Magha (poet)
Magha | |
---|---|
Born | c. 7th century Shrimal (present-day Bhinmal) |
Occupation | Poet |
Magha (c. 7th century) (
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 any contemporary events, Māgha gives some autobiographical details in the concluding five verses of the work (known as the Praśasti).[4] 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.[5]
According to tradition, Māgha was a native of Gujarat, born in Shrimal Nagar,[6] present day Bhinmal, in district Jalore, Rajasthan.[7]
By his own accounts and that of others, he was born wealthy and lived a carefree life,[8]: 53 although according to one legend, he died in poverty.[9]
Date
Māgha is quoted by
Appraisal
Māgha is highly popular with Sanskrit critics and is extensively quoted by them. His Shishupala Vadha seems to have been inspired by the Kirātārjunīya 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,[3] and is noted for his intricate wordplay, textual complexity, and verbal ingenuity. He also uses a rich vocabulary, so much so that the claim has been made that his work contains every word in the Sanskrit language.[12] 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.[8]
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|
- दण्डिनः पदलालित्यं माघे सन्ति त्रयो गुणः||
- upamā kālidāsasya, bhāraver arthagauravaṃ,
- daṇḍinaḥ padalālityaṃ — māghe santi trayo guṇaḥ
- "The similes of Kalidasa, Bharavi's depth of meaning, Daṇḍin'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
Māgha influenced Ratnākara's Haravijaya,[6] an epic in 50 cantos that suggests a thorough study of the Shishupalavadha.[8] The Dharmashramabhyudaya, a Sanskrit poem by Hari[s]chandra in 21 cantos on Dharmanatha, the 15th tirthankara, is modeled on the Shishupalavadha.[15]
References
- ISBN 81-208-1100-3, p.124
- ISBN 0-86311-242-0, p.148.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-260-2171-0
- ^ a b c K B Pathak (1902), "On the date of the poet Mâgha", Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 20, p. 303
- ISBN 978-90-04-04300-8
- ^ a b Hermann Jacobi (1890), "Ānandavardhana and the date of Māgha", Vienna Oriental Journal, 4: 240
- ISBN 978-0-391-02358-1
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-0056-4
- ISBN 978-81-260-0794-3
- ^ F. Kielhorn (1908), Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, Part 1, p. 499
- ISBN 978-81-208-1494-3
- ISBN 978-0-87779-042-6
- ISBN 978-81-8324-078-9
- ISBN 978-81-208-0449-4
- ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9