Native Place of Kṣīrasvāmin

The works of Kṣīrasvāmin do not provide any information regarding the life or other activites of Kṣīrasvāmin; this has given room for much ambiguity about his native place. Scholars have different opinions about his native place and have, with some evidences suggested Kṣīrasvāmin to have belonged to various parts of India. All these varied views are presented here:

(a) Prof. Borooah^[1] in his edition of Amarakośa with Kṣīrasvāmin 's commentary opines that Kṣīrasvāmin belonged to south India, either Maharashtra or Karnataka. This is inferred by him on the basis that–(i) Kṣīrasvāmin refers to Prācya Udīcya, Kāśmīra, Draviḍa, and Pratīcya rather contemptuously in some places; he never refers to them with respect. So, he could not have belonged to any of these places. (ii) Kṣīrasvāmin quotes Rājaśekhara, a Maharashtra poet who was just gaining popularity. (iii) Also the use of Deśi words by Kṣīrasvāmin was similar to those used by Rājaśekhara. (iv) According to Nandargikar, a collaborator of Borooah, some of the prākṛt words like gaccha meaning tree, barbara meaning west, vardala meaning bad weather are found in northern dialects; the rest, Borooah opines might be found in southern dialects.

(b) Kṣīrasvāmin G. Oka is of the opinion that Kṣīrasvāmin was a native of central India. This view is based on–(i) the use of words like Prācya, Udīcya, Pratīcya etc. by Kṣīrasvāmin and his attachment to Rājaśekhara and Bhoja; (ii) the Deśi words mentioned by Kṣīrasvāmin are found only in Hindi and other Northern dialects; (iii) Kṣīrasvāmin's name seems to be after the god Kṣīreśvara Mahādeva at Kākupāda near Kanauj and (iv) in his commentary on the Pura varga Kṣīrasvāmin describes the well-known towns of central India. All these, according to Oka suggest strongly that Kṣīrasvāmin was a native of central India rather than south India.

(c) Dr. Hardutt Sharma and Dr. N. G. Sardesai opine that Kṣīrasvāmin belonged to Kashmir inferring from–(i) the title of his name Bhaṭṭa and the benedictory verse addressed to Śiva and (ii) the supporting evidence found in the work Kavikalpadruma which states that Kṣīrasvāmin was the son of Īśvarasvāmin and a contemporary of King Jayāpīḍa (1128 -1138 A.D.)

(d) Prof. Mm. Yudhiṣṭhira Mīmāṃsak presents the following evidences for his conclusion that Kṣīrasvāmin belonged to Kashmir–(i) the invocatory verse addressed to Sarasvatī–śāradāyai namo nityaṃ...; (ii) the colophon at the end of Kṣīrataraṅgiṇī reading–kāśmīra maṇḍalabhuvaṃ jayasiṃhanāmni; and (iii) also that the recitors of Kaṭhaśākhā Yajuvedis were more common in Kashmir than in any other part of India.

(e) Curiously the Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts^[2] Vol. IX (pp. 3810-3811) records a new information under one entry (No. 4934) Nāmaliṅgānuśāsanavyākhyā. It says: " Kṣīrasvāmin's commentary on the Amarakośa is the earliest of the commentaries available at present. The author, it is said, was a native of Uttaramerur in the Chengalpet District. He belonged to the 11th Century A.D." Keśava śarma, makes note of this information in his discussion on Kṣīrasvāmin, his time and place^[3].

Analysing all the above factors and by the study of the commentary Amarakośodghāṭana, it can be concluded that Kṣīrasvāmin was a native of central India. As already stated by Oka, Kṣīrasvāmin is familiar with the cities in central India. Also while illustrating the word tīrtha–a holy river, Kṣīrasvāmin mentions Prabhāsa and Puṣkara both in present Gujarat reassuring the fact that Kṣīrasvāmin belonged to Central India.

Another observation from the study of Amarakośodghāṭana worth mention here is the reading of the word cikura in Kumārasambhava, cited by Kṣīrasvāmin Though this reading of the text is found only in the commentary of Vallabhadeva, who was a Kashmirian, it does not press one to take Kṣīrasvāmin as belonging to Kashmir; but it can be assumed that Kṣīrasvāmin being in central India was familiar with the northern recension of the text of Kālidāsa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Introduction, p. viii, Berhampore, 1887-88 (upto I. 5. 5)

[2]:

Tanjore Mahārājā Serfoji's Sarasvatī Mahāl Library, Tanjore, 1930.

[3]:

Saṃskṛtakośavāṅgmaye sāmānya paricayaḥ, p. 85