Kirātārjunīya
Encyclopedia
Kirātārjunīya is a Sanskrit
kavya
by Bhāravi
, written in the 6th century or earlier. It is an epic poem in eighteen cantos describing the combat between Arjuna
and lord Shiva
in the guise of a kirāta
or mountain-dwelling hunter. Along with the Naiṣadhacarita and the Shishupala Vadha
, it is one of the larger three of the six Sanskrit mahakavya
s, or great epics. It is noted among Sanskrit critics both for its gravity or depth of meaning, and for its forceful and sometimes playful expression. This includes a canto set aside for demonstrating linguistic feats, similar to constrained writing
. Later works of epic poetry followed the model of the Kirātārjunīya.
("Forest book") in the Mahabharata
: While the Pandavas are exiled in the forest, Draupadi
and Bhima
incite Yudhisthira
to declare war with the Kauravas, while he does not relent. Finally, Arjuna, at the instruction of Indra
, propitiates god Shiva
with penance (tapasya) in the forest. Pleased by his austerities, Shiva decides to reward him. When a demon named Muka
, in the form of a wild boar, charges toward Arjuna, Shiva appears in the form of a Kirāta, a wild mountaineer. Arjuna and the Kirāta simultaneously shoot an arrow at the boar, and kill it. They argue over who shot first, and a battle ensues. They fight for a long time, and Arjuna is shocked that he cannot conquer this Kirāta. Finally, he recognises the god, and surrenders to him. Shiva, pleased with his bravery, gives him the powerful weapon, the Pashupatastra, which later in the Mahabharata aids him against Karna
and the Kauravas during the Kurukshetra war
.
The following description of the work is from A. K. Warder
. Bharavi's work begins with the word śrī (Fortune), and the last verse of every canto contains the synonym Lakshmi
. In the first canto, a spy of the exiled king Yudhiṣṭhira
arrives and informs him of the activities of the Kauravas. Yudhiṣṭhira informs the other Pandavas, and his wife Draupadi
attempts to incite him to declare war, upbraiding him for stupidly accepting the exile rather than breaking the agreement and declaring war to regain what is rightfully theirs. In the second canto, Bhima supports Draupadi, pointing out that it would be shameful to receive their kingdom back as a gift instead of winning it in war, but Yudhiṣṭhira refuses, with a longer speech. Meanwhile, the sage Vyasa
arrives. In the third canto, Vyasa points out that the enemy is stronger, and they must use their time taking actions that would help them win a war, if one were to occur at the end of their exile. He instructs Arjuna to practise ascetism (tapasya) and propitiate Indra
to acquire divine weapons for the eventual war. Arjuna departs, after being reminded by Draupadi of the humiliation she has suffered. In the fifth canto, Arjuna, is led by a Yaksha to the Indrakila mountain, which is described in great detail. Arjuna begins his intense austerities, the severity of which causes disturbance among the gods.
Meanwhile, in the sixth canto, a celestial army of maidens (apsara
s) sets out from heaven, in order to eventually distract Arjuna. The seventh canto describes their passage through the heavens. In the eighth canto, the nymphs enjoy themselves on the mountain. The ninth canto describes night, with celebrations of drinking and lovemaking. In the tenth canto, the nymphs attempt to distract Arjuna, accompanied by musicians and making the best features of all six seasons appear simultaneously. However, they fail, as instead of Arjuna falling in love with them, they fall in love with Arjuna instead. Finally, in the eleventh canto, Indra arrives as a sage, praises Arjuna's asceticism, but criticises him for seeking victory and wealth instead of liberation — the goddess of Fortune is fickle and indscriminate. Arjuna stands his ground, explaining his situation and pointing out that conciliation with evil people would lead one into doing wrong actions oneself. He gives a further long speech that forms the heart of the epic, on right conduct, self-respect, resoluteness, dignity, and wisdom. Pleased, Indra reveals himself to his son, and asks him to worship Shiva
. In the twelfth canto, Arjuna begins severe austerities, and, on being implored by the other ascetics, Shiva takes the form of a Kirāta and arrives to meet Arjuna. In the thirteenth canto, they both shoot the boar. Arjuna goes to retrieve his arrow, and one of the kiratas quarrels with him. In the remaining five cantos, Arjuna and Shiva fight, Arjuna fails and finally realises whom he is facing, and surrenders to Shiva and wins his benediction.
