Magha (poet)
Encyclopedia
Magha was a Sanskrit poet
at King Varmalata's court at Srimala
, the-then capital of Gujarat (presently in Rajasthan
state). Magha was son of Dattaka Sarvacharya and grandson of Suprabhadeva. His epic poem (mahākāvya) Shishupala Vadha
, in 20 sargas (cantos) is based on the Mahabharata
episode where the defiant king Shishupala
is beheaded by Krishna
's chakra (disc) He is thought to have been inspired by, and is often compared with, Bharavi
.
Unlike most Indian poets who give no autobiographical details or allude to contemporary events at all, Māgha, in the concluding five verses of the work (known as the Praśasti), gives some autobiographical details, which is rare for Indian poets. The verses inform that his father was Dattaka and his grandfather was Suprabhadeva, a minister at the court of a king whose name is mentioned in different editions as Varmalāta, Dharmanābha, Dharmanātha, Varmalākhya, etc. These verses are therefore called the nija-vaṃśa-varṇana or kavi-vaṃśa-varṇana by commentators.
According to tradition, Māgha was a native of Gujarat, being born in Śrīmāla or Bhīnamāl.
By his own accounts and that of others, he was born wealthy and lived a carefree life, although according to one legend, he died in poverty.
, Bhoja
, and in the Kavirajamarga
, thus putting him no later than the 8th century. Pathak notes that he alludes to the Kāśikāvṛtti and its commentary Nyāsa, the latter of which is not mentioned by I-Tsing and thus must have been written after his departure from India in 695 CE. Thus, Pathak puts Māgha in the second half of the 8th century. Hermann Jacobi
puts him in the in 6th century, and Kielhorn and others put him in the second half of the 7th century.
of Bharavi
, and intended to emulate and even surpass it. Like Bharavi, he displays rhetorical and metrical skill more than the growth of the plot, and is noted for his intricate wordplay, textual complexity, and verbal ingenuity. He also uses a rich vocabulary, so much so that the (untrue) claim has been made that his work contains every word in the Sanskrit language.
Whereas Bhāravi glorifies Shiva
, Māgha glorifies Krishna; while Bhāravi uses 19 metres Māgha uses 23, like Bhāravi's 15th canto full of contrived verses Māgha introduces even more complicated verses in his 19th.
A popular Sanskrit verse about Māgha (and hence about this poem, as it his only known work and the one his reputation rests on) says:
Thus, Māgha's attempt to surpass Bharavi appears to have been successful; even his name seems to be derived from this feat: another Sanskrit saying goes tāvat bhā bhāraveḥ bhāti yāvat māghasya nodayaḥ, which can mean "the lustre of the sun lasts until the advent of Maagha
(the coldest month)", but also "the lustre of Bharavi lasts until the advent of Māgha". However, Māgha follows Bhāravi's structure too closely, and the long-windedness of his descriptions loses the gravity and "weight of meaning" found in Bhāravi's poem. Consequently, Māgha is more admired as a poet than the work is as a whole, and the sections of the work that may be considered digressions from the story have the nature of an anthology and are more popular.
Māgha influenced Ratnākara's Haravijaya, an epic in 50 cantos that suggests a thorough study of the Shishupalavadha. The Dharmashramabhyudaya, a Sanskrit poem by Hari[s]chandra in 21 cantos on Dharmanatha the 15th tirthankara, is modeled on the Shishupalavadha.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
at King Varmalata's court at Srimala
Bhinmal
Bhinmal is a town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is 72 km south of Jalore town. The name Bhinmal is derived from the word Shrimal.Bhinmal was old capital of the kingdom of the Gurjars during medieval period....
, the-then capital of Gujarat (presently in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
state). Magha was son of Dattaka Sarvacharya and grandson of Suprabhadeva. His epic poem (mahākāvya) 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...
, in 20 sargas (cantos) is based on 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....
episode where the defiant king Shishupala
Shishupala
Shishupala or Sisupala was son of Damaghosha, king of Chedi, by Srutadeva, sister of Vasudeva. Therefore he was not only cousin of Krishna, but also Krishna's implacable foe, because Krishna had carried off Rukmini, his intended wife...
is beheaded by Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
's chakra (disc) He is thought to have been inspired by, and is often compared with, Bharavi
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:...
.
