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'''''Kristubhagavatam: A Mahakavya in Sanskrit based on the life of Jesus Christ''''' ({{langx|sa|क्रिस्तुभागवतम्}}; ''{{IAST|Kristubhāgavatam}}'' or ''Kristu-Bhāgavatam'') is a [[Sanskrit]]-language [[epic poem]] about the life of [[Jesus Christ]], based on the [[New Testament]], and composed by [[P. C. Devassia]] (1906–2006), a [[Sanskrit studies|Sanskrit scholar]] and [[Catholic Church in India|Catholic]] poet from [[Kerala]], India. As a [[mahakavya]], it revives the traditions of the most prestigious verse form of [[Indian epic poetry]], and is accordingly characterized by ornate and elaborate descriptions.<ref name=ingalls>[[Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]], ''Sanskrit Poetry and Sanskrit Poetics'', Introduction to {{cite book|title=An Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry: Vidyākara's Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjEdCVZ5uoQC&pg=PA34|year=1945|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-78865-7|pages=33–35}}</ref>

Similarly to the [[Christian poetry]] by fellow Catholic poet [[Marko Marulić]], who believed that, "pagan myth and poetry gained a certain legitimacy when employed in the service of theology",<ref>Marulić (2024), ''[[Davidiad|The Davidiad]]'', translated by Edward Mulholland, Lysa Publications, [[Ghent]]. p. 16-17.</ref> Devassia's poem is filled with multiple references and comparisons to well known stories about the [[Hindu deities|gods]], [[avatar]]s, and [[demigod]]s of [[Hinduism]] and even to figures from recent [[Indian history]] like [[Mohandas Gandhi]], in order to point its readers towards [[Christianity]] and [[Jesus Christ]].<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|xvii}}

Composed in 1976 and first published in 1977, the poem consists of 33 cantos and over 1600 verses. For composing the ''Kristubhagavatam'', Devassia won several awards, including the [[Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit]] (1980).

==Contents==
{|style="float: right; border: 1px solid darkgray; margin: .46em; font-size: 90%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"
|-
| colspan="3" align="center" |'''''{{IAST|Kristubhāgavatam}}'' : Canto Titles (selected)'''
|-valign="top"
|width="20"|
|width="175" align="center" |English<ref name=cantolanguage>The table of contents, including the titles of the cantos, is listed both in Sanskrit (pp. 4–5) and in English (pp. 6–7) (in Devassia, 1977).</ref>
|width="175" align="center" |Sanskrit<ref name=cantolanguage/>
|-valign="top"
|1.
|The sage meets the Virgin
|{{IAST|Kanyakādarśanam}}
|-valign="top"
|2.
|The [[Marriage of the Virgin|betrothal]]
|{{IAST|Pratiśrutiḥ}}
|-valign="top"
|3.
|The vision of [[Zechariah (priest)|Zacharias]]
|{{IAST|Sakharyasya Divyadarśanam}}
|-valign="top"
|4.
|The [[Annunciation]]
|{{IAST|Maṅgalavijñāpanam}}
|-valign="top"
|5.
|The [[Visitation (Christianity)|Visitation]]
|{{IAST|Bandhugṛhābhigamanam}}
|-valign="top"
|6.
|A journey to [[Bethlehem]]
|{{IAST|Janmadeśagamanam}}
|-valign="top"
|7.
|The birth of [[Jesus]]
|{{IAST|Bhagavato Yeśoravatāra}}
|-valign="top"
|8.
|The [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Presentation in the Temple]]
|{{IAST|Devālayasasamarpaṇam}}
|-valign="top"
|9.
|The arrival of the [[Magi]],<br />The [[Massacre of the Innocents|slaughter of the Innocents]]
|{{IAST|Vidvadāgamanaṃ Herodakṛtaṃ Śiśumāraṇaṃ ca}}
|-valign="top"
|10.
|The [[Life of Jesus in the New Testament|childhood of Jesus]]
|{{IAST|Yeśoḥ Ṥauśavam}}
|-valign="top"
|17.
|The [[Sermon on the Mount]] – I
|{{IAST|Giriprabhaṣaṇam}} – I
|-valign="top"
|18.
|The [[Sermon on the Mount]] – II
|{{IAST|Giriprabhāṣaṇam}} – II
|-valign="top"
|32.
|The [[Resurrection of Jesus]]
|{{IAST|Yeśorutthānam}}
|-valign="top"
|33.
|The [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascension]]
|{{IAST|Svargarohaṇam}}
|}
The 1977 published version of the ''Kristubhagavatam''<ref name=kb1977>{{cite book |title=Kristubhagavatam: A mahakavya in Sanskrit based on the life of Jesus Christ |last=Devassia |first=P. C. |author-link=P. C. Devassia |year=1977 |publisher=Jayabharatam |location=[[Trivandrum]], [[Kerala]], India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7JAJAQAAIAAJ&q=Kristubh%C4%81gavatam}}</ref> contains over 1600 Sanskrit verses divided into 33 cantos, perhaps corresponding to the number of years lived by Jesus.<ref>In his Introduction, K. Kunjunni Raja wrote that "This [[Mahakavya]] is divided into 33 cantos, and this number probably indicates the number of years of Jesus's life in this world" (p. v).</ref> Each Sanskrit verse is accompanied by an English translation. The poem and the translation comprise 434 pages. Titles of selected cantos, in both English and Sanskrit, are listed in the table at right.