Over a tenth of the verses from this work are quoted in various anthologies and works on poetics. The most popular verse is the 37th from the eighth canto, which describes nymphs bathing in a river, and is noted for its beauty. Another verse from the fifth canto (utphulla sthalanalini...) is noted for its imagery, and has given Bharavi the sobriquet of "Chhatra Bharavi", as he describes the pollen of the lotus flowers being blown by the wind into a golden umbrella (Chhatra) in the sky. Thus, for having verses that are pleasing to lay people as well as clever verses appreciated by scholars, the work is considered to have 'harmony' or 'appropriateness' at all levels, and has been said to possess samastalkarañjakatva, the quality of delighting all the people.
The Kirātārjunīya is the only known work of Bharavi. It "is regarded to be the most powerful poem in the Sanskrit language". A. K. Warder
considers it the "most perfect epic available to us", over Aśvaghoṣa
's Buddhacarita
, noting its greater force of expression, with more concentration and polish in every detail. Despite using extremely difficult language and rejoicing in the finer points of Sanskrit grammar
, Bharavi achieves conciseness and directness. His alliteration, "crisp texture of sound", and choice of metre
closely correspond to the narrative.
The 25th verse from the same canto is an example of the form of verse that the Sanskrit aestheticians call sarvatobhadra, "good from every direction": each line (pada) of it is a palindrome
, and the verse is unchanged when read vertically down or up as well:
Similarly, the 23rd verse of the fifteenth canto is the same as the 22nd verse read backwards, syllable for syllable.
The 52nd verse of the 15th canto is an example of Mahāyamaka, or the great Yamaka, where all four feet of the verse are the same, but each foot has a different meaning.
's Shishupala Vadha
, which is modelled after the Kirātārjunīya and seeks to surpass it . While Bharavi uses 19 different types of metres
, Māgha uses 23; while Bharavi praises Shiva, Māgha extols Vishnu
; and he has his own instances of one-consonant (dādadoduddaduddādī…) and sarvatobhadra palindromic verses.
A vyayoga (a kind of play), also named Kirātārjunīya and based on Bharavi's work, was produced by the Sanskrit dramatist Vatsaraja in the 12th or 13th century.
The authoritative commentary on the Kirātārjunīya, as on the other five mahakayvas, is by Mallinātha
. His commentary on the Kirātārjunīya is known as the Ghaṇṭāpatha (the Bell-Road) and explains the multiple layers of compounds and figures of speech present in the verses.
The first Western translation of the poem was by Carl Cappeller into German, published by the Harvard Oriental Series in 1912. There have since been six or more partial translations into English.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
kavya
Kavya
Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
by Bhāravi
Bharavi
Bharavi was a Sanskrit poet known for his Mahakavya , the Kirātārjunīya in 18 cantos based on an episode from the Mahabharata.-Time and place:...
, written in the 6th century or earlier. It is an epic poem in eighteen cantos describing the combat between Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
and lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
in the guise of a kirāta
Kirata
The Kirāta is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who lived in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and North-East India and who are postulated to have been Mongoloid in origin. It has been theorized that the word Kirata- or Kirati- means people with lion nature. It is derived...
or mountain-dwelling hunter. Along with the Naiṣadhacarita and the Shishupala Vadha
Shishupala Vadha
The Shishupala Vadha is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas of about 1800 highly ornate stanzas, and is considered one of the six Sanskrit mahakavyas, or "great epics". It is also known as the Māgha-kāvya after its author...
, it is one of the larger three of the six Sanskrit mahakavya
Mahakavya
Mahākāvya , also known as sargabandha, is a genre of Indian epic poetry in classical Sanskrit literature. 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...
s, or great epics. It is noted among Sanskrit critics both for its gravity or depth of meaning, and for its forceful and sometimes playful expression. This includes a canto set aside for demonstrating linguistic feats, similar to constrained writing
Constrained writing
Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern.Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form....
. Later works of epic poetry followed the model of the Kirātārjunīya.
Synopsis
The Kirātārjunīya predominantly features the Vīra rasa, or the mood of valour. It expands upon a minor episode in the Vana ParvaVana Parva
Mahabharta Book 3 Vana Parva is the book in the Mahabharata that discusses the twelve-year exile of the Pandavas in the forest....
