Shishupala Vadha
Encyclopedia
The Shishupala Vadha is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry (kāvya
) composed by Māgha
in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas (canto
s) 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. Like other kavyas, it is admired more for its exquisite descriptions and lyrical quality than for any dramatic development of plot. Its 19th canto is noted for verbal gymnastics and wordplay; see the section on linguistic ingenuity below.
. In the original story, Shishupala
, king of the Chedis
in central India, after insulting Lord Krishna
several times in an assembly, finally enrages him and has his head struck off. The 10th-century literary critic Kuntaka
observes that Magha arranges the story such that the sole purpose of Vishnu
's Avatar
hood as Krishna is the slaying of the evil Shishupala. Magha also invents a conflict in Krishna's mind, between his duty to destroy Shishupala, and to attend Yudhisthira's ceremony to which he has been invited; this is resolved by attending the ceremony to which Shishupala also arrives and is killed.
The following description of the plot of the Shisupala Vadha is drawn from A. K. Warder
. The evil Shishupala has previously clashed with Krishna many times, such as when the latter eloped with Rukmini
who was betrothed to him, and defeated the combined armies of Shishupala and Rukmini's brother Rukma. When the story begins, Sage Narada
reminds Krishna that while he had previously (in the form of Narasimha
) killed Hiranyakashipu
, the demon has been reborn as Shishupala and desires to conquer the world, and must be destroyed again.
Meanwhile, Yudhiṣṭhira
and his brothers, having conquered the four directions and killed Jarasandha
, wish to perform the Rajasuya
yajña (ceremony) and Krishna has been invited. Unsure what to do (Canto II), Krishna takes the counsel of his brother Balarama
and of Uddhava
. While Balarama suggests attacking declaring war on Shishupala immediately, Uddhava points out that this would involve many kings and disrupt Yudhisthira's ceremony (where their presence is required). Instead, he suggests ensuring that Shishupala attends the ceremony as well. Pleased with this plan, Krishna sets out (Canto III) with his army to Indraprastha where the ceremony will be held. On the way, he sees Mount Raivataka (Canto IV), decides to camp there (Canto V), and all seasons simultaneously manifest themselves for his pleasure (Canto VI). His followers' enjoyment (Canto VII) and water sports (Canto VIII) are then described, as are nightfall (Canto IX), drinking and a general festival of love (Canto X) and dawn (Canto XI). These cantos, containing exquisite and detailed descriptions that are unrelated to the action, are usually the most popular with Sanskrit critics. The army resumes its march in Canto XII, and Krishna finally enters the city (Canto XIII). The ceremony takes place, and at the end, at Bhishma
's advice, the highest honour (arghya) is bestowed on Krishna (Canto XIV). Shishupala is enraged at this (Canto XV), and makes a long speech on (what he considers) Krishna's bad qualities. He leaves the assembly. In Canto XVI, he sends a messenger to Krishna. Krishna declares war (Canto XVII), and the armies fight (Canto XVIII), with the various complex formations of the armies being matched by the complex forms Māgha adopts for his verses in Canto XIX. Finally, Krishna enters the fight (Canto XX), and after a long battle, strikes off Shishupala's head with Sudarshana Chakra
, his discus.
Despite what may appear to be little subject matter, the cantos of this work are in fact longer than those of other epics.
of Bharavi
, and intended to emulate and even surpass it. Like the Kirātārjunīya, the poem displays rhetorical and metrical skill more than the growth of the plot and is noted for its intricate wordplay, textual complexity and verbal ingenuity. It has a rich vocabulary, so much so that the (untrue) claim has been made that it contains every word in the Sanskrit language.
The narrative also wanders from the main action solely to dwell on elegant descriptions, with almost half the cantos having little to do with the proper story e.g. while describing the march of an army, cantos 9 to 11 take a detour to describe nature, sunrise and sunset, the seasons, courtesans preparing to receive men, the bathing of nymphs, and so on. Because of these descriptions, the Śiśupālavadha is an important source on the history of Indian ornaments and costumes, including its different terms for dress as paridhāna, aṃśuka, vasana, vastra and ambara; upper garments as uttarīya; female lower garments as nīvī, vasana, aṃśuka, kauśeya, adhivāsa and nitambaravastra; and kabandha, a waist-band.
