The Shishupala Vadha is a work of classical Sanskrit poetry (kāvya) composed by Māgha in the 7th or 8th century. It is an epic poem in 20 sargas (cantos) of about 1800 highly ornate stanzas, and is considered one of the five Sanskrit mahakavyas, or "great epics". It is also known as the Māgha-kāvya after its author. Like other kavyas, it is admired more for its exquisite descriptions and lyrical quality than for any dramatic development of plot. Its 19th canto is noted for verbal gymnastics and wordplay; see the section on linguistic ingenuity below.

Magha was a Sanskrit poet at King Varmalata's court at Shrimala, the then-capital of Gujarat. Magha was born in a Shrimali Brahmin family. He was the son of Dattaka Sarvacharya and the grandson of Suprabhadeva. His epic poem (mahākāvya) Shishupala Vadha, in 20 sargas (cantos), is based on the Mahabharata episode in which Krishna uses his chakra (disc) to behead the defiant king Shishupala. He is thought to have been inspired by, and is often compared with, Bharavi.