92 KĀLIDĀSA AND THE GUPTAS his purpose as the prefix adhi is followed by the root i to make the word adhyayana; Sugrīva is put in Vālin's place as king as a substitute replaces the root, and husband and wife are theme and suffix. Moreover, in the constant parallels between the two poems, as in the description of the marriage rites, the priority seems to belong to the Kumarasambhava; it is curious that Kālidāsa shows a distinct love of using the same metre for the same theme; thus in both we have the Çloka used in prayers,¹ death is described in the Viyoginī,2 a ruined state in the Upajāti.³ 7. The Raghuvança Though inferior in some slight degree to the Kumarasambhava, the Raghuvança may rightly be ranked as the finest Indian specimen of the Mahākāvya as defined by writers on poetics. Dandin lays down that the subject should be taken from old narratives or traditions, not therefore invented; the hero should be noble and clever; there should be descriptions of towns, oceans, mountains, seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, sport in parks or the sea, drinking, love-feasts, separa- tions, marriages, the production of a son, meeting of councils, embassies, campaigns, battles, and the triumph of the hero, though his rival's merits may be exalted. It should not be too compressed, and it should be replete with sentiments (rasa) and the emotions which underlie them (bhava). It should have effective transitions (sandhi), an allusion to the five stages of action recognized by the writers on drama, by which from its opening the movement advances after a halt to the central moment, pauses, and reaches the dénouement. The metres must be charming, and each Canto, which should not be too long, should end with a change of metre. The poem should begin with a prayer, paying homage or in addition invoking a blessing, or an indication of the subject-matter. It should promote the ends of Dharma, conduct, Artha, worldly success, Mokṣa, final release, and Kāma, love. ¹ Kum. ii. 4-16; Ragh. x. 16-32. 3 Kum. xili; Ragh. xvi.
- i. 23 ff.
2 Kum. iv; Ragh. vii.