("Forest book") in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
: While the Pandavas are exiled in the forest, Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
and Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
incite Yudhisthira
Yudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
to declare war with the Kauravas, while he does not relent. Finally, Arjuna, at the instruction of Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
, propitiates god Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
with penance (tapasya) in the forest. Pleased by his austerities, Shiva decides to reward him. When a demon named Muka
Mukasura
Mukasura or Mukāsura was an asura in the Indian epic Mahabharata. He was a friend of the Kauravas and the son of Upasunda, who was sent to disturb the austerities that Arjuna was performing at Indra keeladri, geographically now in Andhra pradesh...
, in the form of a wild boar, charges toward Arjuna, Shiva appears in the form of a Kirāta, a wild mountaineer. Arjuna and the Kirāta simultaneously shoot an arrow at the boar, and kill it. They argue over who shot first, and a battle ensues. They fight for a long time, and Arjuna is shocked that he cannot conquer this Kirāta. Finally, he recognises the god, and surrenders to him. Shiva, pleased with his bravery, gives him the powerful weapon, the Pashupatastra, which later in the Mahabharata aids him against Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
and the Kauravas during the Kurukshetra war
Kurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
.
The following description of the work is from A. K. Warder
A. K. Warder
Anthony Kennedy Warder is a scholar of Indology, mostly in Buddhist studies and related fields, such as the Pāli and Sanskrit languages. He has written 15 books and numerous articles. He currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit in the School of East Asian Studies in the...
. Bharavi's work begins with the word śrī (Fortune), and the last verse of every canto contains the synonym Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
. In the first canto, a spy of the exiled king Yudhiṣṭhira
Yudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
arrives and informs him of the activities of the Kauravas. Yudhiṣṭhira informs the other Pandavas, and his wife Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
attempts to incite him to declare war, upbraiding him for stupidly accepting the exile rather than breaking the agreement and declaring war to regain what is rightfully theirs. In the second canto, Bhima supports Draupadi, pointing out that it would be shameful to receive their kingdom back as a gift instead of winning it in war, but Yudhiṣṭhira refuses, with a longer speech. Meanwhile, the sage Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
arrives. In the third canto, Vyasa points out that the enemy is stronger, and they must use their time taking actions that would help them win a war, if one were to occur at the end of their exile. He instructs Arjuna to practise ascetism (tapasya) and propitiate Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
to acquire divine weapons for the eventual war. Arjuna departs, after being reminded by Draupadi of the humiliation she has suffered. In the fifth canto, Arjuna, is led by a Yaksha to the Indrakila mountain, which is described in great detail. Arjuna begins his intense austerities, the severity of which causes disturbance among the gods.
Meanwhile, in the sixth canto, a celestial army of maidens (apsara
Apsara
An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...
s) sets out from heaven, in order to eventually distract Arjuna. The seventh canto describes their passage through the heavens. In the eighth canto, the nymphs enjoy themselves on the mountain. The ninth canto describes night, with celebrations of drinking and lovemaking. In the tenth canto, the nymphs attempt to distract Arjuna, accompanied by musicians and making the best features of all six seasons appear simultaneously. However, they fail, as instead of Arjuna falling in love with them, they fall in love with Arjuna instead. Finally, in the eleventh canto, Indra arrives as a sage, praises Arjuna's asceticism, but criticises him for seeking victory and wealth instead of liberation — the goddess of Fortune is fickle and indscriminate. Arjuna stands his ground, explaining his situation and pointing out that conciliation with evil people would lead one into doing wrong actions oneself. He gives a further long speech that forms the heart of the epic, on right conduct, self-respect, resoluteness, dignity, and wisdom. Pleased, Indra reveals himself to his son, and asks him to worship Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. In the twelfth canto, Arjuna begins severe austerities, and, on being implored by the other ascetics, Shiva takes the form of a Kirāta and arrives to meet Arjuna. In the thirteenth canto, they both shoot the boar. Arjuna goes to retrieve his arrow, and one of the kiratas quarrels with him. In the remaining five cantos, Arjuna and Shiva fight, Arjuna fails and finally realises whom he is facing, and surrenders to Shiva and wins his benediction.
