A Study on the Peculiarities of poetry used by the Poet of the Great Epic “Padyachinthāmani”.

Abstract

The Padyachinthāmani composed by Kakunewela Sri PiyarathanaThero is accepted by scholars to be a great epic written in accordance with the rules presented by critics of Sanskrit.The great epic consists of thousand and sixty ślōkas based on the debate between the Yona King Milinda and the Buddhist sage Nāgasenaas found in the Pali workMilindapañha.The Milindapañha holds a place of honour in Pali literature as amasterpiece.Well-known for its elegant writing style, the Milindapañha cultivates wisdom, critical discernment, logic, and devotion in its reader. Hence, composing a Sanskrit epic based on such a literary masterpiece is considered a difficult undertaking. However, the objective of this research is to examine the Peculiarities of poetry applied in the composition of the great epic Padyachinthāmani which is centred on a Buddhist theme and comprises of epic characteristics. Accordingly, the methodology employed to achieve this purpose was data analysis by the means of a literature review, using the great Sanskrit epic Padyachinthāmani as the primary source and tomes on poetry and poetic techniques as secondary sources. It was revealed through this study, that the Padyachinthāmanicomposed by Kakunewela Sri PiyarathanaThero consists of many Peculiarities of poetryto the scholars of Sanskrit literature.