Recasting poetry: Words, motifs and scenes borrowed from the Raghuvaṃśa and reshaped in Buddhaghoṣa’s Padyacūḍāmaṇi

Buddhaghoṣa’s Padyacūḍāmaṇi is a medieval Sanskrit mahākāvya telling the story of the life of Siddhārtha. Surprisingly enough, the influence exerted on it by its famous predecessor, Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita, is marginal, if any. As a matter of fact, Buddhaghoṣa’s poetic model is Kālidāsa, and especially his Raghuvaṃśa, on which he draws profusely in terms of language, motifs and scenes. However, despite his indebtedness to Kālidāsa, Buddhaghoṣa is far from being a mere imitator. This article illustrates the diverse ways in which Buddhaghoṣa melded the words and ideas he drew from Kālidāsa’s work in the mould of his own creativity, and ingeniously remodelled them into new, fresh, enjoyable poetry.