Kāvya (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

: काव्य,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''kāvyá'') refers to the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...

literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE. This literary style, which includes both poetry and prose, is characterised by abundant usage of

figures of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

such as

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors c ...

s, and

hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and cre ...

to create its characteristic emotional effects. The result is a short lyrical work, court epic, narrative or dramatic work. Kāvya can refer to the style or the completed body of literature.

Aśvaghoṣa , also transliterated Ashvaghosha, (, अश्वघोष; lit. "Having a Horse-Voice"; ; Chinese 馬鳴菩薩 pinyin: Mǎmíng púsà, litt.: 'Bodhisattva with a Horse-Voice') CE) was a Sarvāstivāda or Mahasanghika Buddhist philosopher ...

(c. 80–150 AD), a philosopher and poet considered the father of

drama, is attributed with first using the term.

Early kāvya

Although very little literature in the kāvya style written before the time of

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and th ...

(5th century CE) survives, it can be assumed from quotations in

Patañjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

's grammatical treatise the

Mahābhāṣya ''Mahabhashya'' ( sa, महाभाष्य, IAST: '','' , "great commentary"), attributed to Patañjali, is a commentary on selected rules of Sanskrit grammar from Pāṇini's treatise, the ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'', as well as Kātyāyana's '' ...

(2nd century BCE), as well as from poems written on various inscriptions of the 4th to 6th centuries CE, that it dates back to an early time. One early epic work in this style is the

Buddhacarita ''Buddhacharita'' (; ) is an epic poem in the Sanskrit ''mahakavya'' style on the life of Gautama Buddha by of Sāketa (modern Ayodhya), composed in the early second century CE. The author has prepared an account of the Buddha's life and teac ...

by Aśvaghoṣa (2nd century CE). Only the first half of this survives in Sanskrit, and the rest in a Chinese translation made c. 420 CE.

Mahākāvya

is believed to have lived in the early 5th century CE. He is the author of two epics, the

Raghuvaṃśa (Devanagari: , lit. 'lineage of Raghu') is a Sanskrit epic poem (''mahakavya'') by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Though an exact date of composition is unknown, the poet is presumed to have flourished in the 5th century CE. It narrat ...

and

Kumārasambhava ''Kumārasaṃbhavam'' ( sa, कुमारसम्भवम् "The Birth of Kumāra") is an epic poem by Kālidāsa. It is widely regarded as the finest work of Kālidāsa as well as the greatest kāvya poem in Classical Sanskrit. The style o ...

. These two epics are traditionally known as mahākāvya "great epics". Other writers of great epics were Bhāravi (6th century CE), author of

Kirātārjunīya ''Kirātārjunīya'' ( sa, किरातार्जुनीय, ''Of Arjuna and the Kirāta'') is an epic poem by Bhāravi, considered to be the most powerful poem in Sanskrit. Believed to have been composed in the 6th century or earlier, it ...

;

Māgha Magha (c. 7th century) ( sa, माघ, ) was a Sanskrit poet at King Varmalata's court at Shrimala, the then-capital of Gujarat (presently in Rajasthan state). Magha was born in a Shrimali Brahmin family. He was the son of Dattaka Sarvacharya ...

(c. 7th Century CE), author of Śiśupāla·vadha, an epic famous for its linguistic ingenuity, and Śrīharṣa (12th century CE), author of Naiṣadhīya·carita. Another epic often called a ''mahākāvya'', is

Bhaṭṭikāvya ' (; "Bhatti's Poem") is a Sanskrit-language poem dating from the 7th century CE, in the formal genre of "great poem" ( mahākāvya). It focuses on two deeply rooted Sanskrit traditions, the ''Ramayana'' and Panini's grammar, while incorporating n ...

, which is simultaneously a narrative and a manual of grammatical instruction. It is believed by some to have been written by the 7th-century poet and grammarian Bhartṛihari.

Prose writers

Those who wrote in prose included Subandhu (5th or 7th century CE?), author of Vasavadatta, a romantic tale, and

Bāṇabhaṭṭa Bāṇabhaṭṭa ( sa, बाणभट्ट) was a 7th-century Sanskrit prose writer and poet of India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'' in the court of the emperor Harsha, who reigned c. 606–647 CE in north India, first from Sthanvishvara (Than ...

(also called Bāṇa) (7th century CE), author of Kadambari, a romantic novel, and of Harṣacarita, a biography written in poetic prose. Another well-known writer of the period was Daṇḍin (7th–8th century CE), who as well as poetry, wrote the Kāvyādarśa, a discussion of poetics, and the Daśa·kumāra·carita.

