ABSTRACT
This chapter first provides an examination of how previous generations of scholars have approached and analyzed Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurāṇa, which itself a re-composition of Vimalasūri’s earlier Prakrit Paümacariya. The general consensus of this literature is that Raviṣeṇa’s Sanskrit text is merely an embellished version of Vimala’s earlier work. Arguing against this simplistic interpretation, the chapter then provides a new reading of Raviṣeṇa’s text that is attentive to its novel poetic and emotional intricacy. As a work of kāvya, Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurāṇa has an overall goal of engendering śānta rasa, or the quiescent sentiment, in a qualified reader. Through a detailed examination of grief (śoka) both as depicted narratively in Rāma and as felt by the reader in relation to the death of Rāvaṇa, the chapter demonstrates how Raviṣeṇa artfully encourages his audience to pursue the tranquility (śama) only available through the renunciation of worldly concerns and the pursuit of final liberation.