The published poem contains a 3-page preface by the author, in which he described the process by which he composed the poem over approximately 5 years.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|1–3}} He wrote that "I had to face a difficult problem":
<blockquote>
On the one hand, Christ is a historical figure, and I must narrate his life objectively; on the other hand, a Sanskrit [[Mahakavya]] must conform to certain norms laid down by Sanskrit rhetoricians. These norms require free play of the imagination. This is often incompatible with objective narrative. I did not fancy the idea of translating the Bible into Sanskrit. I wanted my work to be really a [[Mahakavya]], a literary piece, which anyone conversant with [[Sanskrit]] language should be able to read and enjoy. I have taken as my guide [[Fulton Oursler]], who, in his "[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]", tells the story of Christ and fills in the details left out in the gospels by means of his fertile imagination.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|1}}
</blockquote>

{|style="float: right; width: 45%; border: 1px solid darkgray; margin: .46em; font-size: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
|-
| colspan="1" align="center" |'''Selected Verses, with Translation:'''<ref>From Devassia (1977), pp. 1, 131-132.</ref><br>'''Canto I: The Sage meets the Virgin<br>Canto XII: The Temptation'''
|-valign="top"
|
'''English translation (by author)'''

:I.1. May the same brilliant star, which guided the Wise Men, who set out to worship the Lord of the Universe born in a stable, shine again in the path of my poetic endeavours, so that they have a happy ending!

:XII.1. Jesus, after being baptized by John, was led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness to overcome the temptation of the devil.

:XII.3. Keeping his mind steady like a lamp unexposed to the wind, He performed penance with concentration, seeing His self with His soul.<ref>See also [[Bhagavad Gita]] 6:19, "As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker, so the simile is recorded / Of the yogin of controlled thought, performing the Yoga of the self" (English) or "yathā dīpo nivātastho neñgate sopamā smŗtā /
yogino yatacittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ" (Sanskrit) ([[Bhagavad Gita (Sargeant)|Sargeant, 1984]], p. 290)</ref>
|-valign="top"
|
'''Sanskrit verses'''<br />
:I.1. जगत्पतिं गोकुलजातमर्चितुं विपश्चितः संचरतो निनाय या |
::पुनश्च काव्याध्वनि मे विराजतां समुज्ज्वला सैव शुभाय तारका || १ ||

:XII.1. योहनस्नपितो येशुर्नीतः स परमात्मना |
::मरुस्थलं स्वयं जेतुं पिशाचस्य विलोभनम् || १ ||

:XII.3. यथा दीपं निवातस्थं कृत्वा चित्तमचञ्चलम् |
::एकाग्रेणात्मनात्मानं स पश्यन्नतपत्तपः || ३ ||
|-valign="top"
|
'''Sanskrit (transliterated)'''

:I.1. Jagatpatiṃ gokulajātam arcituṃ vipaścitaḥ saṃcarato nināya yā ।
::punaśca kāvyādhvani me virājatāṃ samujjvalā saiva śubhāya tārakā ॥ 1 ॥

