The Killing of Shishupala

Magha’s The Killing of Shishupala is a celebrated seventh centurySanskrit poem that tells the story of Shishupala’srefusal to honor the divine Krishna at the coronation ofYudhishthira. Through this translation, the first into English,readers gain access to a sophisticated work that has dazzledIndian audiences for a thousand years. Magha’s The Killing of Shishupala, written in the seventhcentury, is a celebrated example of the Sanskrit genre knownas mahākāvya, or great poem. This adaptation from the epicMahābhārata tells the story of Shishupala, who disruptsYudhishthira’s coronation by refusing to honor Krishna, theking’s principal ally and a manifestation of divinity. WhenShishupala challenges Krishna to combat, he is immediatelybeheaded. Magha, who was likely a court poet in western India, drawson the rich stylistic resources of Sanskrit poetry to imbue hiswork with unparalleled sophistication. He expands thenarrative’s cosmic implications through elaborate depictionsof the natural world and intense erotic sensuality, mixingmyth and classical erudition with scenes of political debateand battlefield slaughter. Krishna is variously portrayed asrefined prince, formidable warrior and incarnation of the godVishnu protecting the world from demonic threat.