Magha is also noted for technique of developing the theme, "stirring intense and conflicting emotions relieved by lighter situations". The work is primarily in the vīra (heroic) rasa (mood).
In the 20th stanza of the fourth canto, Māgha describes the simultaneous setting of the sun and the rising of the moon on either side of the Meru mountain as like a mighty elephant with two bells dangling on either side of his body. This striking imagery has earned Māgha the sobriquet of Ghaṇṭāmāgha, "Bell-Māgha". His similes are also highly original, and many verses from the work are of independent interest, and are quoted for their poetic or moral nature.
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 of winter)", 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. His work is also considered to be difficult, and reading it and Meghadūta
can easily consume one's lifetime, according to the saying (sometimes attributed to Mallinātha) māghe meghe gataṃ vayaḥ. ("In reading Māgha and Megha
my life was spent", or also the unrelated meaning "In the month of Magha, a bird flew among the clouds".)
, contains chitrakavya or decorative composition, with many examples of constrained writing
. Its third stanza, for instance, contains only the consonant 'j' in the first line, 't' in the second, 'bh' in the third, and 'r' in the fourth:
He progresses to just two consonants in the 66th stanza:
By the 114th stanza, this is taken to an extreme, with a celebrated example involving just one consonant:
The same canto also contains increasingly ingenious palindromes. The 44th stanza, for instance, has each line a palindrome:
The 88th stanza is a palindrome as a whole (syllable-for-syllable), with the second half being the first half reversed. This is known as pratiloma (or gatapratyāgata) and is not found in Bharavi:
The 34th stanza is the 33rd stanza written backwards, with a different meaning. Finally, the 27th stanza is an example of what has been called "the most complex and exquisite type of palindrome
ever invented". Sanskrit aestheticians call it sarvatobhadra, "perfect in every direction" — it yields the same text if read forwards, backwards, down, or up:
The 29th stanza can be arranged into the shape of a "drum" (muraja-citra):
In the 118th stanza, each half contains the same pada twice, but with different meanings. This is known as samudga:
The canto also includes stanzas which can be arranged into the shape of a sword, zigzags, and other shapes.
Finally, it ends with a stanza (120th) in the extremely difficult "wheel design" known as cakra-vṛtta or cakrabandha, wherein the syllables can be arranged in the form of a wheel with six spokes.
In the figure, the first, second and third lines are read top-to-bottom along the "spokes" of the wheel, sharing a common central syllable, while the fourth line is read clockwise around the circumference (starting and ending where the third line ends), sharing every third syllable with one of the first three lines. Further, the large syllables in bold (within the annuli
), read clockwise, spell out śiśupālavadha-māgha-kāvyamidaṃ ("This is Śiśupālavadha, a poem by Māgha").
The oldest known commentary on the Śiśupālavadha is that by Vallabhadeva, known as the Sandehaviṣauṣadhi. The commentary by Mallinātha is known as the Sarvaṅkaṣā, and, as on the other five mahakavyas, is considered the pre-eminent one. There are numerous other commentaries on it from different parts of the country, illustrating its importance.
The Marathi
writer Bhaskarabhatta Borikar, of the early 14th century, wrote a Shishupala Vadha in Marathi (1308).
The Shishupala story
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...
) composed by Māgha
Magha
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...
in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas (canto
Canto
The canto is a principal form of division in a long poem, especially the epic. The word comes from Italian, meaning "song" or singing. Famous examples of epic poetry which employ the canto division are Lord Byron's Don Juan, Valmiki's Ramayana , Dante's The Divine Comedy , and Ezra Pound's The...
s) 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. Like other kavyas, it is admired more for its exquisite descriptions and lyrical quality than for any dramatic development of plot. Its 19th canto is noted for verbal gymnastics and wordplay; see the section on linguistic ingenuity below.
Contents
As with most Sanskrit kāvya, the plot is drawn from one of the epics, in this case the MahabharataMahabharata
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....
. In the original story, 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...
, king of the Chedis
Chedi Kingdom
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yaduvanshi Rajput kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati...
in central India, after insulting Lord 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...
several times in an assembly, finally enrages him and has his head struck off. The 10th-century literary critic Kuntaka
Kuntaka
Kuntaka was a Kashmiri Sanskrit poetician and literary theorist who is remembered for his work Vakroktijivita in which he postulates the theory of Vakrotkti or figuratve expression, which he considers as the hallmark of all creative literature...
observes that Magha arranges the story such that the sole purpose of 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....
