Raghuvaṃśa (Devanagari: रघुवंशम्, lit. 'lineage of Raghu') is a Sanskrit epic poem (mahakavya) by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Though an exact date of composition is unknown, the poet is presumed to have flourished in the 5th century CE.[1] It narrates, in 19 sargas (cantos), the stories related to the Raghu dynasty, namely the family of Dilipa and his descendants up to Agnivarna, who include Raghu, Dasharatha and Rama.
The earliest surviving commentary written on the work is that of the 10th-century Kashmiri scholar Vallabhadeva.[2] The most popular and widely available commentary, however, is the Sanjivani, written by Mallinatha (ca.1350–1450).
The Raghuvaṃśa is a mahākāvya (roughly, epic poem) containing 1564 stanzas. It describes the line of kings of the Raghu dynasty (also known as the sūryavaṃśa or the solar dynasty) that includes Raghu. It is written in 19 sargas (cantos), that can be regarded as being divided into three parts:[3]
Ancestors of Rāma: Dilīpa, Raghu, Aja, and Daśaratha (Cantos 1 to 9)
the parents of the world, who are united like word and meaning, I pray, for the gift of speech fit with appropriate meaning.
— translation
After some stanzas expressing the poet's humility and the greatness of the dynasty, King Dilipa and his reign are described. Dilipa has one great sorrow, which is that he has no child. With his queen Sudakshina he journeys to the hermitage of the sage Vasiṣṭha, to seek his advice. Vasiṣṭha reveals that King Dilipa had once offended the divine cow Surabhi and has been cursed by her, and instructs him to care for her daughter calf, Nandini.
Canto 2 – King Dilipa and the calf Nandini
The king spends his days in service of the calf, accompanying it on its wanderings and protecting it from danger. One day a lion appears, and when Dilipa raises his hand to draw an arrow and protect the calf, he finds himself magically frozen. He begs the lion to take his own life instead of the calf's, even in the face of the lion's arguments against doing so, after which this is all revealed to be an illusion and Nandini grants him a boon of having a son. He returns with his queen to his capital.
Raghu (Cantos 3, 4, 5)edit
The RaghuvaṃśaCanto 3 – Raghu is born, grows up, and becomes king
Queen Sudakshina gives birth to a baby boy who is named Raghu. The boy's childhood and education are described. When his father the king Dilipa performs the Ashvamedhayajña and the god Indra captures his wandering horse, Raghu fights Indra who is impressed with him. His father crowns him king, and retires to the forest.
Canto 4 – Raghu as king, and his conquest
The reign of Raghu is described. He sets out in all four directions to conquer, and in this chapter much of India is described.
Canto 5 – Raghu's gift to Kautsa, and the birth and youth of Aja
Just after Raghu has performed a sacrifice and given away all his wealth, a freshly graduated student named Kautsa arrives and asks him for an immense amount of wealth, to give as guru-dakshina to his teacher. To grant his wish, Raghu resolves to go to war against the god of wealth Kubera himself, and just as he resolves to do so, Kubera rains a shower of gold to fill his treasury. Both Raghu, who presses on Kautsa much more than he asked, and Kautsa, who accepts nothing more than what he needs to repay his teacher, win praise from all the people.
A son is born to Raghu and is named Aja, who grows into adulthood and goes to the svayamvara of princess Indumati.
Many princes from all regions are at Indumati's svayamvara hoping to be chosen by her. Their qualities and kingdoms are described. Indumati passes by many of them, and finally chooses Aja.
Canto 7 – Aja's wedding and ambush
Aja is married to Indumati, but on his way home he is attacked by the disappointed rival princes. He defeats them all and returns home, at which his father Raghu crowns him king and retires to the forest.
Canto 8 – Indumati's death and Aja's lament
Indumati gives birth to a son Dasharatha. One day, Indumati is killed by a freak accident (when a garland of flowers falls on her), and Aja laments at length on losing her. He lives in grief for eight years till his son comes of age, then gives up his body and is reunited after death with his wife.
Dasharatha (Canto 9)edit
Canto 9 – Dasharatha, and the accidental death of Shravana Kumara
The reign of King Dasharatha and his three queens is described. Once he goes hunting in the forest, during which a fatal hunting accident takes place: Dasharatha kills a boy, and is cursed by the boy's parents that he too will in old age die of grief for his son.
