Shribhargavaraghaviyam

A copy of the epic with a Hindi commentary by the poet himself was published by the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, Chitrakuta, Uttar Pradesh.

[citation needed] Jagadguru Rambhadracharya composed the epic in 2002 at Chitrakuta during his sixth six-month Payovrata (milk-only diet).

One more reason cited by the poet is that the previous Sanskrit epics which are included in the Laghutrayī and Bṛhattrayī – Meghadūtam, Kumārasambhavam, Kirātārjunīyam, Raghuvaṃśam, Śiśupālavadham and Naiṣadhīyacaritam – were composed in 2, 8, 18, 19, 20 and 22 cantos respectively; and the number 21 was missing from this sequence.

[1][4] Most of the events described in fifteen cantos of the epic can be found in the Hindu scriptures including Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa, Tulasīdāsa's Rāmacaritamānasa, Śrīmadbhāgavata, Brahmavaivartapurāṇa, Prasannarāghava (a play by Jayadeva) and Satyopākhyāna.

The first nine cantos describe the incarnation of Paraśurāma, his learning from the god Śiva on mount Kailāsa, the execution of his father's command to kill his mother and three brothers and their subsequent resurrection, his battle with the thousand-armed king Sahasrārjuna, the extermination of Kṣatriya ("warrior") race 21 times from the earth by him, and his confrontation with Śiva's son and the god of wisdom, Gaṇeśa.

॥ 16.84 ॥In the following verse (6.97), the poet describes how Sahasrārjuna is killed by Paraśurāma, using the metaphor (Rūpaka) of a priest performing a fire sacrifice (Yajña).

Him, who was with the charm of the Tripuṇḍra and whose favourite deity was Rāma; him, who was bearing the axle of the lustre of the ornament [in the form of the nascent moon] and who was agreeable by this joy; him, who was the protector of the bearer of the onus of Dharma with the power of his eminence; and him, who was endowed with the refuge of Rāma owing to the pleasantness of the resplendence of the bull-sign which stands for righteousness.

There are seven verses in the seventh canto (7.11 to 7.17) of Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam composed in the Acaladhṛti (Gītyāryā) metre, which consists of only the short syllables in Sanskrit.

The poet remarks that Paraśurāma extols the forest of Citrakūṭa in short syllables only, due to the feeling of humility.

trijagadavana hataharijananidhuvana nijavanarucijitaśataśatavidhuvana । taruvaravibhavavinatasuravaravana jayati viratighana iva raghuvaravana ॥ madanamathana sukhasadana vidhuvadana- gaditavimalavaraviruda kalikadana । śamadamaniyamamahita munijanadhana lasasi vibudhamaṇiriva hariparijana ॥

O the protector of the three worlds; O the remover of the mortal pleasures of the devotees of the Hari; O the one, the resplendence of whose waters win over the brilliance of hundreds of moons; O the one who makes the Nandanavana (forest of the deities) bow down with the majesty of its great trees; O the forest of best among the descendants of Rāghu, you shine forth like the dense treasure of abstention.

aśaraṇaśaraṇa praṇatabhayadaraṇa dharaṇibharaharaṇa dharaṇitanayāvaraṇa janasukhakaraṇa taraṇikulabharaṇa kamalamṛducaraṇa dvijāṅganāsamuddharaṇa । tribhuvanabharaṇa danujakulamaraṇa niśitaśaraśaraṇa dalitadaśamukharaṇa bhṛgubhavacātakanavīnajaladhara rāma vihara manasi saha sītayā janābharaṇa ॥

O the refuge of those without refuge, O the destroyer of the fear of those who bow down [to you], O the remover of the earth's burden, O the paramour of the daughter of the earth, O the cause of pleasure in devotees, O the nourisher of the dynasty of the sun, O the one with feet as delicate as the lotus, O the redeemer of the wife of the Brahmin (Ahalyā), O the nourisher of the three worlds, O the slayer of the clan of demons, O the bearer of sharp arrows, O the destroyer of Rāvaṇa in battle, O the new cloud for the Cātaka bird in the form of the descendant of Bhṛgu (Paraśurāma), O Rāma, O the ornament of devotees, take pleasure in my mind with Sītā.

These Rasas are – Śringāra (eros and beauty), Vīra (heroism or bravery), Hāsya (mirth), Raudra (fury), Karuṇa (compassion), Bībhatsa (disgust), Bhayānaka (horror), Adbhuta (amazement).

॥ 20.93 ॥O the one who is playful with a row of locks of wavering hair (lolālālīlala); O the one who never changes (alola); O the one whose mouth is full of saliva in the pastimes [as a child] (līlālālālalālala); O the one who accepts the wealth of earth (Sītā) in the sport [of breaking the bow of Śiva] (lelelela); O the one who destroys the multitude of worldly desires of mortals (lalālīla); O the child [form of Rāma] (lāla); O the one who destroys the fickle-minded nature of the being (lolīla); [may you ever] delight [in my mind] (lālala).

[16] Yogeshchandra Dubey, professor and head of department of Sanskrit at the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University,[17] writes in the Publisher's Note at the beginning of the book that he views Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam as having even more special qualities and features than the epic works of Māgha, Bhāravi, Śrīharṣa and Kālidāsa.

[21] The epic Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam showcases the invigoration of the essence of the Vedas, and by composing it, Rāmbhadrācārya will achieve eternal fame like Kālidāsa and Tulasīdāsa.

The poet (left) with Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the release of the epic
The central characters of Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam as seen in the canto Śrībhārgavalakṣmaṇasaṃvādaḥ. Left to right – Viśvāmitra, Lakṣmaṇa, Rāma, Paraśurāma and Janaka (in the centre); Sunayanā and Sītā (extreme right).
Śiva and Pārvatī on mount Kailāsa, where Paraśurāma studies in the canto Gurūpasattiḥ.
Paraśurāma chops off the arms of Sahasrārjuna in the canto Sahasrārjunavadhaḥ.
The birth of the four sons of Daśaratha in the canto Śrīrāghavāvataraṇam.
Rāma redeems Ahalyā in the canto Ahalyoddharaṇam
Rāma breaks the Pināka in the canto Sītāsvayaṃvaram
The four sons of Daśaratha get married with the four daughters of Sīradhvaja and Kuśadhvaja in the canto Śrīrāghavapariṇayaḥ
The poet being presented the Vani Alankarana Puraskara by Somnath Chatterjee for the epic