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Magha (c. 7th century) (, ) was a
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
at King Varmalata's court at Shrimala, the then-capital of Gujarat (presently in
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
state). Magha was born in a
Shrimali Brahmin Shrimali Brahmins are believed to have originated from Srimal (the present-day Bhinmal) in Jalore district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. They also have a presence in Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western ...
family. He was the son of Dattaka Sarvacharya and the grandson of Suprabhadeva. His epic poem (''mahākāvya'')
Shishupala Vadha The Shishupala Vadha (, IAST: ''Śiśupāla-vadha'', ''lit.'' "the slaying of Shishupala") is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry (''kāvya'') composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 ''sarga''s (cantos) of about 180 ...
, in 20 ''sarga''s ( cantos), is based on the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
episode in which
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
uses his ''
chakra A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...
'' (disc) to behead the defiant king
Shishupala Shishupala (, ; sometimes spelt Sisupala) was the king of the Chedi kingdom, and an antagonist in the Mahabharata. He was the son of King Damaghosha and Srutashrava, the sister of Kunti, as well as the cousin of Nanda (Hinduism), Nanda. He was s ...
. He is thought to have been inspired by, and is often compared with,
Bharavi Bharavi () was a 6th century Indian poet known for his epic poem '' Kirātārjunīya'', one of the six '' mahakavyas'' in classical Sanskrit. Date According to multiple grant inscriptions of the Ganga dynasty, such as the Gummareddipura in ...
.


Life and work

Māgha's fame rests entirely on the
Shishupala Vadha The Shishupala Vadha (, IAST: ''Śiśupāla-vadha'', ''lit.'' "the slaying of Shishupala") is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry (''kāvya'') composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 ''sarga''s (cantos) of about 180 ...
. Vallabhadeva and
Kshemendra Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath-poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, dramatist, translator and art-critic from Kashmir. Biography Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His father was Prakashen ...
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). 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. According to tradition, Māgha was a native of
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, born in Shrimal Nagar, present day
Bhinmal Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the early capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The town was ...
, in district Jalore, Rajasthan. By his own accounts and that of others, he was born wealthy and lived a carefree life, although according to one legend, he died in poverty.


Date

Māgha is quoted by
Anandavardhana Ānandavardhana (c. 820 – 890 CE) was a Kashmiri court poet and literary critic, honored with the title of Rajanak during King Avantivarman's reign. Anandavardhana authored the ''Dhvanyāloka'', or ''A Light on Suggestion'' ('' dhvani''), a w ...
,
Bhoja Bhoja was the Paramara dynasty, Paramara king of Malwa from 1010 until his death in 1055. He ruled from Dhara (city), Dhara (modern Dhar), and Military career of Bhoja, fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his king ...
, and in the Kavirajamarga, thus putting him no later than the 8th century. Pathak notes that he alludes to the Kāśikāvṛtti and its commentary Nyāsa, the latter of which is not mentioned by I-Tsing and thus must have been written after his departure from India in 695 CE. Thus, Pathak puts Māgha in the second half of the 8th century.
Hermann Jacobi Hermann Georg Jacobi (11 February 1850 – 19 October 1937) was an eminent German Indologist. Education Jacobi was born in Köln (Cologne) on 11 February 1850. He was educated in the gymnasium of Cologne and then went to the University of Be ...
puts him in the 6th century.
Lorenz Franz Kielhorn Lorenz Franz Kielhorn (31 May 1840, Osnabrück – 19 March 1908, Göttingen) was a German Indologist. He studied under Theodor Benfey at the University of Göttingen, where he became member of Burschenschaft Hannovera (fraternity), and under ...
and others put him in the second half of the 7th century based on a written record from the present-day Rajasthan region. This record estimates King Varmalāta, whom Magha's grandfather served, as reigning the region in 625 A.D.


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 ''Kirātārjunīya'' (, ''Of Kirata and Arjuna'') is an epic poem by Bhāravi, written in Sanskrit. Believed to have been composed in the 6th century or earlier, it consists of eighteen cantos describing the combat between Shiva (in the guise ...
'' of
Bharavi Bharavi () was a 6th century Indian poet known for his epic poem '' Kirātārjunīya'', one of the six '' mahakavyas'' in classical Sanskrit. Date According to multiple grant inscriptions of the Ganga dynasty, such as the Gummareddipura in ...
, and intended to emulate and even surpass it. Like Bharavi, he displays rhetorical and metrical skill more than the growth of the plot, 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. Whereas Bhāravi glorifies
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
, 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. 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 Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...
,
Bharavi Bharavi () was a 6th century Indian poet known for his epic poem '' Kirātārjunīya'', one of the six '' mahakavyas'' in classical Sanskrit. Date According to multiple grant inscriptions of the Ganga dynasty, such as the Gummareddipura in ...
's depth of meaning,
Daṇḍin Daṇḍi or Daṇḍin (Sanskrit: दण्डिन्) () was an Indian Sanskrit grammarian and author of prose romances. He is one of the best-known writers in Indian history. Life Daṇḍin's account of his life in ''Avantisundari-ka ...
'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
Maagha Magha () is the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding to January/February of the Gregorian calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Magha is also the eleventh month of the year, beginning on 20 January and ending on 18 Febru ...
(the coldest month)", but also "the lustre of Bharavi lasts until the advent of Māgha". However, Māgha follows Bhāravi's structure too closely, and the long-windedness of his descriptions loses the gravity and "weight of meaning" found in Bhāravi's poem. Consequently, Māgha is more admired as a poet than the work is as a whole, and the sections of the work that may be considered digressions from the story have the nature of an anthology and are more popular. Māgha influenced
Ratnākara Ratnākara () was a Sanskrit poet in ancient India. His magnum opus, the '' Haravijaya'', containing 4,351 verses, is the longest extant ''mahākāvya''. His work has been praised in many Sanskrit anthologies and works on rhetorics. Life Very l ...
's ''
Haravijaya ''Haravijaya'' () is a Sanskrit ''mahākāvya'' written by Ratnākara. The poem narrates Śiva's victory over Andhaka. It also describes Śiva's iconographic features and gives an exposition of Śaiva philosophy. ''Haravijaya'' is the longest ext ...
'', an epic in 50 cantos that suggests a thorough study of the ''Shishupalavadha''. The Dharmashramabhyudaya, a Sanskrit poem by Hari handra in 21 cantos on Dharmanatha, the 15th
tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
, is modeled on the Shishupalavadha.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magha (Poet) Sanskrit poets People from Rajasthan Rajasthani people Hindu poets People from Jalore district Rajasthani literature