Rama (Cantos 10 to 15)edit
These cantos 10 to 15 tell the story of the Ramayana, but the parts from Valmiki well known to Indian readers are abridged.
Canto 10 – The gods pray to Vishnu, who is incarnated as Rama
The gods, tormented by Ravana, pray to Vishnu. Dasharatha performs a yajña and is blessed with four children: Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.
Canto 11 – Sita's svayamvara, and the defeat of Parashurama
Rama and Lakshmana accompany the sage Vishvamitra and kill the demon Tataka. They arrive at Mithila, where at the svayamvara of princess Sita, Rama strings and breaks the bow, and is married to her. On their way back to Ayodhya they encounter Parashurama, and Rama emerges victorious in this challenge.
Canto 12 – Rama exiled, Shurpanakha humiliated, Sita kidnapped, and Ravana killed
This canto narrates the story of most of the Ramayana (its kāṇdas 2 to 6) in short, ending with the death of Ravana in Lanka at the hands of Rama.
Canto 13 – The return by aerial route
From Lanka, Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka Vimana, and as they fly through the air, Rama points out to Sita many points of interest on the ground.
Canto 14 – Sita's exile
On their return to Ayodhya, Rama is crowned king, and their joy increases when Sita becomes pregnant. She expresses a wish to see the forest again. But on hearing that the people of the kingdom murmur about the queen's character, Rama after some internal struggle decides to exile his beloved wife. He asks Lakshmana to leave Sita in the forest. She is devastated, but taken care of by the sage Valmiki.
Canto 15 – The birth of Rama's sons, and the passing of Rama
In the sage's hermitage, Sita gives birth to two sons Lava and Kusha, who grow up and are taught the Ramayana by Valmiki. As they grow into youths, they come into the presence of Rama, who learns they are his children, and then Sita chooses to be swallowed up by the earth, her mother. Rama divides the kingdom among his brothers and children, and himself ascends to heaven.
Descendants of Rama (Cantos 16 to 19)edit
Canto 16 – Kusha's return to Ayodhya and marriage
One night, Kusha is visited by the deity of the now-abandoned city Ayodhya, who begs him to return to it. He does so, and there he marries Kumudvati.
Canto 17 – King Atithi
Kusha's son is Atithi, and his reign is described.
Canto 18 – Later kings
The dynasty continues, with a line of twenty one kings who succeeded Atithi.
Canto 19 – Agnivarna
The last described king, Agnivarna, gives in to a hedonistic life of pleasure, leaving the kingdom to his ministers to run. Even when he is required to make a presence before his subjects, he merely hangs his left foot out of a window. This canto serves as contrast to the earlier cantos describing glorious kings. He is consumed by disease and dies. His pregnant queen mounts the throne, and the people hope for a better future.
Geographical and historical referencesedit
The warrior Raghu leads a military expedition to Transoxiana. He defeats and subjugates local people along the way (presumably on his march through Central Asia) until he reaches the Vakshu, as the ancient Indians called the Oxus River. There, Raghu's army battles the Hepthalites, or White Huns, whom the Indians called Hunas and Mlecchas (barbarians). The Hepthalites are defeated, and the Raghuvaṃśa boasts of "The exploits of Raghu, whose valor expressed itself amongst the husbands of the Huna women, became manifest in the scarlet colour of their cheeks."
After crossing the Oxus, Raghu and his army encountered the Kambojas, an ancient Indo-Scythian people often mentioned in Indian texts. The Kambojas submitted to Raghu and offered him gifts and treasures. Evidently, the Kambojas dwelt in the vicinity of the Pamirs. Kalidasa describes the preponderance of walnut trees in the Oxus country, this particular region is still known for the cultivation of walnuts.
Metres used in the epicedit
The epic is composed in 21 Sanskrit metres, namely Anuṣṭubh, Indravajrā, Upajāti, Upendravajrā, Aupacchandasika, Toṭaka, Drutavilambita, Puṣpitāgrā, Praharṣiṇī, Mañjubhāṣiṇī, Mattamayūra, Mandākrāntā, Mālinī, Rathoddhatā, Vaṃśastha, Vasantatilakā, Vaitālīya, Śārdūlavikrīḍita, Śālinī, Svāgatā, Hariṇī.[4]
Editions and translationsedit
The Raghuvaṃśa has been published and translated many times.
