Janapada or Folklore are age old literature which have been passed down through the generations, from father to son, mother to daughter, through word of mouth. The discernable feature that differentiates these Folklore from other ancient texts is that there are no written records of it. It is purely oral literature, passed down through the generations, constantly edited, revised and changed by all those who have had access to it. There is neither an author nor the time period where this work created. The only thing we know about these types of work is that it can be found in the form of song and stories among common people.
Prof. Madhava Peraje in conversation with Dr. Ajjakala Girish Bhat talked about the beauty of Folklore in India.
“Great poems and stories from unknown authors is the most apt description for Janapada literature”, opined Dr. Ajjakala Girish Bhat. Speaking on the diversity and beauty of various Janapada literature. India has a unique perspective towards religion as compared to any other place. When Muslims are asked about their Holy book, they say it is the Quran. Christians say it is the Bible. But Indians cannot name one such book. There are the Vedas, the Bhagavad-Gita, and various other sacred texts, but they are not religious books in the true sense. Unlike the Bible or Quran, the sacred texts of India do not state how a person should live or behave, rather they express a set of ideals which should be followed. The reason Janapada exists in India is for a similar reason. India is the only country where God is depicted in the form of men/women, and mortals can challenge Gods. This gives creative freedom to people to tell stories and poems about people and god.”
Prof. Madhava Peraje also expressed his opinion on Janapada in India by using Yakshagana as an example. “Yakshagana is a performing art that originated in Karnataka. Yakshagana explores some parts of classical epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, and depicting them as a complete story, while glorifying the characters in it. For example, the famous Yakshagana dialogue of ‘The axe does not get tainted by karma if the woodcutter uses it to cut a tree, and similarly I will not get tainted by karma as I am but a tool of God’ never existed in the Mahabharata, but it exits in Yakshagana. Is Yakshagana a folklore or a tradition? That depends upon the perspective by which you view it.”