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84-436: The Bhaṭṭikāvya also has Rāvaṇavadha ("The Death of Rāvaṇa ") as an alternative title. It is improbable that this was the original title as Ravana 's death is only one short episode in the whole poem. It may have acquired this title to distinguish it from other works concerning themselves with the deeds of Rāma . The poem is the earliest example of an "instructional poem" or śāstra-kāvya . That is, not

168-485: A collection of verses showing diverse poetic traits? Since the order of the names given in the manuscripts corresponds to the order of figures treated by Daṇḍin , did he base his work on this order or were the names applied retrospectively to “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” in an attempt to match it up to later systems? That “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” canto 10 is a major work on Sanskrit poetics is amply demonstrated by Söhnen in her examination of ‘doubling’ yamaka of 10.2–22 showing that

252-458: A few of his maternal uncles, were generals in the Lanka army. Kaikesi 's father, Sumali and uncle, Malyavan were instrumental in making Ravana the king of Lanka by advising him to receive boons from Brahma, defeat Kubera, and establish rakshasa rule in the three worlds . Ravana's granduncle was Malyavan , who opposed the war with Rama and Lakshmana. He also had another granduncle named Mali who

336-568: A lack of finite verb forms. It is more common for participle forms to be the same in the two languages. On occasion the commentators need a deal of learning and ingenuity to explain how forms are defensible in both languages. For instance in verse 13.3 the Sanskrit sabhā “hall” would normally become sahā in Prakrit by the rule khaghathadhabhāṃ haḥ “ h is the replacement for kh, gh, th, dh and bh ,” ( Prākṛtaprakāśa 2.27). Mallinātha defends

420-478: A modern setting. Author Amish Tripathi 's 2019 novel Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta chronicles the life of Ravana until the time he kidnaps Sita . It is the third book in Tripathi's Ram Chandra Series. Nai%E1%B9%A3adhacarita Naishadha Charita , also known as Naishadhiya Charita ( Naiṣadhīya-carita ), is a poem in Sanskrit on the life of Nala , the king of Nishadha . Written by Sriharsha , it

504-466: A saraswat Brahmin as per his lineage. There has also been reference to "Ravani", the lineage of Upadhyaya Yasastrata II, who was of the Gautama gotra and Acharya Vasudatta's son, and described as "born of Ravani". The Gondi people of central India claim to be descendants of Ravana, and have temples for him, his wife Mandodari, and their son Meghnad. They also state that Ravana was an ancient Gond king,

588-576: A taste of the Prakrit language (a major component in every Sanskrit drama ) in easily accessible form. Finally it tells the compelling story of Prince Rāma in simple, elegant Sanskrit: this is the Rāmāyaṇa faithfully retold. The learned Indian curriculum in late classical times had at its heart a system of grammatical study and linguistic analysis. The core texts for this study were the notoriously difficult “Eight Chapters” ( Aṣṭādhyāyī ) of Pāṇini ,

672-486: A textbook. The author, Bhaṭṭi , describes himself at the end of the book: Even this eulogy is unreliable since variant readings of the verse show that his patron may have been Śrī Dharasena. Either way, the composition of the poem is placed at about 600 CE. In form the Bhaṭṭikāvya is a “great poem” ( mahākāvya ). It fits well within the definition of this genre given later by Daṇḍin in his “Mirror of Poetry”

756-615: A thousand years, the imprisoned Ravana sang Shiva Tandava Stotra , a hymn in praise of Shiva, who finally blessed him and granted him an invincible sword and a powerful linga (Shiva's iconic symbol, Atmalinga) to worship. But this incident has little to no evidence in Valmiki Ramayana. Ravana's parents were the sage Vishrava (son of Pulastya ) and Kaikesi (daughter of Sumali and Ketumati ). Ravana had seventeen maternal uncles and three maternal aunts. Dhumraksha , Prahastha , Akampana , Vajramushti , Suparshwa and Virupaksha ,

840-480: A treatise written in verse but an imaginative piece of literature which is also intended to be instructive in specific subjects. To modern tastes, however, this can create an unpardonable artificiality in the composition. To the critics of late classical times in India technical virtuosity was much admired. Much of the Bhaṭṭikāvya ' s popular success could also be ascribed to the fact that it must have been useful as