Some examples of kāvya

Epics

Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

– Vālmīki *

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

– Vyāsa *Kumāra-sambhava – Kālidāsa *Buddha-carita – Aśva-ghoṣa *Raghu-vaṃśa – Kālidāsa *Madhurā-vijaya – Gaṅgā-devī *Kṛṣṇa-vilāsa – Sukumāra *Vikramāṅka-deva-carita – Bilhaṇa *Śiva-līlārṇava – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Kirātārjunīya – Bhāravi *Śiśupāla-vadha – Māgha *Naiṣadhīya-carita – Śrī-harṣa *Jānakī-pariṇaya – Cakra-kavi *Raghunāthābhyudaya – Rāma-bhadrāmbā *Gāṅgāvataraṇa – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Daśāvatāra-carita – Kṣemendra *Pūrva-purāṇa – Jina-sena *Rugmiṇīśa-vijaya – Vādi-rāja *Dharma-śarmābhyudaya – Hari-candra *Bāla-bhārata – Amara-candra *Śrīkaṇṭha-carita – Maṅkha *Rāma-carita – Abhinanda *Jānakī-haraṇa – Kumāra-dāsa *Yādavābhyudaya – Vedānta-deśika *Yudhiṣṭhira-vijaya – Vāsudeva *Rāvaṇa-vadha – Bhaṭṭi *Kapphiṇābhyudaya – Śiva-svāmī *Hara-vijaya – Ratnākara *Rāghava-pāṇḍavīya – Kavi-rāja

Plays

*Ūru-bhaṅga – Bhāsa *Svapna-vāsavadatta – Bhāsa *Matta-vilāsa-prahasana – Mahendra-varmā *Bhagavadajjukīya – Mahendra-varmā *Mṛcchakaṭika – Śūdraka *Kunda-mālā – Diṅnāga *Mālavikāgnimitra – Kālidāsa *Ratnāvalī – Harṣa-vardhana *Vikramorvaśīya – Kālidāsa *Abhijñāna-śākuntala – Kālidāsa *Nāgānanda – Harṣa-vardhana *Prabodha-candrodaya – Kṛṣṇa-miśra *Uttara-rāma-carita – Bhava-bhūti *Veṇī-saṃhāra – Bhaṭṭa-nārāyaṇa *Mudrā-rākṣasa – Viśākha-datta *Padma-prābhṛtaka – Śūdraka *Pāda-tāḍitaka – Śyāmilaka *Pratijñā-yaugandharāyaṇa – Bhāsa *Hāsya-cūḍāmaṇi – Vatsa-rāja *Karpūra-carita-bhāṇa – Vatsa-rāja *Bāla-carita – Bhāsa *Avimāraka – Bhāsa *Āścarya-cūḍāmaṇi – Śakti-bhadra *Priya-darśikā – Harṣa-vardhana *Karṇa-sundarī – Bilhaṇa *Tāpasa-vatsa-rāja – Māyu-rāja *Naiṣadhānanda – Kṣemīśvara *Viddha-śālabhañjikā – Rāja-śekhara *Laṭaka-melaka – Śaṅkha-dhara *Hāsyārṇava – Jagadīśa *Prasanna-rāghava – Jaya-deva *Mahāvīra-carita – Bhava-bhūti *Mālatī-mādhava – Bhava-bhūti *Hanumannāṭaka *Ubhayābhisārikā – Vara-ruci *Dhūrta-viṭa-saṃvāda – Īśvara-datta *Anargha-rāghava – Murāri *Bāla-rāmāyaṇa – Rāja-śekhara *Saṅkalpa-sūryodaya – Vedānta-deśika

Stories and Fables

* Pañca-tantra – Viṣṇu-śarmā * Hitopadeśa – Nārāyaṇa-paṇḍita *Siṃhāsana-dvātriṃśikā *Vetāla-pañcaviṃśati – Jambhala-datta *Jātaka-mālā – Ārya-śūra *Bhoja-prabandha – Ballāḻa *Śuka-saptati – Cintā-maṇi *Puruṣa-parīkṣā – Vidyā-pati *Prabandha-koṣa – Rāja-śekhara *Prabandha-cintāmaṇi – Meru-tuṅga

