Literature - - Posted on November, 19 at 12:35 pm
The epic or a Mahakavya is the speciality of Sanskrit language. The tradition of the epics started with the famous epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. The classical epics continued the tradition by accepting some of the basic characteristics of the two epics.
Various works on literature like the Natyashastra, Kavyalankara, Sahityadarpana and Kavyadarsha have discussed the rules to be followed while composing an epic. The epic is supposed to be divided in chapters known as Sarga. Each is composed in a specific metre according to the subject matter of the Sarga. The art of epic is an art of deliberate amplification. Thus with the main story line various independent pieces of description are added. These include the description of cities, festivals, forests, mountains, the seasons, sunrise and sunset, the beauty of the moonlit night and so on. The stanzas are also composed in such a manner that they are a part of the story line and at the same time are a discrete unit conveying a expressing one idea or an image.
Traditionally the five epics are believed to be the best creations. These consist of two epics - Raghuvansha and Kumarasambhava by Kalidasa, Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi, Shishupalavadha by Magha and Naishadhiyacharita by Shriharsha.
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