924-402: A typical courtly epic or “high kāvya” and that the idea of creating this new genre of educational poem or “śāstra-kāvya” evolved as the poem was being composed. This is supported by the progression in styles from highly ornate poetry in the first two cantos, through unadorned verse with no apparent systematic exemplification of grammar, the so-called “Diverse Rules Section” Prakīrṇa Khaṇḍa , to

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1008-435: Is Sanskrit for "loud roaring." In Abhinava Gupta's Krama Shaiva scripture, yāsām rāvanam is used as an expression to mean people who are truly aware of the materialism of their environment. Ravana has many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Dasis Sakvithi Maha Ravana, Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankapati, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanasura and Ravanaeshwaran. Ravana is depicted and described as having ten heads, although he

1092-610: Is a demon -king of the island of Lanka and the chief antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana . In the Ramayana , Ravana is described as the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Kaikasi . He abducted Rama 's wife, Sita , and took her to his kingdom of Lanka , where he held her in the Ashoka Vatika . Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched a rescue operation for Sita against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana

1176-526: Is considered one of the five mahakavyas (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature . It was composed by Śrī Harṣa in the court of the Gahaḍavāla King Jayachandra . Naishadha Charita presents the story of Nala's early life; his falling in love with Damayanti , their marriage, and honeymoon. This mahakavya is divided into two parts – Purva and Uttara , each of them containing eleven cantos or divisions. Its story

1260-451: Is depicted as one of Vishnu 's cursed doorkeepers. The word Rāvaṇa ( Sanskrit : रावण) means "Roaring" (active), the opposite of Vaiśravaṇa which means to "hear distinctly" (passive). Both Ravana and Vaiśravaṇa, who is commonly known as Kubera , are considered to be patronymics derived from "sons of Vishrava ". Ravana was a title later taken on by Dashānana, and it means "the one with ten (dasha) faces (anana)". Further, roravana

1344-548: Is depicted with green skin. In the Karandavyuha Sutra , Yama asks if the visitor in hell (Avalokitesvara), whom he hasn't seen yet, is a god or a demon, and whether he is Vishnu, Mahesvara , or the rakshasa Ravana. Jain accounts vary from the traditional Hindu accounts of the Ramayana. The incidents are placed at the time of the 20th Tirthankara , Munisuvrata . In Jainism, both Rama and Ravana were devout Jains. Ravana

1428-467: Is no proof that these were the names that Bhaṭṭi knew. The fact that this naming of figures is quite different from that of the writers on poetics suggests that they might well pre-date them. If this is the case then in these we have the fragmentary residua of a missing link in the tradition of poetics. It is most likely that Bhaṭṭi based his treatment of the figures of speech on a text now lost. Other questions about this canto present themselves. Why

1512-414: Is regarded to have once caught sight of the apsara Rambha and was filled with lust. Even as the apsara resisted his advances by asserting that she was his daughter-in-law, he raped her. When she reported this to her husband, Nalakuvara , he cursed Ravana to be unable to cause violence to any woman who did not consent to being with him, his head splitting into a number of pieces if he did so. This incident

1596-681: Is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored inside his belly thanks to a celestial boon from Brahma . In the War with Lord Rama, Ravana was killed by a powerful Brahma's weapon shot by Rama which was gifted to Rama by Sage Agstya. Ravana was born to the Brahmin sage Vishrava and the Rakshasa princess Kaikasi in Treta Yuga . Villagers from Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh claim that Bisrakh

1680-613: Is sometimes shown with only nine heads since he cut one off to convince Shiva. He is described as a devout follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler, and a maestro of the Veena . Ravana is also depicted as the author of the Ravana Samhita , a book on Hindu astrology , and the Arka Prakasham , a book on Siddha medicine and treatment. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Siddha and political science . In some later versions, he

1764-532: Is stated to explain why Ravana could not force the abducted Sita to submit to his desire. Ravana is worshipped as one of Shiva's most revered followers, and he is even worshipped in some Shiva temples. Ravana is worshipped by the Kanyakubja Brahmins of the Vidisha region, who see him as a savior and a sign of prosperity, claiming Ravana was also a Kanyakubja Brahmin. Thousands of Kanyakubja Brahmins of

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1848-666: Is that of Nala and Damayanti , the daughter of Bhima, the king of Vidarbha . This story is first related in the 3rd part of the Vanaparva of the Mahabharata , where the treatment is different. The language of the Naishadha Charita is highly elaborate and polished, with continual play upon words and variety of metres. The Shishupala Vadha of Magha and the Naishadha Charita of Sriharsha are considered tests for scholars; of

