Part 5.2 - Speech and Languages of Kavi (poets)

Kāvya (poetry) sometimes gives publicity and popularity to the kings due to the royal ordinances in time to time. There the kavi (poet) should observe the ordinances and rules regulated by the kings. Because, sometimes certain kings also gives regulations regarding literal activities or composing kāvya (poetry). i.e. the king Śiśunāga prohibited the use of eight litters (i.e. ‘ta’, ‘tha’, ‘ da’, ‘dha’, ‘śa’, ‘ ṣa’, ‘ ha’ and ‘kṣa’) in his country, Magadha.

C.f.

“śrūyate hi magadheṣu śiśunāgo nāma rājā ; tena durūccārānaṣṭau varṇānapāsya khāntaḥpura eva
pravarttito niyamaḥ, ṭakārādayaścatvāro mūrddhanyāृstatīyavarjamūṣmāṇastrayaḥ kṣakāraśceti|”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-X, Pp- 50

The king Kuvinda rejected hard-sounding and other conjoined letters in his realm Śūrasena.^[1] The king Sātavāhana encouraged the peoples to speak Prākṛta language in his state Mahārāṣṭra^[2] and the king Sahaśāṅka (Chandragupta-II) introduced Sanskrit language into his home and places.^[3] Here Rājaśerkhara indicates some nature of king of ancient Indian.

Rājaśerkhara’s these types of description also found in the work Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa, where the author Bhoja says that:

“ke 'bhūvānnāṭ yarājasya rājye prākṛtabhāṣiṇaḥ|
kāle śrīsāhasāṅkasya ke na saṃskṛtavādinaḥ” ||

- Sarasvatīkaṇṭhāvarana of Bhoja: Ch-II/15

Sahaśānka or Chandragupta-II was a patron of Sanskrit literature and he also a poet evident by the Sūktimuktāvalī as:

“śūraḥ śāstravidherñjātā sāhasāṃkaḥ sa bhūpatiḥ|
sevyaṃ ,sakalalokasya vidadhe gandhamādan || ”

- Suktimuktāvalī of Jalhaṇa: Ch-IV/57/3

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ibid, Pp- 50

“śrūyate ca sūraseneṣu ku vindo nāma rājā; tena
paruṣasaṃyogākṣaravarjamantaḥpura eveti samānaṃ pūrveṇa|”

[2]:

Ibid , Pp-50 “śrūyate ca ku ntaleṣu sātavāhano nāma rājā; tena prākṛtabhāṣātmakamantaḥpura eveti samānaṃ pūrveṇa|”

[3]:

Ibid,

“śrūyate cojjayinyāṃ sāhasāṅko nāma rājā; tena ca
saṃskṛtabhāṣātmakamantaḥpura eveti samānaṃ pūrveṇa |”