| Hamsa Sandesha | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Painting of Rama and Sita, the central characters of the poem. | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Vedanta Desika |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Verses | 110 |
| Hamsa Sandesha | |
|---|---|
| The Swan's message | |
| by Vedanta Desika | |
| Original title | हंससन्देश |
| Written | 13th century |
| Country | India |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject(s) | Rama's love for Sita |
| Genre(s) | sandeśa kāvya (messenger poem) |
| Meter | mandākrāntā |
| Lines | 110 verses |
The Hamsa Sandesha (Sanskrit: हंससन्देश; IAST: Hamsasandeśa) or "The message of the Swan" is a Sanskrit love poem written by Vedanta Desika in the 13th century CE. A short lyric poem of 110 verses, it describes how Rama, hero of the Ramayana epic, sends a message via a swan to his beloved wife, Sita, who has been abducted by the demon king Ravana. The poem belongs to the sandeśa kāvya "messenger poem" genre and is very closely modeled upon the Meghadūta of Kālidāsa.[1] It has particular significance for Sri Vaishnavas, whose god, Vishnu, it celebrates.
- ^ Hopkins 2002, p. 314.