Most important of all for Indian literature were the first traces in the vernacular languages of the northern Indian cults of Krishna and of Rama. Included are the 12th century poems by Jaydev, called the "Gitagovinda" (The Cowherd`s Song); and about 1400, a group of religious love poems written in Maithili script (eastern Hindi of Bihar) by the poet Vidyapati were a seminal influence on the cult of Radha-Krishna in Bengal. Officially, India has twenty-odd recognized national languages which more or less map to individual states.

Regional literature thus refers to writing in those twenty-odd national languages. From the perspective of regional writers, their writing is rooted to Indian realities, and hence much more authentic when compared to Indian writings in English. Literature in the regional languages flourished around the 11th century and large body of work is available in each of them.

Assamese Literature has a glorious and deep-rooted past. Popular folk compositions of wisdom and lighthearted mirth like the Bihu songs, ban-gets, the cradlesongs, and the pastoral ballads, characterised by spontaneity and simplicity, are early specimens of unwritten Assamese poetry. But the most glorious period of Assamese literature was the 15th and 16th centuries, when rose to the fore two uncommon luminaries- Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, both of whom are being considered Mahapurushas by the people.

Oriya Literature has its origins in the 10th century. The first great poet of Orissa is the famous Sarala Das who wrote the Chandi Purana and the Vilanka Ramayana. Balarama Dasa, Jagannatha Dasa, Yasovanta, Ananta and Acyutananda were the main exponents in religious works in Oriya.

Malayalam Literature is the baby in the Dravidian family. It`s an offshoot of Old Tamil and remained in the latter`s shadows for a long time before it struggled free in the 10th century. Throughout the whole range of Malayalam literature there is no personality who could come away near Ezhuthachan (16th century) in the grandeur of poetic quality. His `Adhyatma Ramayanam`, `Bharatham` and `Bhagavatham` are the greatest classics in the Malayalm language.

Gujarati Literature, in contrast with most other Indian languages, is considered to be a relatively young language, with its origins traced back to around the 12th century AD. The earliest examples of Gujarati literature survived through an oral tradition. The genesis of Gujarati literature can be traced to a famous Krishna devotee and egalitarian Narasinha Mehta around the 17th century AD. Most of the literature drew their inspiration from Sanskrit and Prakrit fiction.

Punjabi Literature as such came into existence only from the end of the 16th century when Punjabi was already in its Middle Period. Gurmukhi script, created from the Nagari script, is claimed by Sikhs as the only proper script for Punjabi. Earlier, Punjabi language had no script of its own and was written in Landha or Mahajani script, which had no vowel sounds but had to be imagined. Punjabi was evolving and Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, gave a new lease of life to the language although it was still not in its pure form.

Tamil Literature has existed for over 2000 years and is known for its secular traditions though its authors had strong beliefs. Tolkaapiyam is said to be one of the world`s oldest surviving grammar books. The classic works of this period are Silappathikaram, Manimekalai and Sivakasinathamani. Tamil literature is largely secular although its authors were highly religious.

Kannada Literature is the third oldest literature in the world and its earliest composition dates back to the 5thcentury. Kavirajamarga written in the 8th century by Amoghvarsha Narpatunga is the first available in Kannada. Kannada literature can be broadly studied in 3 phases Hale Kannada (Old Kannada), Nadu Kannada (Middle Kannada) and Adhunika Kannada (New Kannada). Kannada authors have so far won 7 jnanpeeth Awards - the highest award for literature in India.

Hindi Literature started as religious and philosophical poerty in medieval period in the dialects like Awadhi and Brij. Kabir and Tulsidas are the pillars of literature in this period. Chandrakanta by Devaki Nandan Khatri is considerd to be the first work of prose in Hindi. It has the elements of drama, magic, war, love, all woven together.

During the early Muslim period Persian became the language of the sub continent used by most of the educated populace and in the government. Persian was the official language in the Mughal court till Urdu replaced it. Urdu poetry is a fine example of linguistic and cultural synthesis. Urdu Literature, mainly Urdu poetry is a fine example of linguistic and cultural synthesis. Arab and Persian vocabulary based on Hindi language resulted in a vast and extremely popular form that of ghazal literature usually written by Muslims in contexts ranging from romance and society to philosophy and devotion to Allah.

Bengali Literature dates back to the Charyapadas but it reached its zenith in the 20th century when Tagore won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 for his writing Gitanjali. Other well-known poets are Kazi Nazrul islam, Atul Prasad etc. Shyama sangeet was another popular form of devotional songs written in praise of Goddess Kali. Notable authors of 19th century are Tagore, Sarat Chandra, Bankim Chandra,etc . The 19th and 20thcenturies are the years of Bengali Renaissance.

Marathi Literature began with saint-poets like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Ramdas, and Eknath. Modern Marathi literature was marked by a theme of social reform. Well-known figures from this phase include Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Lokhitwadi, and others. Prominent modern literary figures include Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar, P.L. Deshpande, Vijay Tendulkar, and Vishnu Vaman Shirvadakar (Kavi Kusumagraj).

Telugu Literature is rich in literary traditions. It is the second largest language spoken in India, is rich in literary traditions. The earliest written literature dates back to the seventh century. The epic literary tradition started with Nannayya who is acclaimed as Telugu`s `Aadikavi` which means the first poet. He belongs to tenth or eleventh century. Kalapurnodayam by Pingali Suranna, a sixteenth-century poet, is the world`s first literary work in the Stream of consciousness style.

The world had to wait for four centuries to have a major work in this tradition in the form of James Joyce`s magnum opus. Vemana who lived in the fourteenth century wrote in the language of the common man. He wrote poems in a simple style. He is the first rebel in literature. He questioned the prevailing pseudo values and conventions and religious practices in his poems. His philosophy made him a unique poet of the masses. Gurajada Apparao - father of Telegu modern poetry created a literary marvel with his play Kanyasu- lekam.