Ṣaṅkara Paṇḍuraṅga Paṇḍit (1869), The Raghuvam̃śa of Kâlidâsa: with the commentary of Mallinātha, Government Central Depôt. Part 1: Cantos 1-6(Alt), Part 3: Cantos 14-19
Parab (1888) The Raghuvamsha of Kâlidâsa: with the commentary of Mallinatha
English prose translation (author unknown) in Kalidasa: Works, South Asia Books, 1901
P. de Lacy Johnstone (1902), The Raghuvança, the story of Raghu's line
Arthur W. Ryder (1914), Translations of Shakuntala, and Other Works (113 verses are translated, the rest are summarised in prose)
Carlo Formichi (1917), La Stirpe Di Raghu (Italian translation)
M. R. Kale (ed, 1922), The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa: with the commentary (the Samjivani) of Mallinatha ; Cantos I-X
Tapasvi Nandi (ed, 1989), Jinasamudra's commentary on the Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa
(Unpublished) A translation in two volumes under the title "Raghu's lineage" by Dominic Goodall and Harunaga Isaacson was in preparation for the Clay Sanskrit Library, before it ceased publication of new volumes.
Complete translation and commentary along with word meanings by Desiraju Hanumanta Rao
December 06, 2023
raghuvaṃśa, this, article, about, epic, poem, kalidasa, other, uses, raghuvamsha, disambiguation, devanagari, रघ, शम, lineage, raghu, sanskrit, epic, poem, mahakavya, celebrated, sanskrit, poet, kalidasa, though, exact, date, composition, unknown, poet, presum. This article is about the epic poem by Kalidasa For other uses see Raghuvamsha disambiguation Raghuvaṃsa Devanagari रघ व शम lit lineage of Raghu is a Sanskrit epic poem mahakavya by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa Though an exact date of composition is unknown the poet is presumed to have flourished in the 5th century CE 1 It narrates in 19 sargas cantos the stories related to the Raghu dynasty namely the family of Dilipa and his descendants up to Agnivarna who include Raghu Dasharatha and Rama Raghuvaṃsaby Kalidasa17th century manuscript copy in Prachalit Nepal script from Nepal Currently at Cambridge University Sanskrit Manuscript Collection Original titleरघ व शम LanguageSanskritSubject s Raghu dynastyGenre s Religious Hindu Publication date5th century CEThe earliest surviving commentary written on the work is that of the 10th century Kashmiri scholar Vallabhadeva 2 The most popular and widely available commentary however is the Sanjivani written by Mallinatha ca 1350 1450 Contents 1 Contents 1 1 Dilipa Cantos 1 2 1 2 Raghu Cantos 3 4 5 1 3 Aja and Indumati Cantos 6 7 8 1 4 Dasharatha Canto 9 1 5 Rama Cantos 10 to 15 1 6 Descendants of Rama Cantos 16 to 19 2 Geographical and historical references 3 Metres used in the epic 4 Editions and translations 5 See also 6 References 7 External links to the textContents editThe Raghuvaṃsa is a mahakavya roughly epic poem containing 1564 stanzas It describes the line of kings of the Raghu dynasty also known as the suryavaṃsa or the solar dynasty that includes Raghu It is written in 19 sargas cantos that can be regarded as being divided into three parts 3 Ancestors of Rama Dilipa Raghu Aja and Dasaratha Cantos 1 to 9 The story of the Ramayana Cantos 10 to 15 Descendants of Rama Cantos 16 to 19 Dilipa Cantos 1 2 edit Canto 1 King Dilipa s journey to Vasiṣṭha s hermitageThe work begins with a prayer vagarthaviva saṁpṛktau vagarthapratipattaye jagataḥ pitarau vande parvatiparamesvarau To Parvati and Parameshvara the parents of the world who are united like word and meaning I pray for the gift of speech fit with appropriate meaning translation After some stanzas expressing the poet s humility and the greatness of the dynasty King Dilipa and his reign are described Dilipa has one great sorrow which is that he has no child With his queen Sudakshina he journeys to the hermitage of the sage Vasiṣṭha to seek his advice Vasiṣṭha reveals that King Dilipa had once offended the divine cow Surabhi and has been cursed by her and instructs him to care for her daughter calf Nandini Canto 2 King Dilipa and the calf NandiniThe king spends his days in service of the calf accompanying it on its wanderings and protecting it from danger One day a lion appears and when Dilipa raises his hand to draw an arrow and protect the calf he finds himself magically frozen He begs the lion to take his own life instead of the calf s even in the face of the