Yadava dynasty (1189-1320 AD), which adopted Marathi as the court
language and patronised Marathi learned men, contributed greatly
towards the origin and growth of Marathi literature. The Marathi
literature can be grouped into two ages: Ancient or Old Marathi
literature (1000-1800 AD) and Modern Marathi Literature (1800
onwards). (a) The Old
Marathi Literature consisted mainly of poetry composed in
metres and was devotional and narrative in content.
Its pioneers were the saints Mukunda Raj, Jnandeva and
Namdeo (1270-1350 AD). Mukunda Raj's Viveka
Sindhu is considered as the first major work in Marathi.
Jnanadeva's Bhavartha Dipika or Jnaneshwari
and Amritinabhava are
two other great works in Marathi. The two new religious sects
known as Mahanubhav Panth and Warkari
Panth, which adopted Marathi as the medium for preaching their
doctrines, are considered as the pioneers of Marathi prose and
poetry. The most important works of the Mahanubhava
writers are Lila Caritra
(1273), Govinda Prabhu
Caritra and Siddhanta
great saint-poet Eknath's Ekanathi
Bhagavata is a literary masterpiece of Marathi literature.
Eknath is considered as the founder of secular poetry in Marathi,
a trend that was carried forward by Mukteshwar (1574-1645) in his
version of the Mahabharata.
Christapurana, a work composed by the Christian missionary Father
Stephens (1549-1619) is another masterpiece of Marathi literature.
Tukaram (1608-1651) was the greatest saint-poet of Marathi, who
wrote over 3000 abhangas.
His associate Ramdas (1608-1681) also composed an inspiring
literary work in Marathi called Dasabodha. Vaman Pandit (Yathartha
Dipika), Raghunath Pandit (Nala
Damayanti Swayamvara) and Shridhar Pandit (Pandavpratap, Harivijay and
Ramvijay) were the other prominent poets of the 18th
Old Marathi literature is represented by both prose and poetry.
The prose section contained the Bakharas
while the poetry section contained the Povadas
and the Lavanis of the
Senvis. 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. Mahipati Buva Tahrabadkar (1715-1790),
Niranjana Madhava (1703-1790) and Moropant (1729-1794) were the
great writers of this period. Moropant's Mahabharata was the first epic poem in Marathi.
His Arya Bharata,
Kekavali and Samsaya
Ratnamala are other works of great literary merit.
(b) The Modern Period can be divided into four ages. The first
period starts from 1800 to 1885, the second from 1885 to 1920, the
third from 1921 to 1945, and the last from 1946 to the present.
This period witnessed the development of all forms of prose and
poetry, including scientific and technical literature. Several
attempts were made to translate English works into Marathi.
Chhatre, Bal Shastri Jambhekar (1810-1846), Lokahitawadi, Krishna
Hari Chiplunkar and Jyotiba Phule wrote on various topics in
Marathi. The first Marathi dictionary and the first Marathi
grammar appeared in 1829, while the first Marathi newspaper was
started in 1835. The starting of the newspaper Kesari
in 1880-81 gave a boost to the development of Modern Marathi
(1866-1905) is credited with the launching of the Modern Marathi
poetry movement in 1885. Around
1923 a group of poets led by Madhav Julian (1894-1939) formed a
group called Ravikiran
Mandali, which soon became eminent on the Marathi literary
scene. Madhav Julian's poetic tale Virahatarang
is a noteworthy work. B.R.Tambe (1874-1941), Chandra Shekar Gorhe
(1871-1937), Manorambai Ranade (1896-1926) were the prominent
poets outside the Ravikiran Mandali. The Mandali was challenged by modern poets like
Anil (1901-1982) and Anant Kanekar (1905-1980), whose works Phulwata
and Chandarat signalled the advent of a new form of poetry in Marathi.
Among the nationalist poets were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, V.D.Savarkar,
G.T.Davekar (1874-1956), S.N.Ranade (1892-1984) and N G Deshpande.
B S Mardhekar, P S Rage, N.C.Kelkar (1872-1947), S.K.Kolhatkar,
C.V.Joshi, Vinda Karandikar, Vasant Bapat and Shanta Shelke are
some of other the well-known names of the last phase of the Modern
Period of Marathi literature.
Bhave was the pioneer of Marathi drama movement. Other great
Marathi dramatists were B P. Kirloskar (Saubhadra,
Sakuntala and Ramarajaya-Viyoga),
G B Deval (Sharada), R G
Gadkari (Ekach Pyala),
Mama Warerkar (Apporva
Bangal) and P L Deshpande (Amaldar).
Vijay Tendulkar (Srimant,
Gidhade, Sakharam Binder, Shantala!
Court Chalu Ahe and Ghashiram Kotwal) and C.T.Dhanolkar are well-known playwrights in
Narayan Apte's (1864-1919) Madhali
Sthiti was the first novel to be published in Marathi. His
other important novels are Ushankala,
Mi and Pan Lakshat Kon
Gheto. Baba Padamji’s Yamuna
Paryatan (1857) was the first Marathi novel written on social
reform. Natha Madhav, C.V.Vaidya, Prof V.M. Joshi, V.S. Khandekar
Dhruv, Ulka and Krounchwadh),
Sane Guruji, Kusumvati Deshpande, Kamalabai Tilak are the
prominent novelists of the Marathi language. Diwakar Krishna, H N
Apte and V S Gurjar are the renowned short story writers while S.M.
Mate, Durga Bhagwat, N.S. Phadke are well-known essayists in
Marathi. Daya Pawar's Baluta
is one of the first Dalit autobiographies in Marathi.