The poet has taken the story from 32nd sarga of Uttarakāṇḍa of Śrīmad Rāmāyaṇam written by Ādikavi Vālmīki. In twenty-seven cantos, it deals with the the story of the big battle between Kartavīryājuna and Rāvaṇa.
after vanquishing several kings, Rākṣasa king Rāvaṇa reached the city of Māhiṣmati which was the capital of Haihaya king Kārtavīryārjuna. That day, Kārtavīryārjuna had gone to the shores of the river Narmadā to enjoy watersports with his queens. Coming to know that Kārtavīryājuna has gone to river Narmadā, Rāvaṇa followed the same route, enjoying the beauty of Vindhya mountains and reached the banks of the river. There, Rāvaṇa started praying to Śiva ritually. The flowers offered to Śiva were washed away by the raising waters of Narmadā. Curious to know what was happening, Rāvaṇa stared at the river’s flow. He came to know that Kārtavīryājuna was stopping the flow of the river sportively with the strength of his thousand arms. Seeing Kārtavīryājuna reveling with his wives in a joyous mood, Rāvaṇa got enraged and dared him to fight immediately. Kārtavīryājuna accepted the challenge and came out of water in full glory. Fierce battle ensued. The poet describes the battle with many similies and metaphors. Kārtavīryārjuna vanquished Rāvaṇa and carried him to Māhiṣmati as a prisoner. The winner Kārtavīryārjuna is welcomed to the palace with big fanfare.
Bhaṭṭabhaumaka’s work Rāvaṇārjunīyam is unique for the reason that it is studied for its aphorisms as much as for its poetry. As ‘Sāhityadarpaṇa’ is a Śāstra, ‘Kumārasambhavam’- a Kāvya, Mahābhārata- a Śāstrakāvya, Rāvaṇārjunīyam is a Kāvyaśāstra. The well-known rhetorecian Kṣemendra has listed this work as Kāvyaśāstra in his Suvṛttatilaka, as it deals with the story of the battle between Kārtavīryārjuna and Rāvaṇa, at the same time it illustrates the aphorisms of Pāṇini. The illustration of Pāniniyan rules are in the same order of Aṣṭhādhyāyī of Pāṇini omitting the Saṃjñāsūtras and sūtras related to Vedic language.
The rule pumān striyā (1.2.67) is illustrated thus:—
cakāra kāntārahitaṃ sametya yā pratibhājaṃ śaradāśu haṃsam |
nāviprayuktāvapi sā mayūrau sarvatra hetorna samā hi vṛttiḥ ||[3]
In the verse,
na dhārayaḥ śeṣa ivāvane nṛpaḥ smaraṃ vijigye kṛtadehamaṇḍanaḥ |
āyojyamekaṃ guruvigrahasthitaṃ vaśī parājeṣṭha yathārimaṇḍalam ||[4]
vijigye is example for the rule viparābhyāṃ jeḥ (1.3.19).
Being an epic poem, Rāvaṇārjunīyam serves the purpose of educating people through entertainment and gives happiness and peace of mind. Even dry subjects like grammer and well-wishing advices are made attractive by covering them with honeyed poetry. If other subjects engage only the intellect, poetry [literature] engages the intellect and the heart. These purposes are amply served in Rāvaṇārjunīyam.
Rāvaṇārjunīyam of Bhaṭṭabhaumaka is an illustrious epic poem. Just an episode in the famous Rāmāyaṇa is made into an epic story. All the qualifications required for a literary work to be an epic poem as described by Pandit Viśvanātha are found in Rāvaṇārjunīyam. It has 27 Sargas; It introduces the exemplary and handsome king Kārtavīryārjuna who embodies all the good qualities of an ideal hero; It has an introductory prayer to the hero describing his good qualities. It has Vīrarasa as the main rasa and other rasas like śṛngāra and Karuṇa are also expressed wherever needed. The descriptions of various things like the city of Mahiṣmati, the river Narmadā, Vindhya mountain, gardens, seasons, mornings- evenings, hunting, war, army, army quarters, sports, drinking sessions etc. are given wherever required. In every Sarga, there is usage of various metres and as per the rules, at the end of each Sarga, the metre changes. In this manner the author incorporates examples for Paṇinian rules in his epic poem and Rāvaṇārjunīyam, is thus, an important contribution to the Sanskrit literature.