Prose Works

*Daśa-kumāra-carita – Daṇḍī *Kādambarī – Bāṇa-bhaṭṭa *Harṣa-carita – Bāṇa-bhaṭṭa *Tilaka-mañjarī – Dhana-pāla *Vāsava-dattā – Subandhu

Campū

*Rāmāyaṇa-campū – Bhoja *Nīlakaṇṭha-vijaya-campū – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Viśva-guṇādarśa-campū – Veṅkaṭādhvarī *Bhārata-campū – Ananta-bhaṭṭa *Varadāmbikā-pariṇaya-campū – Tirumalāmbā *Yātrā-prabandha – Samara-puṅgava-dīkṣita *Nṛsiṃha-campū – Daivajña-sūrya *Pārijātāpaharaṇa-campū – Śeṣa-śrī-kṛṣṇa *Udaya-sundarī-kathā – Soḍḍhala * Yaśastilaka-campū – Soma-deva-sūri *Nala-campū – Trivikrama-bhaṭṭa

Short Poems

*Ṛtu-saṃhāra – Kālidāsa *Nīti-dviṣaṣṭikā – Sundara-pāṇḍya *Nīti-śataka – Bhartṛhari *Vairāgya-śataka – Bhartṛhari *Amaru-śataka – Amaruka *Sabhā-rañjana – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Kali-viḍambana – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Vairāgya-śataka – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Śānti-vilāsa – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Megha-dūta – Kālidāsa *Bhāminī-vilāsa – Jagannātha *Gīta-govinda – Jaya-deva *Bhallaṭa-śataka – Bhallaṭa *Anyāpadeśa-śataka – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Mahiṣa-śataka – Vāñcheśvara *Dṛṣṭānta-kalikā-śataka – Kusuma-deva *Cāṇakya-nīti – Cāṇakya *Gumānī-śataka – Gumānī-kavi *Śānti-śataka – Śilhaṇa *Haṃsa-sandeśa – Vedānta-deśika *Kokila-sandeśa – Uddaṇḍa *Āryā-sapta-śatī – Govardhana *Tīrtha-prabandha – Vādi-rāja *Pārśvābhyudaya – Jina-sena *Sahṛdayānanda – Śrī-kṛṣṇānanda *Subhāṣita-kaustubha – Veṅkaṭādhvarī *Subhāṣita-nīvī – Vedānta-deśika

Devotional Hymns

*Śivānanda-laharī – Śaṅkarācārya *Śrī-kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta – Līlā-śuka *Gaṅgā-laharī – Jagannātha *Śivotkarṣa-mañjarī – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Saundarya-laharī – Śaṅkarācārya *Sudhā-laharī – Jagannātha *Varada-rāja-stava – Appayya-dīkṣita *Ānanda-sāgara-stava – Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita *Mūka-pañcaśatī – Mūka-kavi *Pādukā-sahasra – Vedānta-deśika *Lakṣmī-nṛsiṃha-karāvalambana-stotra – Śaṅkarācārya *Devyaparādha-kṣamāpaṇa-stotra – Śaṅkarācārya *Śiva-mahimnaḥ stotra – Puṣpa-danta *Śyāmalā-daṇḍaka *Śiva-pādādi-keśānta-stotra – Śaṅkarācārya *Viṣṇu-pādādi-keśānta-stotra – Śaṅkarācārya *Gopāla-viṃśati – Vedānta-deśika *Karuṇā-laharī – Jagannātha *Lakṣmī-laharī – Jagannātha *Rāma-karṇāmṛta – Rāmabhadra-dīkṣita *Rāmāṣṭa-prāsa – Rāmabhadra-dīkṣita *Raṅgarāja-stava – Parāśara-bhaṭṭa *Garuḍa-pañcāśat – Vedānta-deśika *Stuti-kusumāñjali – Jagaddhara *Caṇḍī-śataka – Bāṇa-bhaṭṭa *Sūrya-śataka – Mayūra *Nārāyaṇīya – Nārāyaṇa-bhaṭṭatiri *Devī-śataka – Ānanda-vardhana *Īśvara-śataka – Īśvara-kavi *Lakṣmī-sahasra – Veṅkaṭādhvarī