Life and work
Māgha's fame rests entirely on the Shishupala Vadha. Vallabhadeva and Kshemendra quote some verses that are not found in the Shishupala Vadha as that of Māgha, so it is believed that Māgha wrote some other works that are now lost.Unlike most Indian poets who give no autobiographical details or allude to contemporary events at all, Māgha, in the concluding five verses of the work (known as the Praśasti), gives some autobiographical details, which is rare for Indian poets. The verses inform that his father was Dattaka and his grandfather was Suprabhadeva, a minister at the court of a king whose name is mentioned in different editions as Varmalāta, Dharmanābha, Dharmanātha, Varmalākhya, etc. These verses are therefore called the nija-vaṃśa-varṇana or kavi-vaṃśa-varṇana by commentators.
According to tradition, Māgha was a native of Gujarat, being born in Śrīmāla or Bhīnamāl.
By his own accounts and that of others, he was born wealthy and lived a carefree life, although according to one legend, he died in poverty.
Date
Māgha is quoted by AnandavardhanaAnandavardhana
Anandavardhana was the author of Dhvanyaloka, a work articulating the philosophy of "aesthetic suggestion". The philosopher Abhinavagupta wrote an important commentary on it.Anandavardhana is credited with creating the dhvani theory...
, Bhoja
Bhoja
Bhoja was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in central India from about 1000 to 1050 CE. Also known as Raja Bhoja Of Dhar, he belonged to the Paramara dynasty...
, and in the Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language. It was written by the famous Rashtrakuta King "Nripatunga" Amoghavarsha I and some say that it is based partly on an earlier Sanskrit writing, Kavyadarsa...
, thus putting him no later than the 8th century. Pathak notes that he alludes to the Kāśikāvṛtti and its commentary Nyāsa, the latter of which is not mentioned by I-Tsing and thus must have been written after his departure from India in 695 CE. Thus, Pathak puts Māgha in the second half of the 8th century. Hermann Jacobi
Hermann Jacobi
Hermann Georg Jacobi was an eminent German Indologist.-Education:Jacobi was born in Köln on 11 February 1850...
puts him in the in 6th century, and Kielhorn and others put him in the second half of the 7th century.
Appraisal
Māgha is highly popular with Sanskrit critics, and is extensively quoted by them. His Shishupala Vadha seems to have been inspired by the KirātārjunīyaKirātārjunīya
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...
of Bharavi
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:...
, and intended to emulate and even surpass it. Like Bharavi, he displays rhetorical and metrical skill more than the growth of the plot, and is noted for his intricate wordplay, textual complexity, and verbal ingenuity. He also uses a rich vocabulary, so much so that the (untrue) claim has been made that his work contains every word in the Sanskrit language.
Whereas Bhāravi glorifies 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...
, Māgha glorifies Krishna; while Bhāravi uses 19 metres Māgha uses 23, like Bhāravi's 15th canto full of contrived verses Māgha introduces even more complicated verses in his 19th.
A popular Sanskrit verse about Māgha (and hence about this poem, as it his only known work and the one his reputation rests on) says:
- उपमा कालिदासस्य भारवेरर्थगौरवं|
- दन्डिन: पदलालित्यं माघे सन्ति त्रयो गुणः||
- upamā kālidāsasya, bhāraver arthagauravaṃ,
- daṇḍinaḥ padalālityaṃ — māghe santi trayo guṇaḥ
- "The similes of KalidasaKalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
, BharaviBharaviBharavi was a Sanskrit poet known for his Mahakavya , the Kirātārjunīya in 18 cantos based on an episode from the Mahabharata.-Time and place:...
's depth of meaning, DaṇḍinDandinDandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
's wordplay — in Māgha all three qualities are found."
Thus, Māgha's attempt to surpass Bharavi appears to have been successful; even his name seems to be derived from this feat: another Sanskrit saying goes tāvat bhā bhāraveḥ bhāti yāvat māghasya nodayaḥ, which can mean "the lustre of the sun lasts until the advent of Maagha
Maagha
Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....
(the coldest month)", but also "the lustre of Bharavi lasts until the advent of Māgha". However, Māgha follows Bhāravi's structure too closely, and the long-windedness of his descriptions loses the gravity and "weight of meaning" found in Bhāravi's poem. Consequently, Māgha is more admired as a poet than the work is as a whole, and the sections of the work that may be considered digressions from the story have the nature of an anthology and are more popular.
Māgha influenced Ratnākara's Haravijaya, an epic in 50 cantos that suggests a thorough study of the Shishupalavadha. The Dharmashramabhyudaya, a Sanskrit poem by Hari[s]chandra in 21 cantos on Dharmanatha the 15th tirthankara, is modeled on the Shishupalavadha.