Sufi movements.

Court Chronicles and Biographies

• Prithviraj Raso by Chand Bardai: A Brajbhasha epic poem detailing the life, military exploits, and marriage of the Chahamana king Prithviraj Chauhan.
• Rajatarangini by Kalhana: A 12th-century Sanskrit metrical chronicle providing an unbroken historical account of the rulers of Kashmir. It is considered India’s earliest example of systematic historical recording.
• Kitab-ul-Hind by Al-Biruni: A comprehensive study of 11th-century Indian society, religious philosophies, sciences, and customs written by the scholar accompanying Mahmud of Ghazni.
• Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Minhaj-i-Siraj: A Persian world history text naming early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate up to the mid-13th century.
• Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi and Fatwa-i-Jahandari by Ziauddin Barani: Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi covers the history of the Delhi Sultanate from Balban to the early years of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Fatwa-i-Jahandari addresses Islamic statecraft and administrative guidelines.
• Tuzuk-i-Babri (Baburnama) by Emperor Babur: The personal autobiography of the founder of the Mughal Empire, written in Chagatay Turkic and later translated into Persian by Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.
• Humayun-Nama by Gulbadan Begum: A biographical account of Emperor Humayun written in Persian by his sister, offering unique insights into domestic life within the early Mughal household.
• Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl: A grand three-volume historical record of Emperor Akbar’s reign. The final volume, Ain-i-Akbari, details the administrative, economic, and statistical framework of the empire.
• Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri by Emperor Jahangir: The personal autobiography of the fourth Mughal emperor, penned in Persian, showcasing his interest in arts, nature, and governance.
• Padshahnama by Abdul Hamid Lahori: An official court history chronicling the first two decades of Emperor Shah Jahan’s reign.

Regional, Religious, and Bhakti Compositions

• Amuktamalyada by Krishnadeva Raya: An epic Telugu poem composed by the Vijayanagara emperor, focusing on the life of Alvar saint Andal and detailing Vijayanagara administrative philosophies.
• Gitagovinda by Jayadeva: A 12th-century Sanskrit lyrical work detailing the relationship between Krishna and the gopis, serving as a core text for the Bhakti traditions of eastern India.
• Kitab-e-Navras by Ibrahim Adil Shah II: A collection of songs composed in Dakhni Urdu praising both Hindu deities and Islamic saints, illustrating regional cultural syncretism.

Modern Indian Literature and Freedom Struggle Texts

Modern Indian writing is deeply connected with social reform movements, the critique of British colonial extraction, and the ideological evolution of the Indian National Movement.

Socio-Political Critiques and Reform Literature

• Tuhafat-ul-Muwahidin and Mirat-ul-Akhbar by Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Tuhafat-ul-Muwahidin (A Gift to Monotheists) was written in Persian as an early philosophical argument against idolatry. Mirat-ul-Akhbar was a Persian weekly journal promoting social reform.
• Satyarth Prakash by Swami Dayanand Saraswati: Published in Hindi in 1875, this central text of the Arya Samaj advocates for a return to Vedic purity and critiques external socio-religious distortions.
• Gulamgiri and Sarvajanik Satya Dharma by Jyotirao Phule: Written in Marathi, Gulamgiri (Slavery) critiques the caste hierarchy in India and links the plight of lower castes with that of African-American slaves.
• Poverty and Un-British Rule in India by Dadabhai Naoroji: A milestone economic text that formulated the “Drain of Wealth” theory, demonstrating how British trade and administrative structures extracted economic surplus from India.
• Economic History of India by Romesh Chunder Dutt (R.C. Dutt): A systematic evaluation of India’s colonial economy, detailing the de-industrialization of artisans and excessive land revenue burdens.
• Neel Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra: A Bengali play published in 1860 that exposed the brutal exploitation of indigo farmers by European planters, driving momentum for the Indigo Revolt.

Nationalist Literature, Biographies, and Novels

• Anandamath by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: An 1882 Bengali historical novel set against the late 18th-century Sannyasi Rebellion. It contains the poem Vande Mataram, which became the central anthem of the nationalist movement.
• Gitanjali, Gora, and The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore: Gitanjali is a collection of devotional poetry that earned Tagore the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Gora explores themes of identity and orthodoxy, while The Home and the World (Ghare Baire) critiques the radical aspects of the Swadeshi movement.
• Hind Swaraj, My Experiments with Truth, and Indian Opinion by Mahatma Gandhi: Hind Swaraj (1909) presents Gandhi’s critique of modern Western civilization and outlines his vision for self-rule. The Story of My Experiments with Truth stands as his personal autobiography.
• Gita Rahasya and The Arctic Home in the Vedas by Bal Gangadhar Tilak: Written while imprisoned in Mandalay, Gita Rahasya interprets the Bhagavad Gita as a call to selfless action (Karma Yoga).
• The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru: Written during his imprisonment at Ahmednagar Fort (1942–1946), The Discovery of India provides a historical analysis of Indian identity from the Indus Valley Civilization to British rule.
• India Wins Freedom by Independence leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: An autobiographical account offering a detailed inside look at the political negotiations surrounding the partition of India.
• The Indian War of Independence by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: A nationalist reinterpretation of the 1857 uprising, characterizing it as a organized war for national independence rather than a simple sepoy mutiny.
• Why Am I an Atheist? by Bhagat Singh: An essay written in Lahore Central Jail in 1930 explaining his transition to revolutionary materialism and atheism.

Comprehensive Reference Tables for UPSC Prelims

The tables below provide a quick-reference index of major works categorized across history for last-minute revision.

Ancient and Medieval Literary Works Quick Index

Modern Era and Freedom Struggle Literature Quick Index

Important Literary Facts and Trivia

• First Indian Novel in English: Rajmohan’s Wife, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1864, stands as the first published novel written by an Indian author in English.
• The Zero and Decimal Record: The Lokavibhaga, a Jain cosmological text composed in Prakrit, contains the oldest known documentable textual mention of zero and the decimal system.
• The First Translation of the Gita to English: Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavad Gita into English in 1785 under the patronage of Warren Hastings, the then Governor-General of Bengal.
• Banned Revolutionary Literature: Mahatma Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj was banned by the British colonial government in 1910 as seditious literature, prompting Gandhi to publish its English translation to counter the ban.
• The Philosophy of the Bomb: Written by Bhagwati Charan Vohra in consultation with Azad, this manifesto was issued by the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) to counter Mahatma Gandhi’s essay The Cult of the Bomb.