Yuddhakāṅḍa Campu of Rājacūḍāmaṇi Dīkṣita

Summary

This paper analyses the Yuddhakāṅḍa Campū of Rājacūḍāmaṇi Dīkṣita, a seventeenth‑century Sanskrit composition that retells the Yuddha Kāṇḍa (Book of War) of the Rāmāyaṇa in campū style. A campū combines ornate prose with interspersed poetry, and the author begins by explaining this hybrid genre’s place in Sanskrit literature. He then introduces Rājacūḍāmaṇi Dīkṣita, a poet at the court of the Nāyaka rulers of Thanjavur, and situates his work within the Muktāka literary tradition. The article provides a structural analysis of the text, showing how the prose sections describe the build‑up to the final battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa while the verse passages dwell on particular episodes. The poet’s mastery of metres is illustrated with examples that mimic the sound of marching armies or the whizzing of arrows. The author argues that the campū emphasises Rāma’s ethical qualities and integrates Advaita philosophical motifs without deviating from Vālmīki’s narrative. A significant portion of the article examines the poet’s use of rare words and rhetorical devices such as ślesa (puns) and yamaka (repetition). The paper also notes the influence of courtly aesthetics: descriptive passages linger on the opulence of palaces and the beauty of warriors, reflecting the tastes of the Nāyaka patrons. Comparisons with other campūs, such as Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita’s works, reveal Rājacūḍāmaṇi’s originality in expanding minor characters like Vibhīṣaṇa. In conclusion, the article shows that the Yuddhakāṅḍa Campū exemplifies the intellectual milieu of late medieval South India where poets reinterpreted classical epics through elaborate stylistic techniques.