Hindu epic

Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description. Typical examples of ''mahākāvya'' are the ''Kumarasambhava'' and the '' Kiratarjuniya.''

It is considered the most prestigious form in the Sanskrit literature. The genre evolved from the earlier epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Despite the length of ''mahākāvya''s (15-30 cantos, a total of about 1500-3000 verses), they are still much shorter than the Ramayana (500 cantos, 24000 verses) and the Mahabharata (about 100000 verses).

Classical examples

The Buddhist poet and philosopher Aśvaghoṣa (c. 80 – c. 150 CE) is one of the earliest Sanskrit poets with surviving Kāvya literature. His ''Buddhacarita'' (''Acts of the Buddha'') calls itself a ''mahākāvya'' and was influential enough to be translated into both Tibetan and Chinese. Another kāvya by Aśvaghoṣa is the ''Saundarananda'', which focuses on the conversion of Nanda, Buddha's half-brother.

Tradition identifies five works as model ''mahākāvya'':
*''Kumārasambhava'' by Kālidāsa in 5th century CE: the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the birth of Kumara, in 17 cantos
*''Raghuvaṃśa'' by Kālidāsa: the Raghu dynasty, in 19 cantos (about 1564 verses)
* '' Kiratarjuniya'' by Bharavi in 6th century CE: Arjuna's encounter with a Kirata (Shiva) 18 cantos(about 2500 years ago)
* '' Naiśadha-carita'' by Shriharsha in 1174 AD: on the life of King Nala and Queen Damayanti, 22 cantos
*''Śiśupāla-vadha'' by Māgha in 7th century CE: the slaying of Shishupala by Krishna, 22 cantos (about 1800 verses)

To this list, sometimes a sixth one is also added.

* ''Bhaṭṭikāvya'', by Bhaṭṭi in 7th century CE: describes the events of the Ramayana and simultaneously illustrates the principles of Sanskrit grammar, 22 cantos

Characteristics

In the ''mahākāvya'' genre, more emphasis was laid on description than on narration. Indeed, the traditional characteristics of a ''mahākāvya'' are listed as:
* It must take its subject matter from the epics (Ramayana or Mahabharata), or from history,
* It must help further the four goals of man ( Purusharthas), Rama and Karna were said to be the greatest men in Purushartha by sevaral writers such as Valmiki and Vyasa. Chanakya claimed the two men to be the greatest of all human beings who are selfless and keep their vows. For example- Rama despite being a step-son of Kaikeyi obeyed her and kept his promise, went to the forests for 14 years and had to suffer throughout his life in the forest. Similarly, Karna who was abandoned by Kunti but still when Kunti came to ask for something, Karna kept his promise and sacrificed his own life but did not let his brothers- Pandavas die.
* It must contain descriptions of cities, seas, mountains, moonrise and sunrise, and "accounts of merrymaking in gardens, of bathing parties, drinking bouts, and love-making. It should tell the sorrow of separated lovers and should describe a wedding and the birth of a son. It should describe a king's council, an embassy, the marching forth of an army, a battle, and the victory of a hero".

About this list, Ingalls observes:

It is composed of a varying number of short poems or cantos, that tells the story of a classical epic. Each poem is composed in a metre that is fitting to the subject matter, such as a description of the seasons, a geographical form of nature such as a mountain, and cities.

Modern ''mahakavya''

In the relatively secluded world of modern Sanskrit literature, ''mahakavya''s continue to be produced. Some of these have been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit. In the introduction to ''Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets'' (1992), Radhavallabh Tripathi writes:

On the other hand, the number of authors who appear to be very enthusiastic about writing in Sanskrit during these days is not negligible. ��In a thesis dealing with Sanskrit ''mahākāvya''s written in a single decade, 1961–1970, the researcher r. Ramji Upadhyayahas noted 52 Sanskrit ''mahākāvya''s (epic poems) produced in that very decade.

Some modern ''mahākāvya''s do not aim to satisfy all the traditional criteria, and take as their subject historical matter (such as Rewa Prasad Dwivedi's ''Svatantrya Sambhavam'' on the Indian independence movement, or K.N. Ezhuthachan's ''Keralodayah'' on the history of Kerala), or biographies of historical characters (such as S.B. Varnekar's ''Shrishivarajyodayam'' on Shivaji, M. S. Aney's ''Sritilakayasornavah'' on Bal Gangadhar Tilak, or P. C. Devassia's ''Kristubhagavatam'' on Jesus Christ). Some others like the '' Śrībhārgavarāghaviyam'' (2002) composed by Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya continue to have the subject of the traditional epics.

References

{{reflist, refs=
{{cite web , url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357881/mahakavya , title=mahakavya , publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica , access-date=2010-12-16
Daniel Ingalls, ''Sanskrit Poetry and Sanskrit Poetics'', Introduction to {{cite book, title=An Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry: Vidyākara's Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjEdCVZ5uoQC&pg=PA34, year=1945, publisher=Harvard University Press, isbn=978-0-674-78865-7, pages=33–35
Daṇḍin's ''Kāvyādarśa'' (''The Mirror of Poetry'') 1.15–19:, quote= itihāsa-kath’’-ôdbhūtam, itarad vā sad-āśrayam, , {{IAST, catur-varga-phal’-āyattaṃ, catur-udātta-nāyakam,

{{IAST, nagar’-ârṇava-śaila’-rtu, candr’-ârk’-ôdaya-varṇanaiḥ, , {{IAST, udyāna-salila-kṛīḍā-madhu-pāna-rat’-ôtsavaiḥ,

{{IAST, vipralambhair vivāhaiś ca, kumār’-ôdaya-varṇanaiḥ, , {{IAST, mantra-dūta-prayāṇ’-āji-nāyak’-âbhyudayair api;

{{IAST, alaṃ-kṛtam, a-saṃkṣiptaṃ, rasa-bhāva-nirantaram, , {{IAST, sargair an-ativistīrṇaiḥ, śravya-vṛttaiḥ su-saṃdhibhiḥ,

{{IAST, sarvatra bhinna-vṛttāntair upetaṃ, loka-rañjanam , {{IAST, kāvyaṃ kalp’-ântara-sthāyi jāyate sad-alaṃkṛti
Belvalkar's translation of Daṇḍin's ''Kāvyādarśa'' 1.15–19 (S. K. Belvalkar. 1924. Kāvyādarśa of {{IAST, Daṇḍin. Sanskrit Text and English Translation. Poona: The Oriental Book-supplying Agency), quote=It springs from a historical incident or is otherwise based on some fact; it turns upon the fruition of the fourfold ends and its hero is clever and noble;
By descriptions of cities, oceans, mountains, seasons and risings of the moon or the sun; through sportings in garden or water, and festivities of drinking and love;
Through sentiments-of-love-in-separation and through marriages, by descriptions of the birth-and-rise of princes, and likewise through state-counsel, embassy, advance, battle, and the hero’s triumph;
Embellished; not too condensed, and pervaded all through with poetic sentiments and emotions; with cantos none too lengthy and having agreeable metres and well-formed joints,
And in each case furnished with an ending in a different metre—such a poem possessing good figures-of-speech wins the people’s heart and endures longer than even a kalpa.

External links

The Naishadha-charita
English translation by K. K. Handiqui roofread(includes glossary)
The Ramayana : In Classical Sanskrit and Prakrt Mahakavya Literature/V. Raghavan

Indian literature