ABSTRACT
The Hindi term yathārthvād (यथार्थवाद) is a compound consisting of the Sanskrit terms yathā (यथा, in which manner or way, like) and artha (अर्थ, intention, meaning), and the suffix -vād (Hindi वाद); the suffix -vād derives from vāda (Sanskrit वाद) or vād (Hindi वाद), both referring to “discourse, controversy, argument” and corresponds with the English “-ism.” Yathārthvād is a neologism coined to translate “realism” and has been used in literary and theatre criticism since the 1920s. The terms “naturalism” and “realism” are often used interchangeably in India. There is no fixed term for “naturalism”; in Hindi, prakṛtivād (प्रकृतिवाद) is sometimes used, whereas yathārthvād, given its later political importance, has now acquired wide currency.