lion s arguments against doing so after which this is all revealed to be an illusion and Nandini grants him a boon of having a son He returns with his queen to his capital Raghu Cantos 3 4 5 edit nbsp The RaghuvaṃsaCanto 3 Raghu is born grows up and becomes kingQueen Sudakshina gives birth to a baby boy who is named Raghu The boy s childhood and education are described When his father the king Dilipa performs the Ashvamedha yajna and the god Indra captures his wandering horse Raghu fights Indra who is impressed with him His father crowns him king and retires to the forest Canto 4 Raghu as king and his conquestThe reign of Raghu is described He sets out in all four directions to conquer and in this chapter much of India is described Canto 5 Raghu s gift to Kautsa and the birth and youth of AjaJust after Raghu has performed a sacrifice and given away all his wealth a freshly graduated student named Kautsa arrives and asks him for an immense amount of wealth to give as guru dakshina to his teacher To grant his wish Raghu resolves to go to war against the god of wealth Kubera himself and just as he resolves to do so Kubera rains a shower of gold to fill his treasury Both Raghu who presses on Kautsa much more than he asked and Kautsa who accepts nothing more than what he needs to repay his teacher win praise from all the people A son is born to Raghu and is named Aja who grows into adulthood and goes to the svayamvara of princess Indumati Aja and Indumati Cantos 6 7 8 edit Canto 6 Indumati s svayamvaraMany princes from all regions are at Indumati s svayamvara hoping to be chosen by her Their qualities and kingdoms are described Indumati passes by many of them and finally chooses Aja Canto 7 Aja s wedding and ambushAja is married to Indumati but on his way home he is attacked by the disappointed rival princes He defeats them all and returns home at which his father Raghu crowns him king and retires to the forest Canto 8 Indumati s death and Aja s lamentIndumati gives birth to a son Dasharatha One day Indumati is killed by a freak accident when a garland of flowers falls on her and Aja laments at length on losing her He lives in grief for eight years till his son comes of age then gives up his body and is reunited after death with his wife Dasharatha Canto 9 edit Canto 9 Dasharatha and the accidental death of Shravana KumaraThe reign of King Dasharatha and his three queens is described Once he goes hunting in the forest during which a fatal hunting accident takes place Dasharatha kills a boy and is cursed by the boy s parents that he too will in old age die of grief for his son Rama Cantos 10 to 15 edit These cantos 10 to 15 tell the story of the Ramayana but the parts from Valmiki well known to Indian readers are abridged Canto 10 The gods pray to Vishnu who is incarnated as RamaThe gods tormented by Ravana pray to Vishnu Dasharatha performs a yajna and is blessed with four children Rama Lakshmana Bharata and Shatrughna Canto 11 Sita s svayamvara and the defeat of ParashuramaRama and Lakshmana accompany the sage Vishvamitra and kill the demon Tataka They arrive at Mithila where at the svayamvara of princess Sita Rama strings and breaks the bow and is married to her On their way back to Ayodhya they encounter Parashurama and Rama emerges victorious in this challenge Canto 12 Rama exiled Shurpanakha humiliated Sita kidnapped and Ravana killedThis canto narrates the story of most of the Ramayana its kaṇdas 2 to 6 in short ending with the death of Ravana in Lanka at the hands of Rama Canto 13 The return by aerial routeFrom Lanka Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka Vimana and as they fly through the air Rama points out to Sita many points of interest on the ground Canto 14 Sita s exileOn their return to Ayodhya Rama is crowned king and their joy increases when Sita becomes pregnant She expresses a wish to see the forest again But on hearing that the people of the kingdom murmur about the queen s character Rama after some internal struggle decides to exile his beloved wife He asks Lakshmana to leave Sita in the forest She is devastated but taken care of by the sage Valmiki Canto 15 The birth of Rama s sons and the passing of RamaIn the sage s hermitage Sita gives birth to two sons Lava and Kusha who grow up and are taught the Ramayana by Valmiki As they grow into youths they come