Kirātārjunīya

A Mahākāvya contains 18 cantos (sarga) based on an episode from the Mahābhārata. It narrates the story of Arjuna's penance and the war between Śiva, disguised as Kirāta, and Arjuna, as well as how Arjuna obtains divine weapons from Śiva. This text is considered one of the major Mahākāvyas. The author of the text was Bhāravi, who is referred to alongside Kālidāsa in the Aihole inscription of Pulakeśin II (d. 634 A.D.). Bhāravi was also a friend of Daṇḍin's great-grandfather Dāmodara and a contemporary of Kubja Viṣṇuvardhana of the Eastern Cālukyas and Durvinīta of the Gāṅgas, according to the Avantisundarī. (NCC, Vol. 4, p. 157). This manuscript contains only the first act (sarga) and includes marked meters with laghu and guru signs. Folio 6b (the final folio) contains marginal notes.