1932-450: Is the Sanskrit language itself: it is likely that the most unusual or aberrant forms would have been exemplified. The frequent coincidence of these two heuristic principles is also helpful. Where the word in the verse is also given as an example in the grammatical texts then we can be almost certain about the topic. It could be conjectured at this point that within this section of “Diverse Rules” those verses which were intended to illustrate

2016-585: Is the life of a hero who is at once a human soldier yet divine. Each canto has a uniform metre and there is one canto (canto 10) deploying a variety of metres. The end of each canto suggests the topic for the next. The main sentiment or rasa of the poem is “heroism”, (vīrya). The poem through its form and subject matter is conducive to the attainment of the four aims of human life ( puruṣārtha ): “righteousness” ( dharma ), “wealth and power,” ( artha ), “pleasure” ( kāma ) and “spiritual liberation” ( mokṣa ). Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem contains descriptions of cities,

2100-412: Is there only one example of alliteration ( anuprāsa )? Was this figure not fully elaborated until Daṇḍin ? Why do those verses said to exhibit the figure ‘illuminator’ dīpaka in the manuscripts show nothing of the sort according to later theorists? Given that many of the verses contain more than one figure, does this mean that they were not intended to be a systematic illustration of figures but rather

2184-532: The Bhaṭṭikāvya compared with those of the earlier “Great Commentary” Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali and later works such as the “Kashi Commentary” Kāśikā and the “Moonlight on the Tradition” Siddhāntakaumudī still remains to be done. It remains to be seen to what extent examples of usage may have been introduced into the grammatical tradition by “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem”. The poem itself might then have become an authority on usage. This section of

2268-576: The ravanahatha , an ancient bowed string instrument , was created by Ravana and is still used as a Rajasthani folk instrument. In the Rin-spuns-pa Tibetan Ramayana, it is prophesied that Ravana will return as the Buddha incarnation of Vishnu in Kali Yuga. The Arunachal Pradesh Tai Khamti Ramayana (Phra Chow Lamang) shows Rama as a Bodhisattva who was reborn so Ravana could torture him. In

2352-833: The Bhagavata Purana , Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna are said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya , gatekeepers at Vaikuntha (the abode of Vishnu ), and were cursed to be born on Earth for their insolence. These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks who, because of their powers and austerity, appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikuntha and to be born on Earth. Vishnu agreed that they should be punished and gave them two options. First, that they could be born seven times as normal mortals and devotees of Vishnu, or be born three times as strong and powerful beings, but as enemies of Vishnu. Eager to be back with

2436-478: The Kāvyādarśa : It springs from a historical incident or is otherwise based on some fact; it turns upon the fruition of the fourfold ends and its hero is clever and noble; By descriptions of cities, oceans, mountains, seasons and risings of the moon or the sun; through sportings in garden or water, and festivities of drinking and love; Through sentiments-of-love-in-separation and through marriages, by descriptions of

2520-513: The Old Javanese Rāmāyaṇa which is the oldest surviving example of classical Javanese epic poetry ( Kakawin ). The Javanese Kakawin Rāmāyaṇa follows “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” closely as far as canto 12, sometimes to the extent of directly translating a verse, but begins to diverge thereafter. It would seem that the form of “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” as a ‘great poem’ mahākāvya was important to

2604-559: The sine qua non of learning composed in the 4th century BCE, and arguably the most remarkable and indeed foundational text in the history of linguistics. Not only is the Aṣṭādhyāyī a description of a language unmatched in totality for any language until the nineteenth century, but it is also presented in the most compact form possible through the use of an elaborate and sophisticated metalanguage, again unknown anywhere else in linguistics before modern times. This grammar of Pāṇini had been

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2688-547: The Javanese author as many of his additions make more complete the Old-Javanese Rāmāyaṇa ’s conformity to the genre as described by Daṇḍin , indicating that his “Mirror of Poetry” or its precursor as followed by Bhaṭṭi was also available to him. Moreover Hooykaas has also shown that the Old-Javanese Rāmāyaṇa uses ‘doubling’ yamaka under Bhaṭṭi ’s influence. Ravana Traditional Ravana

