CHAPTER - II CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA II. 0 Sanskrit poetry is a vast treasure of icnowledge that gives us immense information about ancient thought and principles. Some of the best works in ancient Sanskrit Uterature are written in the form of Sanskrit poems. Some of the most famous and respected poets have given us the treasure of poetry in Sanskrit. Most Sanskiii poems are followed by the name of the poet. Maghas Sisupalavadha is one amongst such great creations, which enjoys a very importance place in the history of Sanskrit literature. We present here few important reflections on text of Magha. II. 1 MAHABHARATA AS THE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION AND THE PLOT: The story of Sisupalavadha is taken from the Sabha Parva of Mahabharata where the killing of Sisupala by Krsna at the Rajasuy sacrifice of Yudhisthira is described. Magha as developed the plot in such way as to suit the purpose of a Mahdkdvya in twenty Cantos. The work begins with the arrival of the sage. Narada to Krishna in order to convey a message from Indra. The story of this Mahakavya relates to the killing of the great king Sisupala. Sisupala was the king of Chedi country. Sisupala was the enemy of Krsna, the divine incarnation, and he was Ravana, the enemy of Rama, in his previous birth. The episode is taken from Mahabharata; Sisupala was a cruel king and he was harassing not only men on the earth but also the gods in heaven. Narada went to Krsna to represent the grievances of the world to him so that he could save the world from his harassment. At the time, Yudhisthira, the eldest of the five brothers 14 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA who came triumphant in the Great war of the Mahabharata, and king of Indraprasta, had arranged for the performance of great sacrifice called the Rajasuya, which kings after their coronation perform to assert their sovereign status. Krsna was his cousin. He had some difficulty in coming to a decision between proceedings to Sisupala to kill him and going to his cousin Yudhisthira to attend his sacrifice. He and his brother Balarama sat in council and Minster Uddhava. Krsna naturally wanted to go his cousin but concealed his intention to please his brother and advocated immediate action against Sisupala; Uddhava made the final choice by suggesting that if he went to the sacrifice, Sisupala too would be there and Krsna would get the change to kill him there. Krsna proceeded to the sacrifice of Yudhisthira, and there all the kings including Sisupala were assembled as guests. It was the custom on such occasions to receive a particular king as the chief guest, and Bhisma, the grand- uncle of Yudhisthira suggested that the honor should be done to Sri Krsna. Sisupalavadha objected to this and claimed the honor to him. He reviled Krsna for all his crimes and sins in his life. This gave the occasion for Krsna to challenge him and to kill him in the fight. ^ II. 2 The main focus of Sisupalavadha: (i) Political discussion (ii) Marching of Army (iii) Description of the mountain (iv) Drinking parties (v) Battle field (vi) Description of the mountain (vii) Description of the Sunset etc. 15 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA II. 3 TITLE OF THE SISUPALAVADHA Sisupalasya vadhah is called Sisualavadhah. By transference of epithets (Laksana) this is taken to denote the Kcivya of which the subject is Sisupalavadhah. Kavya being in the neuter we have Sisupalavadham in the neuter. If we interpret like a Bahuvrihi compound with the Vakya - "'Sisupalasya vadhah asmin" should be avoided; first because this is a vyadhikaranabahuvrihi and such a Bahuvrihi is allowed only when the leading word is saptamyanta, never when Sathyanta; Secondly, the book does not contain 'vadha' but Vadhavarnanam. Hence to get a sense out of it vadha must take in the sense of Vadhavarnana by Laksana. If then after all Laksana cannot be avoided, why all this trouble? Why do not have Laksana at the very beginning and avoid the Vyadhikaranabahuvrihi? A Taddhita in the sense 'Sisupalavadham adhikrtya krto granthah' is also undesirable because this gives ana and we get Sisupalavadhah. Nor does 'lup akydyikabhyo bahulam' help much because Sisupalavadha is not a prose work and cannot be called a dkhydyikd. Even if this point were concerned, the hip gives us Sisupalavadhah in the masculine by the Paninian rule Hupi yutktavadgunavacane' P. 1. 2. 51 Hence the best way to expound seems to be by Laksana with a sasthitatpurusa samdsa. 