रघुवंशम् – द्वादशः सर्गः (रावणवधः)
12th Canto of the Raghuvamśa (Killing of Rāvaṇa)
Raghuvaṃśam is one of the five great poems of Samskrita Literature – the पञ्च-महाकाव्यs. Kālidāsa, author of this poem, is justly hailed as ‘Kavikulaguru’ – the foremost among poets. There is none who can escape the charm of Kālidāsa’s poetry.
Raghuvaṃśa is one of the masterpieces of Kālidāsa, a mahākavya describing the glorious lineage of the Raghus, starting from Dilīpa till Agnivarṇa. There are very few Samskrita students who do not study portions of this poem at some level. The 12th sarga of this poem, dealing with the story of the Rāmāyaṇa, from the exiling of Rāma till the death of Rāvaṇa, is prescribed for students attempting the Abhijñā exam of the Chittoor board. The sarga has 104 verses in the Anuṣṭup chandas (except the last three), describing Rāma’s happy acceptance of exile, Bharata’s magnanimity, the episode of Śūrpaṇakhā, friendship with the vānaras and the search for Sītā, the final war with Rāvaṇa. Though the story is nothing new, the sarga offers several opportunities for Kālidāsa to demonstrate his capacity for beautiful expressions.
We thank Ms. Visalakshi Sankaran for permitting Vyoma-Samskṛta-Pāṭhaśālā to share these valuable resources with our students.