's Avatar
Avatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
hood as Krishna is the slaying of the evil Shishupala. Magha also invents a conflict in Krishna's mind, between his duty to destroy Shishupala, and to attend Yudhisthira's ceremony to which he has been invited; this is resolved by attending the ceremony to which Shishupala also arrives and is killed.
The following description of the plot of the Shisupala Vadha is drawn 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...
. The evil Shishupala has previously clashed with Krishna many times, such as when the latter eloped with Rukmini
Rukmini
In Hinduism, Rukmini is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request . Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent...
who was betrothed to him, and defeated the combined armies of Shishupala and Rukmini's brother Rukma. When the story begins, Sage Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
reminds Krishna that while he had previously (in the form of Narasimha
Narasimha
Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
) killed Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu
Hiranyakashipu [golden-haired] is an Asura from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. The Puranas describe Hiranyakashipu as an Asura. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha, one of the Avatars of Vishnu and angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing...
, the demon has been reborn as Shishupala and desires to conquer the world, and must be destroyed again.
Meanwhile, 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...
and his brothers, having conquered the four directions and killed Jarasandha
Jarasandha
Jarasandha was a great and legendary king of Magadha. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata....
, wish to perform the Rajasuya
Rajasuya
Rajasuya was a sacrifice, described in detail in the Mahabharata, performed by the ancient kings of India who considered themselves powerful enough to be an emperor...
yajña (ceremony) and Krishna has been invited. Unsure what to do (Canto II), Krishna takes the counsel of his brother Balarama
Balarama
Balarama , also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of the divine being, Krishna in Hinduism. Within Vaishnavism Hindu traditions Balarama is worshipped as an Avatar of Vishnu, and he is also listed as such in the Bhagavata Purana...
and of Uddhava
Uddhava
Uddhava is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, who is the friend and counsellor of Krishna the Avatar. He plays a significant role in the Bhagavata Purana, being taught the processes of yoga and bhakti directly by Krishna...
. While Balarama suggests attacking declaring war on Shishupala immediately, Uddhava points out that this would involve many kings and disrupt Yudhisthira's ceremony (where their presence is required). Instead, he suggests ensuring that Shishupala attends the ceremony as well. Pleased with this plan, Krishna sets out (Canto III) with his army to Indraprastha where the ceremony will be held. On the way, he sees Mount Raivataka (Canto IV), decides to camp there (Canto V), and all seasons simultaneously manifest themselves for his pleasure (Canto VI). His followers' enjoyment (Canto VII) and water sports (Canto VIII) are then described, as are nightfall (Canto IX), drinking and a general festival of love (Canto X) and dawn (Canto XI). These cantos, containing exquisite and detailed descriptions that are unrelated to the action, are usually the most popular with Sanskrit critics. The army resumes its march in Canto XII, and Krishna finally enters the city (Canto XIII). The ceremony takes place, and at the end, at Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...
's advice, the highest honour (arghya) is bestowed on Krishna (Canto XIV). Shishupala is enraged at this (Canto XV), and makes a long speech on (what he considers) Krishna's bad qualities. He leaves the assembly. In Canto XVI, he sends a messenger to Krishna. Krishna declares war (Canto XVII), and the armies fight (Canto XVIII), with the various complex formations of the armies being matched by the complex forms Māgha adopts for his verses in Canto XIX. Finally, Krishna enters the fight (Canto XX), and after a long battle, strikes off Shishupala's head with Sudarshana Chakra
Sudarshana Chakra
The Sudarshana Chakra is a spinning, disk-like super weapon with 108 serrated edges used by Lord Vishnu. The Sudarshana Chakra is portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds a Shankha in his left rear hand, a Gada in his right fore hand, and a Padma in his left...
, his discus.
Despite what may appear to be little subject matter, the cantos of this work are in fact longer than those of other epics.
Appraisal
The poet 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 the Kirātārjunīya, the poem displays rhetorical and metrical skill more than the growth of the plot and is noted for its intricate wordplay, textual complexity and verbal ingenuity. It has a rich vocabulary, so much so that the (untrue) claim has been made that it contains every word in the Sanskrit language.
