What is Virkavya (heroic poem or epic) or Vikaasshil Mahakavya (epic of growth) ?

                                                   



















You would have already got an idea of what I'm going to talk about by these pictures. Yes, the two Indian epics. My discussion would be on what are the genres of Virkavya and Vikaasshil Mahakavya; and how Ramayana and Mahabharata are an example of those genres.

Virkavya:

There are specific factors responsible for the rise of this type of poem. In the early stages of the cultural history of a race, poetry revolves around divinities and their personifications. Therefore they are looked upon as heroes or warriors. The same is applied to heroic warriors of that race. Their deeds of valour are sung and handed down from generation to generation as poetic narratives. However, for the creation of a Mahakavya or epic, these small narratives often seem to combine; just as small streams evolve into a mighty river. Ramayana and Mahabharata can be explained as such poems. This implies that these variety of poems or narratives is ultimately what is called आख्यानचक्र or a circle of narratives.

But, who exactly handles this entire process? Who propagates the narratives once they are created?
Well, here's the answer: The creation, compilation, edition, etc was the contribution of a specific class of people during the ancient times. This class was known as सूतकुशीलव . The word सूत was associated with the class of charioteers. सूत  was the progeny of क्षत्रिय father and Brahman mother. As they were charioteers, they witnessed warfare and historically as well as politically important incidents. And hence they could narrate these kavyas vividly.

Ramayana(which literally means life of Rama) mentions that it was sung in various Taal (rhythm) and Ragas (melody) by Luv and Kush (Rama's sons). Similarly, one of the narrators in Mahabharata is सूतमुनि.

Vikaasshil Mahakavya:

They are also विकासशील (developmental) i.e. they develop with time; and they are महाकाव्य (epics) i.e. they are the result of the multiple narratives. Hence, there is no single story of these texts.

Thus, this is how the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata were composed and propagated. This is also one of the many reasons why there is a persistent ambiguity regarding their sources. Anyways, what is important to note here is that every culture and society, has one such story of heroism (वीरकाव्य ) and that usually goes through a similar process of composition, compilation, edition and propagation.