:XII.1. Yohanasnapīto Yeśur nītaḥ sa paramātmanā |
::marusthalaṃ svayaṃ jetuṃ piśācasya vilobhanam ॥ 1 ॥

:XII.3. Yathā dīpaṃ nivātasthaṃ kŗtvā cittam-acañcalam |
::ekāgreņātmanātmānaṃ sa paśyan na tapattapaḥ ॥ 3 ॥
|}The [[P. C. Devassia|author]], a devout Christian, also stated that
<blockquote>
I grew up in an atmosphere of Sanskrit literature and I have been dealing with the Sanskrit classics in and outside the classroom either as a student, or a teacher for the last sixty years. Naturally some of that cultural heritage cannot but appear even in a work on Christ. Moreover, I believe our task today is to underscore the similarities and the points in common between different cultures and religions rather than emphasise the differences.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|1–2}}
</blockquote>

Selected Sanskrit verses, along with the author's English translations, are shown at right.

==Reception & commentary==
For composing the ''Kristubhagavatam'', Devassia won several awards, including the [[Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit]] (1980), the [[Travancore Royal Family|Maharani Sethu Parvati Bayi Prize]] (1979), and the Catholic Laity Association Award (1981). The published poem also contained commentaries by [[V. Raghavan]] (Foreword), K. Kunjunni Raja (Introduction), [[Mar Joseph Parecattil|Joseph Cardinal Parecattil]] (Appreciation), [[S. Venkitasubramonia Iyer]]<ref>See {{cite book|ol=4705149M|title= Kerala Sanskrit literature – a bibliography|author=S. Venkitasubramonia Iyer|year=1976 |publisher= Dept. of Sanskrit, University of Kerala in Trivandrum}} and [https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL1182330A/S._Venkitasubramonia_Iyer S. Venkitasubramonia Iyer. 1919–]</ref> (Appreciation), M. H. Sastri (Appreciation), [[K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar]] (Appreciation), and Charudeva Shastri (Appreciation).

In his foreword, [[V. Raghavan]] wrote that the first efforts of the Christian missionaries to produce Christian literature in Sanskrit resulted in "translations of the Bible, which were all miserable."<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|ii}} In contrast the ''Kristubhagavatam'' is the first major Sanskrit poem on the "whole life of Christ,"<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|ii}} and Devassia "follows all the norms and practices of the [[Mahakavya]], but does not indulge in too many figures or descriptions.... The style is simple and clear, endowed as it is with the [[Gunas]] of '[[Prasada]]' and '[[Saukumarya]].'<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|2}}<ref>Literally: "delicateness"; see [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html Sanskrit and Tamil Dictionaries] (enter "Saukumarya" to verify).</ref> Furthermore,
<blockquote>
Not only the incidents, the miracles, etc. are faithfully given, but also the famous sayings of Christ... are incorporated in appropriate terms. [There is also] inclusion of apt analogies and comparisons with personalities and situations in the two Sanskrit Epics, the [[Ramayana]] and the [[Mahabharata]], as also in the [[Puranas]], and occasionally with some well-known happenings in modern India, like the killing of [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhiji]].... No effort is spent to make the poem over-coloured or loaded with displays of learning or skill: it is always simple and straightforward, in the much valued '[[Vaidarbhi style|Vaidarbhi]]'<ref>Literally: "of [[Vidarbha]]".</ref><ref>Sanskrit, particularly classical Sanskrit has its own styles, viz: [[Vaidarbhi style|Vaidarbhi]] and Gaudi. [[Kalidasa|Kālidāsa]] was a master of Vaidarbhi style. Vaidarbhi style in the dramas of [[Kalidasa|kālidāsa]] [sic] is easy flowing, chaste and elegant. It is absolutely free from elaborate and laboured constructions. Words are chosen in large numbers from common usage but more words that are absolutely necessary are never used. The style is concise and highly suggestive. the verses are free from long compounds." [http://www.lisindia.net/Sanskrit/Sanskrit_vari.html III. Language variation] (accessed 12 Dec, 2010).</ref> style.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|iii}}
</blockquote>
[[V. Raghavan|Raghavan]] added that in Devassia's state of [[Kerala]], "where Sanskrit and [[Malayalam]] have blended into a homogeneous amalagam, the community of Sanskritists is a commonwealth of Hindus, [[Christianity in Kerala|Christians]] and Muslims.... one finds here an Indian approach and an Indian presentation of the life of Christ."<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|i}}