The narrative also wanders from the main action solely to dwell on elegant descriptions, with almost half the cantos having little to do with the proper story e.g. while describing the march of an army, cantos 9 to 11 take a detour to describe nature, sunrise and sunset, the seasons, courtesans preparing to receive men, the bathing of nymphs, and so on. Because of these descriptions, the Śiśupālavadha is an important source on the history of Indian ornaments and costumes, including its different terms for dress as paridhāna, aṃśuka, vasana, vastra and ambara; upper garments as uttarīya; female lower garments as nīvī, vasana, aṃśuka, kauśeya, adhivāsa and nitambaravastra; and kabandha, a waist-band.
Magha is also noted for technique of developing the theme, "stirring intense and conflicting emotions relieved by lighter situations". The work is primarily in the vīra (heroic) rasa (mood).
In the 20th stanza of the fourth canto, Māgha describes the simultaneous setting of the sun and the rising of the moon on either side of the Meru mountain as like a mighty elephant with two bells dangling on either side of his body. This striking imagery has earned Māgha the sobriquet of Ghaṇṭāmāgha, "Bell-Māgha". His similes are also highly original, and many verses from the work are of independent interest, and are quoted for their poetic or moral nature.
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 of winter)", 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. His work is also considered to be difficult, and reading it and Meghadūta
Meghadūta
Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works...
can easily consume one's lifetime, according to the saying (sometimes attributed to Mallinātha) māghe meghe gataṃ vayaḥ. ("In reading Māgha and Megha
Meghadūta
Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works...
my life was spent", or also the unrelated meaning "In the month of Magha, a bird flew among the clouds".)
Linguistic ingenuity
Besides its poetry, the poem also revels in wordplay and ingeniously constructed verses. The second canto contains a famous verse with a string of adjectives that can be interpreted differently depending on whether they are referring to politics (rāja-nīti, king's policy) or grammar. The entire 16th canto, a message from Shishupala to Krishna, is intentionally ambiguous and can be interpreted in two ways — a humble apology in courteous words, or a declaration of war. The 19th canto, especially, like the 15th canto of 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...
, contains chitrakavya or decorative composition, with many examples of 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....
. Its third stanza, for instance, contains only the consonant 'j' in the first line, 't' in the second, 'bh' in the third, and 'r' in the fourth:
DevanagariDevanagariDevanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
जजौजोजाजिजिज्जाजी
तं ततोऽतितताततुत् ।
भाभोऽभीभाभिभूभाभू-
रारारिररिरीररः ॥
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:...
jajaujojājijijjājī
taṃ tato'titatātatut
bhābho'bhībhābhibhūbhābhū-
rārārirarirīraraḥ
He progresses to just two consonants in the 66th stanza:
भूरिभिर्भारिभिर्भीराभूभारैरभिरेभिरे ।
भेरीरेभिभिरभ्राभैरभीरुभिरिभैरिभाः ॥
bhūribhirbhāribhirbhīrābhūbhārairabhirebhire
bherīrebhibhirabhrābhairabhīrubhiribhairibhāḥ
By the 114th stanza, this is taken to an extreme, with a celebrated example involving just one consonant:
दाददो दुद्ददुद्दादी दाददो दूददीददोः ।
दुद्दादं दददे दुद्दे दादाददददोऽददः ॥
dādado duddaduddādī dādado dūdadīdadoḥ
duddādaṃ dadade dudde dādādadadado'dadaḥ
The same canto also contains increasingly ingenious palindromes. The 44th stanza, for instance, has each line a palindrome:
वारणागगभीरा सा साराभीगगणारवा ।
कारितारिवधा सेना नासेधा वारितारिका ॥
vāraṇāgagabhīrā sā sārābhīgagaṇāravā /
kāritārivadhā senā nāsedhā vāritārikā
The 88th stanza is a palindrome as a whole (syllable-for-syllable), with the second half being the first half reversed. This is known as pratiloma (or gatapratyāgata) and is not found in Bharavi:
तं श्रिया घनयानस्तरुचा सारतया तया ।
यातया तरसा चारुस्तनयानघया श्रितं ॥
taṃ śriyā ghanayānastarucā sāratayā tayā
yātayā tarasā cārustanayānaghayā śritaṃ
The 34th stanza is the 33rd stanza written backwards, with a different meaning. Finally, the 27th stanza is an example of what has been called "the most complex and exquisite type of 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....