Appraisal
The work was popular among critics, with more than 42 commentaries written on it. The style of his work, with cantos 4 to 9 having no relation to the plot but instead being merely an excuse for beautiful descriptive poetry, was influential on all later Sanskrit epic poetry, in which the action was often ignored entirely.Over a tenth of the verses from this work are quoted in various anthologies and works on poetics. The most popular verse is the 37th from the eighth canto, which describes nymphs bathing in a river, and is noted for its beauty. Another verse from the fifth canto (utphulla sthalanalini...) is noted for its imagery, and has given Bharavi the sobriquet of "Chhatra Bharavi", as he describes the pollen of the lotus flowers being blown by the wind into a golden umbrella (Chhatra) in the sky. Thus, for having verses that are pleasing to lay people as well as clever verses appreciated by scholars, the work is considered to have 'harmony' or 'appropriateness' at all levels, and has been said to possess samastalkarañjakatva, the quality of delighting all the people.
The Kirātārjunīya is the only known work of Bharavi. It "is regarded to be the most powerful poem in the Sanskrit language". A. K. Warder
A. K. Warder
Anthony Kennedy Warder is a scholar of Indology, mostly in Buddhist studies and related fields, such as the Pāli and Sanskrit languages. He has written 15 books and numerous articles. He currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit in the School of East Asian Studies in the...
considers it the "most perfect epic available to us", over Aśvaghoṣa
Asvaghosa
' was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the...
's Buddhacarita
Buddhacarita
Buddhacharita is an epic poem in the Sanskrit mahakavya style on the life of Gautama Buddha by , composed in the 2nd century AD...
, noting its greater force of expression, with more concentration and polish in every detail. Despite using extremely difficult language and rejoicing in the finer points of Sanskrit grammar
Sanskrit grammar
The grammar of the Sanskrit language has a complex verbal system, rich nominal declension, and extensive use of compound nouns. It was studied and codified by Sanskrit grammarians from the later Vedic period , culminating in the Pāṇinian grammar of the 4th century BC.-Grammatical tradition:The...
, Bharavi achieves conciseness and directness. His alliteration, "crisp texture of sound", and choice of metre
Sanskrit metre
The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. They are divided by number of padas in a verse, and by the number of syllables in a pada. Chandas , the study of Vedic meter, is one of the six Vedanga disciplines, or "organs of the vedas".*: 3 padas of 8 syllables-Principles:The main...
closely correspond to the narrative.
Linguistic ingenuity
The work is known for its brevity, depth (arthagauravam), and verbal complexity. At times, the narrative is secondary to the interlaced descriptions, elaborate metaphors and similes, and display of mastery in the Sanskrit language. Notably, its fifteenth canto contains chitrakavya, decorative composition, including the fifteenth verse with "elaborate rhythmic consonance" noted for consisting of just one consonant:
DevanagariDevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
न नोननुन्नो नुन्नोनो नाना नानानना ननु ।
नुन्नोऽनुन्नो ननुन्नेनो नानेना नुन्ननुन्ननुत् ॥
IASTIASTThe International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
na nonanunno nunnono nānā nānānanā nanu ।
nunno'nunno nanunneno nānenā nunnanunnanut ॥
Translation: "О ye many-faced ones (nānānanā), he indeed (nanu) is not a man (na nā) who is defeated by an inferior (ūna-nunno), and that man is no man (nā-anā) who persecutes one weaker than himself (nunnono). He whose leader is not defeated (na-nunneno) though overcome is not vanquished (nunno'nunno); he who persecutes the completely vanquished (nunna-nunna-nut) is not without sin (nānenā)."
The 25th verse from the same canto is an example of the form of verse that the Sanskrit aestheticians call sarvatobhadra, "good from every direction": each line (pada) of it is a palindrome
Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction, with general allowances for adjustments to punctuation and word dividers....
, and the verse is unchanged when read vertically down or up as well:
देवाकानिनि कावादे
वाहिकास्वस्वकाहि वा ।
काकारेभभरे का का
निस्वभव्यव्यभस्वनि ॥
devākānini kāvāde
vāhikāsvasvakāhi vā ।
kākārebhabhare kā kā
nisvabhavyavyabhaasvani ॥
de vā kā ni ni kā vā de vā hi kā sva sva kā hi vā kā kā re bha bha re kā kā ni sva bha vya vya bha sva ni (and the lines reversed) ni sva bha vya vya bha sva ni kā kā re bha bha re kā kā vā hi kā sva sva kā hi vā de vā kā ni ni kā vā de
Translation: "O man who desires war! This is that battlefield which excites even the gods, where the battle is not of words. Here people fight and stake their lives not for themselves but for others. This field is full of herds of maddened elephants. Here those who are eager for battle and even those who are not very eager, have to fight."