2772-616: The Laotian Buddhist text Phra Lak Phra Lam , Rama is a Bodhisattva and the embodiment of virtues, while Ravana is a Brahmin (" mahabrahma ") son of Virulaha who is highly materialistic. In the Cambodian Buddhist text Preah Ream , Buddha is an incarnation of Rama and Ravana is a rakshasa. In the Thai Buddhist text Ramakien , Ravana is a rakshasa known as "Thotsakan" (ทศกัณฐ์, from Sanskrit दशकण्ठ, Daśakaṇṭha, "ten necks"), and

2856-509: The Lord, they chose the latter option. The curse of the first birth was fulfilled by Hiranyakashipu and his brother Hiranyaksha in Satya Yuga , when they were both vanquished by earlier avatars of Vishnu (Hiranyaksha by Varaha , and Hiranyakashipu by Narasimha ). Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna were born to fulfill the curse in their second birth as enemies of Vishnu in Treta Yuga . The curse of

2940-613: The Mountain Man”) of Bharavi and the Naiṣadhacarita (“Adventures of the Prince of Nishadha”) of Śrīharṣa . The multitude of manuscripts found in libraries demonstrates the popularity of the Bhaṭṭikāvya and the thirteen extant and eight further attested commentaries instantiate its importance to the tradition. “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” has two purposes: it is both a poetic retelling of

3024-463: The Naishadha it is said that it is Naishadham Vidvad-aushadham , i.e. the "Scholars' tonic". The main characters of the poem are: The first canto begins with an elaborate description of Nala, his physical beauty, valour and other qualities. The minstrels visiting the court of Nala bring the news of Damayanti, the daughter of King Bhimna, as an accomplished and charming lady. Love for that princess

3108-419: The actual aphorisms of the “IAST| Aṣṭādhyāyī ” themselves but are ones given by later commentators to facilitate discussion. The most widely used traditional examples are included in the two editions of the “IAST| Aṣṭādhyāyī ” cited in the bibliography below. Each canto from 14 through to 22 illustrates a particular mood or tense. (For more details see the table above.) A detailed study of the examples given in

3192-405: The adventures of Rāma and a compendium of examples of grammar and rhetoric for the student. As literature, cantos 1, 2 and 10 in particular stand comparison with the best of Sanskrit poetry. The Bhaṭṭikāvya provides a comprehensive exemplification of Sanskrit grammar in use and a good introduction to the science ( śāstra ) of poetics or rhetoric ( alaṃkāra , lit. ornament). It also gives

3276-427: The author was to teach these advanced sciences through a relatively easy and pleasant medium. In his own words: This composition is like a lamp to those whose those who perceive the meaning of words and like a hand mirror for a blind man to those without grammar. This poem, which is to be understood by means of a commentary, is a joy to those sufficiently learned: through my fondness for the scholar I have here slighted

3360-407: The birth-and-rise of princes, and likewise through state-counsel, embassy, advance, battle, and the hero’s triumph; Embellished; not too condensed, and pervaded all through with poetic sentiments and emotions; with cantos none too lengthy and having agreeable metres and well-formed joints, And in each case furnished with an ending in a different metre—such a poem possessing good figures-of-speech wins

3444-416: The dullard. Bhaṭṭikāvya 22.33–34. The traditional story given to account for the technical or shastric nature of the poem goes that Bhaṭṭi ’s class on grammar was one day disturbed by an elephant ambling between him and his pupils. This bestial interruption necessitated an interdiction of study for a year as prescribed by the solemn law books. To ensure that no vital study time was lost our poem

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3528-403: The end at canto 22 are each written in a particular tense or mood. Given that this is a rather broad restriction it is surprising that Bhaṭṭi does not indulge in more ornamentation in these verses. He does include many obscurer roots here but in other respects his language is simple and uncluttered. The influence of " Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem" has extended to Java where it became the source text for

3612-495: The following words all begin with voiced consonants, in Sanskrit sandhi the ending -aḥ is in all these cases changed to -o , thus making the form indistinguishable from the Prakrit. Where the Sanskrit termination is undisguisably altered in Prakrit as for example with the instrumental plural -bhiḥ which becomes -hi , these terminations are concealed within compounds. It is for this reason that long compounds are so extensively used in this canto. The reader will also notice

3696-465: The formation and use of these acronyms and the special uses of the cases within the rules. It is thus a rule for the simple sandhi which would occur for example between the words iti and evam , smoothing the juncture between their vowels into ity evam . This is but a small taste of the economy, intricacy, beauty and intellectual power of the Aṣṭādhyāyī , surely one of the greatest wonders and perhaps

