2025, Vol. 11, Issue 4, Part A

author(s)
Sudeshna Bhattacharjya and Debashri Mishra

abstract

Dhoyī’s Pavanadūta is a work in the genre of the Sandeśakāvya in Sanskrit literature. Sandeśakāvya are also known as Dūtakāvya. This poem is an imitation of Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta. After Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta, many poets have written Dūtakāvyas following him. Among them Dhoyī’s contribution stands out. Dhoyī, a 12^th century Sanskrit poet and court poet of Lakṣmaṇaseṇa of Bengal. In his Pavanadūta the Pavana or wind is portrayed as a messenger. Like Kālidāsa, Dhoyī presents a beautiful love story in his Pavanadūta. Here Dhoyī narrates the tale of love between the king Lakṣmaṇaseṇa and Gandharva girl Kuvalayavatī. This paper explores a detailed analysis of the Pavanadūta’s literary devices and explores its thematic core, highlighting how Dhoyī elevates a simple message of love into a profound meditation on emotion, conquering distance and time.

Methodology: In this paper, both primary and secondary materials have been used. Primary sources like original texts and their analysis and secondary materials like supportive books have been taken for study and analysis. Thus the methodology followed here is descriptive, analytical and comparative.

Objectives: To study Pavanadūta’s role in highlighting Sanskrit Sandeśakāvya’s tradition. To identify thematic and literary innovations undertaken in the Pavanadūta.