16 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA II. 4 MAGHA'S STYLE: Magha's style is throughout dignified and moves majestically, especially when the nature of the subject requires it. Otherwise it is simple generally, in that sense of the word as it understood with reference to works written in a literary language. It is embellished with picturesque figures and imaginative touches. The descriptions of situation and the narration of events are in general poetic, but there is occasionally some exhibition of pedantry. It is probably more a fault with the age than the poet. Magha is possessed of luxuriance of expression and great imaginative power. He was deeply read in the Kamasutra. His love stanzas generally abound in sweetness and prettiness. Sometimes however the details are given in a manner that appear tedious to western mind. He is very fond of Alamkaras, which are generally happy and create effect on the reader. His alliterations are beautiful and clear. Often times he fond of slesa. ' Then having uttered the disagreeable speech Sisupala become vary angry ; he desires fearlessly to come before you aud kill you. 17 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA On the whole his style is elaborate and in the grandeur of sense and sound he vise with Bhatti and Kumara dasa. Magha is very skilled in use of meters. In canto four he has used 22 metres. Magha's style has been called Gaiidi or Pancall by different scholars. Those in favour of calling it Gaudi, justify their stand by the long compound in the Sisupalavadha. Magha frequently used double negative connotations. His alliterations too are over - wrought and produce monotony instead of charm. Sometimes they result in a harsh sound effect. In verse 1.62^ he adds two alliterating syllables, clearly with the intent of surpassing a cluster of alliteration of the same syllables in Bharavl. Magha's vocabulary is sometimes obscure. It can also become unpleasant to hear. He even uses grammatical terms in images of double entendre more than once. Quite frequently he uses 'hari' in the sense of both Krsna and lion, Kausika for both Indra and owl, or naga for an elephant and a snake. He has used peculiar type of Yamaka. Magha relies on Yamakas more than on slesa, which he seldom employs. He uses the same sound cluster for different meanings. Magha uses all the conventional epic meters. He also uses unfamiliar meters. According to the circumstance, the style of Magha is terse, graceful or vigorous. In the second canto it is terse and it suits well the subject matter described. As regards the use of suitable 18 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA grammatical forms excels all other poets. HT ^jfk^ I ^f^ R. V I Another specialty of Magha is that he does not use as far as possible, a word for the second time to denote the same meaning. His vocabulary is so rich that he can easily find synonyms to express the idea. For example he uses the words '^ I cIMtH I ^ I ^^IdlR I W(R I to denote Yudhishthira. The sun is denoted with so many words as 3^ I m- I ^^^T^^l ^fR- I IR: I RR^I m^' etc. For Krsna he uses the words ^ fg^l ^ I ^TN^ I ^l^: I Magha's description too is vivid and beautiful. In a way he has combined in one work the special merits of Kalidasa, Bharavi and Dandin tough he cannot be said to excel them in any one of these merits. 19 CHAPTER II A NOTE ON MAGHA AND HIS SISUPALAVDHA II. 5 MAGHA'S ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE: The critical point about Magha's poetry is that, he is remarkable and unique for his creative mastery and literary usage of many different and key disciplines of knowledge. These include the fields of astrology, politics, Vedic accent, grammar, dramaturgy, astronomy, zoology, ('gaja sastra' and 'asva sastra'), music, erotic, puranic literature, poetics, and philosophy. In his poetry, one encounters almost every known discipline; he is in fact an encyclopedic writer par excellence. There is a universal scope in his writing that transcends limitation and division of knowledge. Magha uses his vast understanding and familiarity with these different areas of knowledge to heighten the meaning of the human experience that he describes in his poetry. Indeed, Magha is a universal poet not only for his profound understanding of the human heart but also for his integration of different fields of learning. This mastery does not make him only a scholar's poet; he is also full of pathos and intimacy. However, this living connection to human experience comes through, and from a universal approach that allows him to utilize many different disciplines. There seems to be no branch of learning that is left untouched by Magha. He exhibits deep learning in some of the Sastras in particular. He had specialized in Sabdavidya. He uses all kinds of grammatical peculiarities with ease and refers to the important works on grammar with reverence.