3780-452: The garland around Nala's neck but her fingers did not move even a little to do so, restraint and bashfulness forbidding her. She whispered into the ears of Saraswati uttering the letter na (lit. no) and stopped. She touched the fingers of Saraswati who laughed at this. The bridesmaid took the princess before Nala and addressed the gods that Damayanti, a chaste woman, would not choose any of them and requested them to shower their favour on

3864-448: The gods were not acceptable to Damayanti, who was against a human being seeking an alliance with the gods. Nala's warning that the gods would create problems and obstacles in her married life, if she chose someone else, did not defer her from her steadfast love for Nala. At last, Nala revealed his identity and left the harem. The four gods assumed a form identical to Nala's and were there along with Nala, virtually presenting five Nalas. At

3948-418: The grammar would be those without figures of speech or at least with very simple figures. That supposition would be consistent with the lack of ornament in some sections of the poem and would also explain why there is such a marked distinction between Bhaṭṭi ’s high style in canto 1 and much of 2 and his plainer style in much of the rest of the poem. It may be that “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” was first intended to be

4032-541: The hand of a damsel goaded Indra to attend the swayamvara. He got down to earth with the gods Agni , Yama , Varuna and Shani (Saturn) and met on his way Nala, who too was proceeding to attend the swayamvara. He was unable to contain his envy on noticing Nala's enchanting appearance and so resorted to a ruse by requesting Nala to be the emissary of the gods and impress upon Damayanti their unequalled worthiness. The rewards that are vouchsafed traditionally to one who offers his service to another in need were brought by Indra to

4116-444: The happy life of Nala and Damayanti. The poet takes care to show that Nala did not violate the rules of conduct in his religious acts. The poem abruptly ends after narrating Damayanti's beauty in the moonlit night. Events occurring in each chapter The progress of the story spanning across 22 chapters is presented below, by showing the significant events covered in a range of verses. The verse numbers referred to here are taken from

4200-412: The instance of Vishnu , Saraswati , the goddess of learning, became the bridesmaid for Damayanti. She took the princess to the kings and spoke highly of the worth of each one, but they were all rejected by Damayanti. At last, the princess was brought before the five Nalas. Sarasvati described each god in such a manner that her words attributable to that god were also contained in her description. Damayanti

4284-525: The language of his own work rather than from the pronouncements of later writers on poetics. Canto 13 is written in what is called “like the vernacular” bhāṣāsama , that is, it can be read in two languages simultaneously: Prakrit and Sanskrit . The Prakrit used here is of course no real vernacular but a literary version almost as highly codified as Sanskrit. Because of this Prakrit’s similarity to Sanskrit it can be read in that elevated language by someone with no knowledge of Prakrit. With minor exceptions

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4368-467: The most popular images of Shiva is called "Ravananugraha", which was popular in the Gupta era . It depicts Ravana beneath Mount Kailash playing a veena made out of his head and hands, and strings made out of his tendons, while Shiva and Parvati sit on top of the mountain. According to scriptures, Ravana once tried to lift Mount Kailash, but Shiva pushed the mountain into place and trapped Ravana beneath it. For

4452-586: The most powerful being in the mortal world, so as to produce an exceptional heir. He rejected the kings of the world, as they were less powerful than him. Kaikasi searched among the sages and finally chose Vishrava, the father of Kubera. Ravana and his siblings were born to the couple and they completed their education from their father, with Ravana being a great scholar of the Vedas. Ravana and his two brothers, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana , performed penance on Mount Gokarna for 10,000 years and won boons from Brahma. Ravana

4536-408: The notice of Nala, who was otherwise unwilling and at the same time felt the delicacy of refusing the request of the divine beings. At last, he agreed and was sent to the harem of Damayanti, remaining invisible to others — a boon granted to him by the gods. Keeping his identity unknown to Damayanti, Nala attempted to deliver to her the message of the gods but his well-reasoned arguments on behalf of

4620-496: The object of intense study for the ten centuries prior to the composition of “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem”. It was plainly Bhaṭṭi ’s purpose to provide a study aid to Pāṇini ’s text by using the examples already provided in the existing grammatical commentaries in the context of the gripping and morally improving story of the Rāmāyaṇa . To the dry bones of this grammar Bhaṭṭi has given juicy flesh in his poem. The same could be said for poetics, prosody and Prakrit. The intention of

