KĀVYAS = COURT EPICS IN SANSKRIT

                                             

काव्यम् Kāvya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE.

This literary style, which includes both poetry and prose, is characterized by abundant usage of figures of speeche such as simile, metaphor, poetic fancy etc., to create its characteristic emotional effects. The result is a short lyrical work, court epic, narrative or dramatic work. Kāvya can refer to the style or the completed body of literature.  Asvaghosha (80–150 AD), a philosopher and poet considered the father of Sanskrit drama, is attributed with first using the term.

EARLY KĀVYAS

Although very little literature in the kāvya style written before the time of Kalidasa (5th century CE) survives, it can be assumed from quotations in Patanjali's grammatical treatise the Maha-Bhashya (2nd century BCE), as well as from poems written on various inscriptions of the 4th to 6th centuries CE, that it dates back to an early time.

One early epic work in this style is the Buddha-Caritam by Aśvaghoṣa (2nd century CE). Only the first half of this survives in Sanskrit, and the rest in a Chinese translation made 420 CE.

MAHĀKĀVYAS

Kalidasa is believed to have lived in the early 5th century CE. He is the author of two Epics,The Raghuvamsam and Kumara-Sambhavam. These two epics are traditionally known as Mahakavyas "great epics".

Other writers of great epics were Bharavi (6th century CE), author of Kiratarjuneeyam; Magha (c. 7th Century CE), author of Sisupala-Vadham, an epic famous for its linguistic ingenuity, and SriHarsha (12th century CE), author of Naishadheeya-Caritam. Another epic often called a mahākāvya, is Bhatti-Kavyam, which is simultaneously a narrative and a manual of grammatical instruction. It is believed by some to have been written by the 7th-century poet and grammarian Bhartṛihari.

Prose writers

Those who wrote in prose included Subandhu (5th or 7th century CE), author of Vasavadatta, a romantic tale, and Baana-Bhatta (also called Bāṇa) (7th century CE), author of Kaadambaree, a romantic novel, and of Harsha-Caritam, a biography on his patron The Great King of Thanesvaram-HarshaVardhana, written in poetic prose.

Another well-known writer of the period was Dandin (7th–8th century CE), who as well as poetry, wrote the Kavyadarsa, a discussion of poetics, and the Dasa-Kumara-Caritam.

(This blogpost is a part of Blogchatter's #BlogchatterA2Z2023)