into the presence of Rama who learns they are his children and then Sita chooses to be swallowed up by the earth her mother Rama divides the kingdom among his brothers and children and himself ascends to heaven Descendants of Rama Cantos 16 to 19 edit Canto 16 Kusha s return to Ayodhya and marriageOne night Kusha is visited by the deity of the now abandoned city Ayodhya who begs him to return to it He does so and there he marries Kumudvati Canto 17 King AtithiKusha s son is Atithi and his reign is described Canto 18 Later kingsThe dynasty continues with a line of twenty one kings who succeeded Atithi Canto 19 AgnivarnaThe last described king Agnivarna gives in to a hedonistic life of pleasure leaving the kingdom to his ministers to run Even when he is required to make a presence before his subjects he merely hangs his left foot out of a window This canto serves as contrast to the earlier cantos describing glorious kings He is consumed by disease and dies His pregnant queen mounts the throne and the people hope for a better future Geographical and historical references editThe warrior Raghu leads a military expedition to Transoxiana He defeats and subjugates local people along the way presumably on his march through Central Asia until he reaches the Vakshu as the ancient Indians called the Oxus River There Raghu s army battles the Hepthalites or White Huns whom the Indians called Hunas and Mlecchas barbarians The Hepthalites are defeated and the Raghuvaṃsa boasts of The exploits of Raghu whose valor expressed itself amongst the husbands of the Huna women became manifest in the scarlet colour of their cheeks After crossing the Oxus Raghu and his army encountered the Kambojas an ancient Indo Scythian people often mentioned in Indian texts The Kambojas submitted to Raghu and offered him gifts and treasures Evidently the Kambojas dwelt in the vicinity of the Pamirs Kalidasa describes the preponderance of walnut trees in the Oxus country this particular region is still known for the cultivation of walnuts Metres used in the epic editThe epic is composed in 21 Sanskrit metres namely Anuṣṭubh Indravajra Upajati Upendravajra Aupacchandasika Toṭaka Drutavilambita Puṣpitagra Praharṣiṇi Manjubhaṣiṇi Mattamayura Mandakranta Malini Rathoddhata Vaṃsastha Vasantatilaka Vaitaliya Sardulavikriḍita Salini Svagata Hariṇi 4 Editions and translations editThe Raghuvaṃsa has been published and translated many times Ṣaṅkara Paṇḍuraṅga Paṇḍit 1869 The Raghuvam sa of Kalidasa with the commentary of Mallinatha Government Central Depot Part 1 Cantos 1 6 Alt Part 3 Cantos 14 19 Parab 1888 The Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa with the commentary of Mallinatha English prose translation author unknown in Kalidasa Works South Asia Books 1901 P de Lacy Johnstone 1902 The Raghuvanca the story of Raghu s line Arthur W Ryder 1914 Translations of Shakuntala and Other Works 113 verses are translated the rest are summarised in prose Carlo Formichi 1917 La Stirpe Di Raghu Italian translation M R Kale ed 1922 The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa with the commentary the Samjivani of Mallinatha Cantos I X Rewa Prasad Dwivedi ed 1973 Raghuvaṃsa Darpaṇa Raghuvaṃsa commentary by Hemadri Vol 1 Cantos 1 12 Vol 2 Cantos 13 19 Tapasvi Nandi ed 1989 Jinasamudra s commentary on the Raghuvaṃsa of Kalidasa Unpublished A translation in two volumes under the title Raghu s lineage by Dominic Goodall and Harunaga Isaacson was in preparation for the Clay Sanskrit Library before it ceased publication of new volumes See also editIndian literature Sanskrit literature Sanskrit drama Chandragupta Vikramaditya Gupta Empire Kamba RamayanamReferences edit Kalidasa Indian author Dominic Goodall and Harunaga Isaacson The Raghupancika of Vallabhadeva Volume 1 Groningen Egbert Forsten 2003 Ryder Raghuvaṃsa of Kalidasa Edited with extracts amp Notes etc by Narayan Ram Acharya Kavyatirtha Chaukhambha Publishers Varanasi 2nd ed 2002 Appendix 2External links to the text edit nbsp Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article Raghuvaṃsa in Sanskrit Transliterated Sanskrit text at GRETIL Complete translation and commentary along with word meanings by Desiraju Hanumanta Rao Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Raghuvaṃsa amp oldid 1166681097, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