ever invented". Sanskrit aestheticians call it sarvatobhadra, "perfect in every direction" — it yields the same text if read forwards, backwards, down, or up:
सकारनानारकास-
कायसाददसायका ।
रसाहवा वाहसार-
नादवाददवादना ॥
sakāranānārakāsa-
kāyasādadasāyakā
rasāhavā vāhasāra-
nādavādadavādanā.
sa kā ra nā nā ra kā sa kā ya sā da da sā ya kā ra sā ha vā vā ha sā ra nā da vā da da vā da nā (and the lines reversed) nā da vā da da vā da nā ra sā ha vā vā ha sā ra kā ya sā da da sā ya kā sa kā ra nā nā ra kā sa
The 29th stanza can be arranged into the shape of a "drum" (muraja-citra):
सा सेना गमनारम्भे
रसेनासीदनारता ।
तारनादजनामत्त
धीरनागमनामया ॥
sā se nā ga ma nā ra mbhe ra se nā sī da nā ra tā tā ra nā da ja nā ma tta dhī ra nā ga ma nā ma yā
The first, second, third, and fourth lines give the same text when read along a "drum" pattern.
In the 118th stanza, each half contains the same pada twice, but with different meanings. This is known as samudga:
सदैव संपन्नवपू रणेषु
स दैवसंपन्नवपूरणेषु ।
महो दधे 'स्तारि महानितान्तं
महोदधेस्तारिमहा नितान्तम् ॥
sadaiva saṃpannavapū raṇeṣu
sa daivasaṃpannavapūraṇeṣu
maho dadhe 'stāri mahānitāntaṃ
mahodadhestārimahā nitāntam
The canto also includes stanzas which can be arranged into the shape of a sword, zigzags, and other shapes.
Finally, it ends with a stanza (120th) in the extremely difficult "wheel design" known as cakra-vṛtta or cakrabandha, wherein the syllables can be arranged in the form of a wheel with six spokes.
सत्वं मानविशिष्टमाजिरभसादालम्ब्य भव्यः पुरो
लब्धाघक्षयशुद्धिरुद्धरतरश्रीवत्सभूमिर्मुदा ।
मुक्त्वा काममपास्तभीः परमृगव्याधः स नादं हरे-
रेकौघैः समकालमभ्रमुदयी रोपैस्तदा तस्तरे ॥
satvaṃ mānaviśiṣṭamājirabhasādālambya bhavyaḥ puro
labdhāghakṣayaśuddhiruddharataraśrīvatsabhūmirmudā /
muktvā kāmamapāstabhīḥ paramṛgavyādhaḥ sa nādaṃ hare-
rekaughaiḥ samakālamabhramudayī ropaistadā tastare //
In the figure, the first, second and third lines are read top-to-bottom along the "spokes" of the wheel, sharing a common central syllable, while the fourth line is read clockwise around the circumference (starting and ending where the third line ends), sharing every third syllable with one of the first three lines. Further, the large syllables in bold (within the annuli
Annulus (mathematics)
In mathematics, an annulus is a ring-shaped geometric figure, or more generally, a term used to name a ring-shaped object. Or, it is the area between two concentric circles...
), read clockwise, spell out śiśupālavadha-māgha-kāvyamidaṃ ("This is Śiśupālavadha, a poem by Māgha").
Derivatives
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.The oldest known commentary on the Śiśupālavadha is that by Vallabhadeva, known as the Sandehaviṣauṣadhi. The commentary by Mallinātha is known as the Sarvaṅkaṣā, and, as on the other five mahakavyas, is considered the pre-eminent one. There are numerous other commentaries on it from different parts of the country, illustrating its importance.
The Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
writer Bhaskarabhatta Borikar, of the early 14th century, wrote a Shishupala Vadha in Marathi (1308).
External links
- Transliterated text at GRETIL
- Description of Mount Raivataka from Shisupala vadha, translated by K. Krishnamoorthy
The Shishupala story
- Translation of the Mahabharata, sections XXXV–XLIV of the second book provide the basis for the story
- Translation by Paul Wilmot, part of the Clay Sanskrit LibraryClay Sanskrit LibraryThe Clay Sanskrit Library is a series of books published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Each work features the text in its original language on the left-hand page, with its English translation on the right...
translation, ISBN 9780814794067.