4704-548: The ocean, mountains, seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, and the sports of love and sex. Five such poems are traditionally enumerated in addition to which our work is sometimes named the sixth. The five are the Raghuvaṃśa (“Lineage of Raghu”) and the Kumārasambhava (“Birth of the war God KumAra/ KartikEya /Muruga”) of Kālidāsa , the Śiśupālavadha (“Slaying of Śiśupāla”) of Māgha , Kirātārjunīya (“Arjuna and

4788-698: The people’s heart and endures longer than even a kalpa . Daṇḍin 's Kāvyādarśa 1.15–19 trans. Belvalkar . itihāsa-kath’’-ôdbhūtam, itarad vā sad-āśrayam, | catur-varga-phal’-āyattaṃ, catur-udātta-nāyakam , nagar’-ârṇava-śaila’-rtu , | udyāna-salila-kṛīḍā-madhu-pāna-rat’-ôtsavaiḥ , vipralambhair vivāhaiś ca, kumār’-ôdaya-varṇanaiḥ , | mantra-dūta-prayāṇ’-āji-nāyak’-âbhyudayair api ; alaṃ-kṛtam, a-saṃkṣiptaṃ, rasa-bhāva-nirantaram , | sargair an-ativistīrṇaiḥ, śravya-vṛttaiḥ su-saṃdhibhiḥ , sarvatra bhinna-vṛttāntair upetaṃ, loka-rañjanam | kāvyaṃ kalp’-ântara-sthāyi jāyate sad-alaṃkṛti . || Kāvyādarśa 1.15–19 Its subject matter

4872-410: The poem has been the most studied in modern times. It constitutes an important text in its own right in the history of Sanskrit poetics . That said, its importance lies in its raising far more questions than it answers. Chronologically it stands between the “Science of Theatre” Nāṭyaśāstra as the earliest surviving text on Sanskrit poetics and the first great systematic treatments of the subject in

4956-665: The priest of the Asuras, as his minister, and in other accounts, Brihaspati , the priest of the Devas. One account narrates how Ravana ordered Brihaspati to recite the Chandi stava (mantras of Chandi), more specifically the Devi Mahatmya, in order to stave off defeat. According to the Krttivasa text, Ravana arranged for a peaceful yajna , and invited Brihaspati to start the recitation of Chandi. In

5040-404: The primary antagonist in films and television series based on the Ramayana . Movies like Bhakta Ravana (1938) and its Telugu ( 1940 and 1958 ) and Kannada ( 1958 ) adaptations as well as television series Raavan (2006-2008) are focused on the tale on Ravana. The Tamil film Raavanan (2010) and its Hindi counterpart Raavan (2010) narrate the epic from Ravana's perspective in

5124-466: The princess. The gods gave their assent through the movement of their eyebrows and returned to their regions. The marriage celebrations followed on a grand scale. Kali , the evil genius, met the gods who were returning to their regions, and was informed of Damayanti's choice. He avowed to spoil the happy life of the wedded pair and took his position on a tree in Nala's mansion. The last five cantos deal with

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5208-405: The retention of sabhā in Prakrit by saying that there is the continued operation ( anuvṛtti ) of prāyaḥ “generally” from an earlier rule. With the exception of verse 13.7 which is irregular and verses 13.26–28 which are in the upajāti metre, the entire canto is composed in the āryāgīti metre which is the older lyric metre most commonly used for Prakrit texts. Cantos 14 through to

5292-537: The second major section from near the end of canto 5 until the end of canto 9, the Adhikāra Khaṇḍa "Illustration of Particular Topics". The Adhikāra Khaṇḍa is the "Illustration of Particular Topics" in which the verses exemplify in sequence long series of rules from the “IAST| Aṣṭādhyāyī ”. Here again poetry is subjugated to the pedagogic purpose of exemplification: the metre is the humble anuṣṭubh or śloka and there are few figures of speech to decorate

5376-423: The semivowels y, v, r, l ; and all the vowels a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, e, o, ai, au . The cases are used to indicate the operation which is to take place: The genitive of ik indicates “In place of ik ”; the locative of ac indicates “when ac follows” and yaṇ in the nominative indicates “there should be a yaṇ ” or “ yaṇ is the replacement”. Pāṇini gives metarules to explain

