Studies in Jain Literature

SR No.: 001868
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre
Publication Year: 2001
Total Pages: 114
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Literature, & Story
File Size: 14 MB

Page 373

SANSKRIT AND PRAKRIT MAHAKAVYAS 355 Buddhacarita for an example of a namakhyatakavi (a grammatical poet) : हतत्विषोऽन्धाः शिथिलांसबाहवः, स्त्रियो विषादेन विचेतना इव / न चुकुशु! रुरुदुर्न सस्वनुर्न चेलुरासुलिखिता इव क्षणम् / / "Other women, their splendour destroyed, their shoulders and arms loose, were as if senseless with despair; They did not cry, they shed no tears, they did not sigh, They did not move, they stayed as if they were painted!." Johnston in his Introduction to his translation of the Life of the Buddha has collected a number of examples where Asvaghosa's influence seems visible. "The kavis affected include among others Bhasa, Kalidasa and Bana. This suggests that his influence was considerable upto the 7th century, after which perhaps he was rarely read by kavis, who devoted their time to other models." Kalidasa's two poems, the Kumarasambhava and the Raghuvarsa rank among the famous five mahakavyas. The traditional list mentions the following five : Raghuvamsa, Kumarasambhava, Kiratarjuniya, sisupalavadha and Naisadhacarita. According to the old gloss on Svayambhu's Apabhramsa poem, Paumacariu (1.3.7.) the five poems are : 1. Kumarasambhava, 2. Raghuvamsa, 3. Meghaduta, 4. Kiratarjuniya and 5. Sisupalavadha. According to Handique, this enumeration is wrong. He would like to read 'Setubandha' of Pravarasena in place of Meghaduta (see Introduction to Pravarasena's Setubandha, pp. 50-51). This suggestion is, on the very face of it, unacceptable for the simple reason that the tradition wants to enumerate five famous mahakavyas in Sanskrit whereas Pravarasena's Setubandha is in Prakrit. Keith in his History of Sanskrit Literature observes : "Though inferior in some slight degree to the Kumarasambhava, the Raghuvamsa may rightly be ranked as the finest Indian specimen of the Mahakavya as defined by writers on poetics." H. D. Velankar in his Introduction to Raghuvamsas however says : "The Technical definitions of these varieties (Maha and Khanda kavya) given in the later works on the Sahityasastra are primarily based on the works of Kalidasa." This is very plausible, nay probable. So no wonder if Kalidasa's mahakavyas are true to the type. Kumarasambhava, canto VIII describes, according to the principle of Kamasastra, the joys of the wedded pair. Anandavardhana tells us in his Dhvanyaloka that there were critics who deemed it wrong to depict the amour of two deities. But Kalidasa wants to