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Beyond power and praise : Nayacandra Sūri’s tragic-historical epic Hammīra-mahākāvya as a subversive response to hero glorification in early Tomar Gwalior

Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel

This article offers a reappraisal of Nayacandra Suri's Sanskrit epic, Hammira-mahakavya, narrating the heroic but unsuccessful struggle of the warrior-king Hammira Chauhan of Ranthambhor (r.1283-1301) against the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316). Created at the Gwalior court of Virama Tomar (r.1401-1423), this historical court epic stands out in the history of Sanskrit poetry for its tragic ending. Challenging conventional socio-political readings of the epic as a eulogy of an admirable Hindu/Rajput/ksatriya hero, this article foregrounds the poem's playful and tragic literary logic, arguing that it can be read as a subversive response to more overtly heroic presentations of Hammira elsewhere. As such, it reveals the poet's underlying concern to provoke an estrangement from the ideals of 'Rajputizing' elites and their obsession with heroic pride and fame. I show this to be the case through a literary analysis of Nayacandra's poem against its specific historical background, namely the emergence of an independent Tomar kingdom in Gwalior.
Tijdschrift: SOUTH ASIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
ISSN: 1947-2501
Issue: 1
Volume: 11
Pagina's: 40 - 59
Jaar van publicatie:2020
Toegankelijkheid:Closed