5460-481: The supreme intellectual achievement of the ancient world. It is to the layman a treasure chest whose key is locked deep inside itself. However, the reader does not have to be familiar with this system to enjoy the Bhaṭṭikāvya . By using the references to the “IAST| Aṣṭādhyāyī ” given in the table above, the reader may refer to the rules as he reads and become familiar with them in advance of reading each verse. The examples used in “ Bhaṭṭi ’s Poem” are not included in

5544-576: The tale. This change of metre from the longer 44 syllable upajāti for the first three cantos to the shorter and simpler 32 syllable anuṣṭubh for the next six may also be indicative of a gradually evolving intention. From the end of canto 5 up to the end of canto 9 the verses exemplify in sequence long series of aphorisms (sūtras) from the Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini . These aphorisms are short coded rules, almost algebraic in form. As an example, consider Pāṇini ’s rule 6.1.77: ' iko yaṇ aci ' . This translates as “When followed by any vowel,

5628-478: The tenth dharmaguru of their tribe, and the eighteenth lingo (divine teacher). Annually on Dussehra , the Gondis from the village of Paraswadi carry an image of Ravana riding on an elephant in a procession. The following temples in India are for Ravana as a Shiva Bhakta. Effigies of Ravana are burned on Vijayadashami in many places throughout India to symbolize Rama's triumph over evil. According to mythology,

5712-500: The third birth was fulfilled by Dantavakra and Shishupala in the Dvapara Yuga , when they both were slain by Krishna , the eighth avatar. Ravana had fought with the demons named Nivatakavacha along with his army for an entire year but was unable to kill them due to Brahma's boon. The war was stopped by Brahma and Ravana formed an alliance with them, he learnt several magical tricks or maya from those demons. Ravana had defeated

5796-680: The treatment of this figure in Daṇḍin ’s “Mirror of Poetry” and Bhāmaha’s “Ornament of Poetry” is influenced by the Bhaṭṭikāvya . Cantos 11 and 12 are held to display respectively the quality guṇa of “sweetness” mādhurya and the sentiment rasa of “intensity of expression” bhāvikatva . The texts describing these qualities post-date Bhaṭṭi so again we cannot be sure that he intended to illustrate what happens to be described by later authors. Assuming that Bhaṭṭi did intend to show these, their precise characteristics described in his source text would be best discovered from careful analysis of

5880-445: The vanara warriors namely Hanuman, Sugriva, Neela and even Rama's brother Lakshmana twice during his war with Rama. As per the original six books of Valmiki Ramayana, only lord Rama the incarnation of Vishnu defeated Ravana and killed him after several days of single duel. Once, upon hearing a discourse from Sage Sanatkumara , Ravana attempted to invade Vaikuntha . Only Ravana managed to enter Vaikuntha's capital, Shwetadwipa, where he

5964-785: The village Ravangram of Netaran, in the Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh , perform daily puja in the Ravana temple and offer naivedyam or bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the gods). King Shiv Shankar built a Ravana temple in Kanpur , Uttar Pradesh . The Ravana temple is open once a year, on the day of Dashera , to perform puja for the welfare of Ravana. Ravana is also worshipped by Hindus of Bisrakh , who claim their town to be his birthplace. The Sachora Brahmins of Gujarat claim to be descendants of Ravana, and sometimes have "Ravan" as their surnames. Saraswat Brahmins from Mathura claim Ravana as

6048-556: The vocabulary and grammar used are common to both languages. Where the grammar is not common the differences are disguised by sandhi. As many of the Prakrit terminations originate in Sanskrit forms generalised to their most common forms in sandhi , this is not impossible. As an example, the nominative singular of substantives in -a in Sanskrit is -aḥ and in Prakrit it is -o . In verse 13.2 we have three nominative singulars in -a: bhīmaḥ , rasaḥ and samaḥ . In Prakrit they would be bhimo , raso and samo . Because

6132-427: The vowels i, u, ṛ and ḷ in any length are respectively replaced by the semivowels y, v, r and l .” This is quite a mouthful of translation for five syllables of Sanskrit. How does Pāṇini do it? To start with, the three words of the rule in their uninflected form are ik, yaṇ and ac which are a type of acronym for their respective series of letters: the simple vowels i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ ;

6216-422: The “Mirror of Poetry” Kāvyādarśa of Daṇḍin (660–680 ce) and the “Ornament of Poetry” Kāvyālaṃkāra of Bhāmaha (700 ce). Tantalizingly, we have the examples only and not the explanations or contemporary commentaries. A major problem of Sanskrit poetics is the lack of agreement on any system of nomenclature for the figures. The figures are given names in some manuscripts of the Bhaṭṭikāvya but this

