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'''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]], [[battle]]s and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description. Typical examples of ''mahākāvya'' are the [[Kumārasambhava|''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 [[Canto|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).

==The classical examples ==
Tradition identifies five works as model ''mahākāvya'':
*''[[Kumārasambhava]]'' by [[Kālidāsa]]: 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)
* ''[[Kirātārjunīya]]'' by [[Bharavi]]: a battle between [[Arjuna]] and [[Shiva]] from the [[Mahabharata]], 18 cantos
* ''[[Naishadha Charita|Naiśadha-carita]]'' by [[Shriharsha]]: on the life of King [[Nala]] and Queen [[Damayanti]], 22 cantos
*''[[Śiśupāla-vadha]]'' by [[Māgha]]: the slaying of [[Shishupala]] by [[Krishna]], 22 cantos (about 1800 verses)

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

* ''[[Bhaṭṭikāvya]]'', by Bhaṭṭi: 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:<ref name=dandin/><ref name=belvalkar/>
* 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]]),
* 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".<ref name=ingalls/>

About this list, Ingalls observes:<ref name=ingalls/>
{{quote|These are not random suggestions but specific requirements. Every complete ''mahākāvya'' that has come down to us from the time of [[Kalidasa]] contains the whole list, which, if one considers it carefully, will be seen to contain the basic repertory of Sanskrit poetry. Contained in it are the essential elements of nature, love, society, and war which a poet should be able to describe. The great kāvya tested a poet by his power of rendering content, which is a better test at least than the Persian diwan, which tested a poet by his skill at rhyme.}}

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.<ref name=eb/>

==Modern ''mahakavya''==
{{See also|Sanskrit literature#Modern Sanskrit literature}}
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:
<blockquote>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 [Dr. Ramji Upadhyaya] has noted 52 Sanskrit ''mahākāvya''s (epic poems) produced in that very decade.<ref name=tripathi>{{citation | title=Ṣoḍaśī: An Anthology of Contemporary Sanskrit Poets | editor=Radhavallabh Tripathi | publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] | year=1992 | isbn=81-7201-200-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXtWVxJCA7MC&q=%22Harshadev%22}}</ref></blockquote>

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 ''[[Sribhargavaraghaviyam|Śrībhārgavarāghaviyam]]'' (2002) composed by [[Jagadguru Rambhadracharya|Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya]] continue to have the subject of the traditional epics.

==Notes==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=eb>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/357881/mahakavya |title=mahakavya |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2010-12-16 }}</ref>
<ref name=ingalls>[[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|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}}</ref>
<ref name=dandin>[[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}}, <br />
{{IAST|nagar’-ârṇava-śaila’-rtu|candr’-ârk’-ôdaya-varṇanaiḥ}}, | {{IAST|udyāna-salila-kṛīḍā-madhu-pāna-rat’-ôtsavaiḥ}}, <br />
{{IAST|vipralambhair vivāhaiś ca, kumār’-ôdaya-varṇanaiḥ}}, | {{IAST|mantra-dūta-prayāṇ’-āji-nāyak’-âbhyudayair api}}; <br />
{{IAST|alaṃ-kṛtam, a-saṃkṣiptaṃ, rasa-bhāva-nirantaram}}, | {{IAST|sargair an-ativistīrṇaiḥ, śravya-vṛttaiḥ su-saṃdhibhiḥ}}, <br />
{{IAST|sarvatra bhinna-vṛttāntair upetaṃ, loka-rañjanam}} | {{IAST|kāvyaṃ kalp’-ântara-sthāyi jāyate sad-alaṃkṛti}}</ref>
<ref name=belvalkar>[[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.</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-naishadha-charita-of-shriharsha The Naishadha-charita] English translation by K. K. Handiqui [proofread] (includes glossary)
*[https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no38628.htm The Ramayana : In Classical Sanskrit and Prakrt Mahakavya Literature/V. Raghavan]
*[http://www.koausa.org/Glimpses/Mankha.html Mankha and "Sri Kanthacaritam"]

[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Epic poems in Sanskrit| ]]

Mahakavya - Revision history

imported>Lunarson: Disambiguation link