2: Date and Authorship

Vāmana did not furnish any information about himself or his date in his work. So the scholars have tried to figure out the probable date of Vāmana by means of the internal evidences such as quotations and references taken and made from other earlier and contemporary works etc which are present in Vāmana’s book. Cappeller tries to place Vāmana later than 1000 A.D. but this opinion has been rejected by Pischel who opines that Vāmana flourished much earlier than 1000A.D.

There has been a controversy regarding a reference to Subandhu or Vasubandhu in Vāmana’s vṛtti (iii/2.2.). This Subandhu has been mentioned as a minister of Candragupta. This Subandhu referred to here cannot be identified with the famous prose writer Subandhu who flourished in 7th cen.A.D. and wrote the ‘kathā-kāvya’ Vāsavadattā. Subandhu mentioned by Vāmana is most probably a minister of Candragupta Maurya (340 B.C. -298 B.C.) who composed a drama called VāsavadattāNāṭya-dhārā.

We also find another famous Sanskrit author with the name of Vāmana who happens to be one of the co-author of the well-known grammatical work Kāśikā. Our ālaṃkārika Vāmana could not be identified with Kāśikākāra Vāmana. The date of Kaśika is speculated as 660 A.D. But we come across several references to Māgha’s works in KLSV^[1] . Māgha’s date is speculated as 725-775 A.D. So, it is clear that the KLSV is a later composition than the Kaśika.

The upper -limit to Vāmana’s date can be traced from his several references to the works of the famous poet Bhababhūti. Bhababhūti’s date is speculated as from the latter half of the 7th cen. A.D. to the early half of the 8th cen. A.D. So, Vāmana must have flourished in the middle or later half of the 8th cen. A.D.

Again Rājaśekhara (later half of the 9th cen. A.D. to the early half of the 10thcen.A.D.) in his Kāvyamīmāṃsā, has quoted Vāmana (Kāvya-mīmāṃsā (of Rājaśekhara) Chapter-IV) and has also mentioned an ālaṃkārika school called Vāmanīyās. This clearly suggests that Vāmana had a respectable number of followers going by his name by the end of the 9th cen. A.D.

Jacobi mentions Vāmana as a contemporary with the Dhvanikāra (speculated date—middle of the 9th cen. A.D.) but there is no trace of any kind of influence of the Dhvani-theory on Vāmana’s doctrine. Ānandavardhana has never directly mentioned Vāmana as his predecessor but his opinion about the Rītis chool clearly suggests that he was familiar to the doctrines of Vāmana^[2] . Abhinabagupta (speculated date—later quarter of the 10th cen. A.D. to the first quarter of the 11th cen. A.D.) has also mentioned Vāmana as a predecessor of Ānandavardhana^[3] .

There is a strong possibility that ālaṃkārika Vāmana could be identified with the minister of the king of Kashmir Jayāpīḍa. Jayāpīḍa reigned in Kashmir from 779 A.D.-813 A.D. Kalhaṇa, in his Rājataraṅgiṇī (History of the kingdom of Kashmir), mentions Vāmana as a minister of Jayāpīḍā^[4] .

So, it could be safely concluded that the date of Vāmana should be placed somewhere between 750 A.D. and 850 A.D.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vāmana quotes verses from Māgha’s Śiśupālavadha quite a few times like–

ubhau yadi vyomni pṛthak patetāmākāśagaṅgāpayasaḥ pravāhau/
tenopamīyeta tamālamāmuktālatamasya vakṣaḥ//
  —Kāvyālaṃkārasūtravṛtti (of Vāmana) 4.3.10. (vṛtti) & Śiśupālavadha (of Māgha) 3.8.

Also—

sitaṃ sitimnāsutarāṃ munervapuvisāribhiḥ saudhamivātha lambhayan/
dvijāvalivyājaniśākarāṃ śubhiḥ śucismitāṃ vācamavodacyutaḥ//
  —Kāvyālaṃkārasūtravṛtti (of Vāmana) 5.2.9. (vṛtti) & Śiśupālavadha (of Māgha) 1.25.

Also—

kuthena nāgendramivendravāhanam/
  —Kāvyālaṃkārasūtravṛtti (of Vāmana) 5.2.91. (vṛtti) & Śiśupālavadha (of Māgha) 1.8.

[2]:

asphuṭasphuritaṃ kāvyatattvametadyathoditam/
aśknuvadbhirvyākartuṃ rītayaḥ saṃpravartitāḥ//
  —Dhvanyāloka (of Ānandavardhana) 3.43.

 

[3]:

vāmanābhiprāyeṇāyamākṣepaḥ, bhāmahābhiprāyeṇa tu samāsokti rityamumāśayaṃ hṛdaye gṛhītvāsamāsoktyākṣepayo ridamekamevodāharaṇaṃ vyatarad granthakṛt/
  —Locana. p-44

[4]:

manorathaḥ śaṅkhadattaścaṭakaḥ sandhimāṃstathā/
babhūvuḥ kavayastsya vāmanādyāśca mantriṇaḥ//
  —Rājataraṅgiṇī. 4.47.