6300-472: Was a Vidyadhara king who had magical powers, and Lakshmana, not Rama, was the one who ultimately killed Ravana. Pulavar Kuzhanthai 's Ravana Kaaviyam is a panegyric on Ravana that is made up of 3,100 poetic stanzas in which Ravana is the hero. The book was released in 1946, and was subsequently banned by India's Congress led government. The ban was later lifted in 1971. Sri Lanka named its first satellite Raavana 1 after Ravana. Ravana appears as

6384-450: Was blessed with a boon that would make him invincible to all the creations of Brahma, except for humans. He also received weapons, a chariot, as well as the ability to shapeshift from Brahma. According to the Ramayana , demigods approached Brahma since Ravana was causing harm on Earth. Lord Vishnu appeared and gave blessings that he will incarnate as a human (Rama) and kill Ravana since his invincibility boon did not include humans. One of

6468-597: Was composed as a means of teaching grammar without resorting to an actual grammatical text. In the first section of the poem, the Prakīrṇa Khaṇḍa “Diverse Rules”, where the intention appears to be the illustration of miscellaneous rules, it is not obvious how to determine which specific rule if any is intended to be exemplified in any particular verse. Hundreds of rules could in theory be applicable. The commentators assist somewhat where they cite those rules which they think to be worth quoting in that context. The other guide

6552-545: Was hopelessly outmatched by the inhabitants and was forced to retreat. He killed Anaranya, the king of Ayodhya , although he cursed Ravana to be slain by Rama. Ravana had wrestled his brother Kubera and vanquished him for the Pushpaka Vimana . He also fought Marutta (Chakravarti King of Ushiraviga), Gadhi ( Vishwamitra 's father), Dushyanta ( Bharata 's father), Suratha (King of Vidarbha ), Gaya (Chakravarti king of Dharmaranya), and Paurava (King of Anga ). Ravana

6636-455: Was informed of his daughter's ailment, which was virtually love-sickness, by the innocent and inexperienced companions of Damayanti. Thereupon, Bhima made arrangements for the swayamvara (an ancient Indian practice whereby a girl chooses a husband from a list of suitors) of his daughter. Meanwhile, Indra , the king of the gods, learnt from Narada the news of Damayanti's swayamvara and of her steadfast love for Nala. Natural fascination to win

6720-417: Was killed by Vishnu . Ravana had 2 full brothers, 8 half brothers, 1 full sister and 3 half sisters. Ravana had three wives, Mandodari , the daughter of the celestial architect Maya , Dhanyamalini, and a third wife. His sons from his three wives were Meghanada , Atikaya , Akshayakumara , Narantaka , Devantaka , Trishira , and Prahasta . In some accounts, Ravana is said to have had Shukracharya ,

6804-550: Was named after Vishrava, and that Ravana was born there. Ravana's paternal grandfather, the sage Pulastya , was one of the ten Prajapatis , or mind-born sons of Brahma , and one of the Saptarishi (seven great sages) in the first Manvantara (age of Manu ). His maternal grandfather was Sumali (or Sumalaya), the king of the Rakshasas and the son of Sukesha. Sumali had ten sons and four daughters. Sumali wished for Kaikasi to marry

6888-573: Was perplexed. She felt that Nala was a master of many lores and could understand even the intentions of horses and so he was there presenting himself in five forms. She was unable to know the real Nala and in a mood of anguish prayed to the gods to reveal their identity and enable her to choose Nala. She found that the gods did not touch the ground with their feet, did not wink and had no sweat on their bodies. Their garlands did not fade. Thus she became certain about their identity. On knowing Nala's identity, bashfulness took full control of her. She would put

6972-699: Was subsequently slain, and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas , including the Shiva Tandava Stotra . Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva . Images of Ravana are often seen associated with Shiva at temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra , in Buddhist Jatakas , as well as in Jain Ramayanas . In Vaishnava scriptures , he

7056-496: Was thus kindled in Nala. Unable to bear it, he went to a pleasure garden in his palace where he seized a beautiful swan he saw. It cried in horror and was let off by the kind prince. It went to Kundinapura , the capital city of King Bhima, and managed to find Damayanti in a garden there. The swan gave her a good picture of Nala and assured her of its services in fostering mutual affection between her and Nala. It flew to Nala and apprised him of Damayanti's enviable attainments. King Bhima

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