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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
LITERATURE Sanskrit plays.1 Two other worksââthe Haravijaya, a kāvya, and the Bhuvanakōsha, a work on general geographyâare known only from quotations. As the author of a Rāma-play, Rājaśēkhara traces his literary pedigree from the Ādikavi Vālmiki. As a matter of fact, his enormous plays are more of the epic than of the dramatic type. He is conscious of this defect and asks the critic to read them if they contain any literary qualities. In the Karpūramañjarī also, he defines kāvya as ‘a beauty of expres-sion’.2 Rājaśēkhara as shown some inventive power, but he has little skill in the arrange-ment of incidents and still less in characterisation. Some of the devices he employs such as the introduction, on the stage, of marionettes with parrots in their mouths are very crude.3 Above all, he knows no restraint, but goes on piling verse on verse, regardless of monotony and hindrance to action. It cannot, however, be denied that he has a considerable felicity of expression. The ease with which he handles long meters like the Śārdūlavikrīdita and the Sragdhara is truly remarkable. He had an inexhaustible stock of legends about old writers and their works. It cannot be gainsaid that several Sanskrit authors would have remained unknown to us, if he had not written his commemorative verses about them. His Kāvyamīmāmsā is a veritable mine of information on a variety of subjects.
Rājaśēkhara’s works continued to be studied in the Chēdi country and have considerably influenced the composition of later poets of the Chēdi court.4 Some of them imitated his mannerisms.5 Again, some of his verses with suitable modifications are found inserted in Kalachuri inscriptions. The reign of the illustrious king Karna saw a rare outburst of poetic activity. Several great poets of the age flocked to his court. According to a well-known subhāshita,6 Karna’s court-poet was Vidyāpati. Several Sanskrit verses of this poet, in some of which he praises Karna in a clever manner,7 are cited in Sanskrit anthologies. Another poet of Karna’s court was Gangādhara. From the Vikramānkadēvacharita we learn that he was challenged and defeated, evidently in a poetic contest, by the celebrated Kāshmīrian poet Bilhana, who visited Karna’s court at Banaras in the course of his itineracy.8 While at Banaras, Bilhana delighted the great king of Dāhala with his sweet poetry.9 He also composed a kāvya in glorification of Rama on the occasion of his visit to Ayōdhyā.10 That work also is unfortunately not extant.
Other poets of Karna’s court were Vallana (or Vallana), Karpūra and Nāchirāja.
Vallana was a great poet. Several subhāshitas composed by him are found in old antho-
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