Similarly, the 23rd verse of the fifteenth canto is the same as the 22nd verse read backwards, syllable for syllable.
The 52nd verse of the 15th canto is an example of Mahāyamaka, or the great Yamaka, where all four feet of the verse are the same, but each foot has a different meaning.
DevanagariDevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
विकाशमीयुर्जगतीशमार्गणा विकाशमीयुर्जगतीशमार्गणाः ।
विकाशमीयुर्जगतीशमार्गणा विकाशमीयुर्जगतीशमार्गणाः ॥
IASTIASTThe International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
vikāśamīyurjagatīśamārgaṇā vikāśamīyurjagatīśamārgaṇāḥ |
vikāśamīyurjagatīśamārgaṇā vikāśamīyurjagatīśamārgaṇāḥ ॥
Translation: "The arrows (mārgaṇāḥ), of the king (jagatīśa) Arjuna spread out (vikāśam īyuḥ). The arrows (mārgaṇāḥ), of the lord of the earth (jagatīśa), Lord Śiva, spread out (vikāśam īyuḥ). The Gaṇas (gaṇāḥ) who are the slayers of demons (jagatīśamār) rejoiced (vikāśam īyuḥ). The seekers (mārgaṇāḥ) of Lord Śiva (jagatīśa), i.e. the deities and sages, reached (īyuḥ) the sky (vikāśam) [to watch the battle]. "
Offshoots and commentaries
Bharavi's "power of description and dignity of style" were an inspiration for MāghaMagha
Magha may refer to:* Magha , a month in the Hindu calendar* Magh , the same month in the Bengali calendar* Magha , an 8th century Sanskrit poet, who wrote Shishupala-vadha...
's Shishupala Vadha
Shishupala Vadha
The Shishupala Vadha is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas of about 1800 highly ornate stanzas, and is considered one of the six Sanskrit mahakavyas, or "great epics". It is also known as the Māgha-kāvya after its author...
, which is modelled after the Kirātārjunīya and seeks to surpass it . While Bharavi uses 19 different types of metres
Sanskrit metre
The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. They are divided by number of padas in a verse, and by the number of syllables in a pada. Chandas , the study of Vedic meter, is one of the six Vedanga disciplines, or "organs of the vedas".*: 3 padas of 8 syllables-Principles:The main...
, Māgha uses 23; while Bharavi praises Shiva, Māgha extols Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
; and he has his own instances of one-consonant (dādadoduddaduddādī…) and sarvatobhadra palindromic verses.
A vyayoga (a kind of play), also named Kirātārjunīya and based on Bharavi's work, was produced by the Sanskrit dramatist Vatsaraja in the 12th or 13th century.
The authoritative commentary on the Kirātārjunīya, as on the other five mahakayvas, is by Mallinātha
Mallinatha Suri
Mallinātha Sūri was an eminent critic, known for his commentaries on five mahakavyas of Sanskrit. During his times, he is said to have received the titles of Mahamahopadyaya and Vyakhyana Cakravarti. He lived during the reigns of Racakonda king Singabhupala and Vijayanagara king Deva Raya I...
. His commentary on the Kirātārjunīya is known as the Ghaṇṭāpatha (the Bell-Road) and explains the multiple layers of compounds and figures of speech present in the verses.
The first Western translation of the poem was by Carl Cappeller into German, published by the Harvard Oriental Series in 1912. There have since been six or more partial translations into English.
Further reading
External links
- Original text with Sanskrit commentary:
- Transliterated text at GRETILGRETILThe Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages is a comprehensive repository of e-texts in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.It contains several texts related to Indology, such as philosophical texts...
- Kairata Parva, translation of the part of the Vana Parva that contains the story.
- The Hunter and the Hero: a very slightly abridged verse translation of the Kirātārjunīya into English by Romesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder Dutt, CIE was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, writer, and translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata.- Formative years :...
, in his Lays of Ancient India