''Prithiviraj Chauhan'' () is a Nepali-language epic (''

mahakavya 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 phenomena such as scenery, love, and battles. T ...

'') by ''Mahakavi''

Laxmi Prasad Devkota Laxmi Prasad Devkota () (1909-1959) was a Nepalis, Nepalese poet, playwright, novelist, and politician. Honored with the title of Mahakabi () in Nepali literature, he was known as a poet with a golden heart, and is considered one of the most fam ...

. It was written in 1946 and was published in 2049 BS () by

Sajha Prakashan Sajha Publications () is the oldest publishing house of Nepal. It was established in 1913 and is funded by the Government of Nepal. Headquartered in Lalitpur, it has regional branches in Biratnagar, Pokhara, Nepalgunj and Dhangadi. Litterateur ...

. It is based on the life of

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III (IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; 22 May 1166 – February 1192), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, w ...

. It is one of the six ''mahakavya'' composed by the poet. It is written in ''Jhyaure'' ''chhanda'' (folk Nepali metre).

Background

It is estimated that Devkota wrote this epic in 1946 when he was a lecturer at

Tri-Chandra College Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus () is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University located in Ghantaghar, Kathmandu. Founded in 1918 by Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Chandra Shumsher, it is the oldest institute of higher learning in Nepal. E ...

. It was published posthumously by the publication itself. The manuscript was kept away in some place for many years. There were lots of scribbling in the manuscript. The publishing housed contacted the copyeditor, Shyam Das Vaishnav and Devkota's son Padma Devkota for their help. In the manuscript among the 16 cantos, the 15th canto was missing. According to copyeditor, Devkota had planned to write the 15th canto but did not and he copied the manuscript as it was. The publishing house itself took care of the situation and realigned the epic into 21 cantos.

Synopsis

The epic consists of 21 cantos. It is based on the life of

, a North Indian king of Chauhan dynasty who reigned from to CE. The epic was written to illustrate the medieval Indian feudal society.

Reception

The book won the prestigious

Sajha Puraskar Sajha Puraskar () is a literary award given by Sajha Publications. It is presented annually to the best book published by Sajha Publication. History It was established in 1967 and the first award was given to Bhupi Sherchan for his book '' ...

for the year 2049 BS () which is awarded annually by the publication for the best book published within the publication house.

References

{{Authority control 20th-century Nepalese books Nepalese epics Books by Laxmi Prasad Devkota Sajha Puraskar–winning works Epic poems in Nepali 1992 poems

Background

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References