[[Mar Joseph Parecattil]], [[List of major Archbishops of Ernakulam-Angamaly|Archbishop of Ernakulum]] and a Catholic cardinal (in the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church]], a church in full communion with the [[Roman Catholic Church]]), and recent President of the [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of India]], wrote in his Appreciation that...
<blockquote>
I have no hesitation in saying that this "magnum opus" of prof. P. C. Devassia will certainly throw open the doors for those [[Sannyasa|Sanyasins]] and other Sanskrit scholars, who usually do not go in for the life of Christ written in western languages, to have access to Christ in the idioms and expressions of a language with which they are familiar<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|xi}}
</blockquote>

[[K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar]] wrote that "The [[Gospel|Gospel-story]] is retained in essentials, but...
<blockquote>
...the sonority of [[Sanskrit]] gives a fresh morning splendour and resonance to Jesus' divine ministry. Mary held Joseph's hand as [[Arundhati (Hinduism)|Arundhati]] did [[Vasishtha]]'s; Just as [[Vasudeva]] hid his son [[Krishna]] in [[Nanda (mythology)|Nanda]]'s house, so did [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] [[Flight into Egypt|take Jesus to Egypt]] for his safety; [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]]' sisters embraced him as he emerged out of his tomb, even as [[Devayani]] embraced [[Kacha (sage)|Kacha]] as he revived after death.... in betraying Jesus with a kiss, wasn't [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]] anticipating Godse who was to kill the [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Mahatma]] after first saluting him? The similes come naturally, and rather bring out the basic unity of texture that binds all human history.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|xvii}}
</blockquote>

In summary, [[K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar]] concluded that the ''Kristubhagavatam'' is...
<blockquote>
...a double demonstration, firstly that Sanskrit is by no means a '[[Sanskrit revival|dead language]]' but is very much and gloriously alive; and secondly, that Jesus is not the Christians' Messiah alone, but one of the pathfinders, one of the redeemers, of humanity as a whole. His message of Love has a permanent and potent significance for all mankind.<ref name=kb1977/>{{rp|xviii}}
</blockquote>

==Editions==
*{{cite book
|title=Kristubhagavatam: A mahakavya in Sanskrit based on the life of Jesus Christ
|last=Devassia
|first=P. C.
|author-link=P. C. Devassia
|year=1977
|publisher=Jayabharatam
|location=[[Trivandrum]], [[Kerala]], India
|oclc=28795465
|asin=B0000D6PEI
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JAJAQAAIAAJ&q=Kristubh%C4%81gavatam}} [[ASIN]] B0000D6PEI

==See also==
*[[Christianity in Kerala]]
*[[Religious pluralism]]
*[[Sanskrit revival]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.484787 ''Kristubhagavatam''] at [[Internet Archive]] (downloadable)

[[Category:1976 poems]]
[[Category:1977 poetry books]]
[[Category:Catholicism in India]]
[[Category:Christian poetry]]
[[Category:20th-century Sanskrit literature]]
[[Category:Epic poems in Sanskrit]]
[[Category:Sahitya Akademi Award–winning works]]
[[Category:Indian Christian hymns]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jesus]]
[[Category:Songs about Jesus]]
[[Category:Depictions of Jesus in literature]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of the Nativity of Jesus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of the Passion of Jesus]]
[[Category:Biblical poetry]]
[[Category:Works based on the New Testament]]
[[Category:Jerusalem in fiction]]
[[Category:Works set in Palestine]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary Magdalene]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Saint Peter]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Herod the Great]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of the Devil]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Judas Iscariot]]
[[Category:Depictions of the Biblical Magi in poetry]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Paul the Apostle]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Salome]]
[[Category:Works set in 1st-century Roman Empire]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian books]]
[[Category:Indian religious texts]]

Kristubhagavatam - Revision history

Qtree2009 at 07:15, 18 July 2025