Satires and Verse Narratives

*Darpa-dalana – Kṣemendra *Kuṭṭinī-mata – Dāmodara *Deśopadeśa – Kṣemendra *Kalā-vilāsa – Kṣemendra *Narma-mālā – Kṣemendra *Rāmāyaṇa-mañjarī – Kṣemendra *Bhārata-mañjarī – Kṣemendra *Kathā-sarit-sāgara – Soma-deva *Rāja-taraṅgiṇī – Kalhaṇa *Sevya-sevakopadeśa – Kṣemendra *Cāru-caryā – Kṣemendra *Bṛhatkathā-mañjarī – Kṣemendra *Caturvarga-saṅgraha – Kṣemendra *Deśopadeśa – Kṣemendra *Samaya-mātṛkā – Kṣemendra *Bhikṣāṭana-kāvya – Utprekṣā-vallabha

Anthologies

*Samayocita-padya-mālikā *Subhāṣitāvalī – Vallabha-deva *Subhāṣita-ratna-koṣa – Vidyākara *Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra *Subhāṣita-sudhā-nidhi – Sāyaṇācārya *Padyāvalī – Rūpa-gosvāmī *Śārṅgadhara-paddhati – Śārṅgadhara *Sūkti-muktāvalī – Jalhaṇa *Sadukti-karṇāmṛta – Śrīdhara-dāsa

Modern Works

*Vātsalya-rasāyana (short poem) – Sridhar Bhaskar Warnekar *Kāma-śuddhi (short play) – V Raghavan *Kālidāsa-rahasya (short poem) – Sridhar Bhaskar Warnekar *Nāṭya-pañcagavya (collection of short plays) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Pañca-kulyā (collection of short poems) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Prekṣaṇaka-trayī (collection of short plays) – V Raghavan *Candra-sena (play) – S D Joshi and Vighna Hari Deo *Laharī-daśaka (collection of short poems) – Radhavallabh Tripathi *Śiva-rājyodaya (epic) – Sridhar Bhaskar Warnekar *Anārkalī (play) – V Raghavan *Megha-prati-sandeśa (short poem) – Mandikal Rama Shastri *Kaṇṭakāñjali (satire) – K S Arjunwadkar *Vicchitti-vātāyanī (collection of verses) – Jagannath Pathak *Kāpiśāyinī (collection of short poems) – Jagannath Pathak *Parīvāha (collection of short poems) – Balram Shukla *Nipuṇa-prāghuṇaka (play) – Shankar Rajaraman *Bhārāvatāra-stava (devotional hymn) – Shankar Rajaraman *Mṛtkūṭa (short poem) – Bhaskaracharya Tripathi *Pratijñā-kauṭilya (play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Citra-naiṣadha (short poem)– Shankar Rajaraman *Sītā-rāvaṇa-saṃvāda-jharī (short poem) – C Rama Shastri and Sitarama Shastri *Lokālaṅkāra-paṅkīya (satire) – S Jagannatha *Asta-vyasta (play) – S Jagannatha *Kāvya-kalāpa (collection of short poems) – Jaggu Shingararya *Abhirāja-saptaśatī (collection of short poems) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Abhirāja-sāhasrī (collection of short poems) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Nāṭya-nava-ratna (collection of short plays) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Rūpa-rudrīya (collection of short plays) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Akiñcana-kāñcana (play) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Mīrā-laharī (short poem) – Kshama Rao *Mṛgāṅka-dūta (short poem) – Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra *Kavitā-putrikā-jāti (collection of short poems) – Balram Shukla *Pratijñā-śāntanava (short play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Maṇi-haraṇa (short play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Apratima-pratima (short play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Prasanna-kāśyapa (short play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Vivekānanda-vijaya (play) – Sridhar Bhaskar Warnekar *Śatālaṅkāra-kṛṣṇa-śataka (short poem) – H V Nagaraja Rao *Vyājokti-muktāvalī (short poem) – Mahalinga Shastri *Bhramara-dūta (short poem) – Mahalinga Shastri *Adbhutāṃśuka (play) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Madhurāñjali (collection of poems) – Galagali Ramacharya *Adbhuta-dūta (epic) – Jaggu Vakulabhushana *Laghu-raghu (short poem) – Bhaskaracharya Tripathi *Devī-dānavīya (short poem) – Shankar Rajaraman

Notes

Glossary

References

Bibliography

* Keith, Arthur Berriedale,(1928)
''A History of Sanskrit Literature''
(

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

). * * Warder, A.K., (1989). ''Indian Kavya Literature'', South Asia Books.
Kavya
(2007). ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. * Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature. Oriental books, New Delhi, 1972 * Gonda, Jan ''A History of Indian Literature'', Otto Harrasowitz, Wiesbaden. * Poetry movements Indian literary movements Sanskrit literature Ancient poets Medieval poetry Ancient literature {{poetry-stub hi:काव्य