Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)
by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words
This page relates ‘region of Purvadesha (eastern part)’ of the English study on the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara: a poetical encyclopedia from the 9th century dealing with the ancient Indian science of poetics and rhetoric (also know as alankara-shastra). The Kavya-mimamsa is written in eighteen chapters representing an educational framework for the poet (kavi) and instructs him in the science of applied poetics for the sake of making literature and poetry (kavya).
Part 8.4 - The region of Pūrvadeśa (eastern part)
It is situated in the east side of Madhyadeśa of Bhāratavarṣa. In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, Rājaśekhara says that it is to the east of Benārasa and the Dharmasūtras of Baudhāyaṇa identify it to the east of Prayāga.
In this part include the countries of:
- Aṅga,
- Vaṅga,
- Kaliṅga,
- Kośala,
- Toṣala,
- Utkala,
- Magadha,
- Mudgara,
- Videha,
- Nepāla [Nepal],
- Puṇḍra,
- Prāgjyotiṣa,
- Tāmraliptaka,
- Malada,
- Mallavartaka,
- Suhma and
- Brahmottara.[1]
The modern geographer S. M. Ali think that the countries Kaliṅga and Kośala among them in the Madhyadeśa in Purāṇic geography.[2]
There are the mountain ranges of Purvadeśa described in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā are:
The rivers flows the Pūrvadeśa are:
There are the famous product of:
- Lavalī (one type of fruit),
- Granthiparṇaka (a medicinal plant),
- Āgurū [Aguru?] (agullocha),
- Drākṣa (grape) and
- Kasturī (musk).[5]
Therefore, the Bṛhadgṛha may identified with the Mount Everest in the eastern range of the Himālayas, Lohitagiri is range found in the eastern region of Himālaya, from where the river Lauhitya or Brahmaputra is flows.
Cakora is identified with Caraṇādri, the hill-fort in the district of Mizarpur, Darduraka identified with Deogarḥ peak in the eastern India but Kālidāsa in his Raghuvaṃśa described it in the southern part of India near Tāmraparṇi.
C.f.
“asahyavikramaḥ sahyaṃ dūrānmuktamudanvatā |
nitambamiva medinyāḥ strastāṃśukamalaṅghayat || ”- Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa: IV/52
Nepāla is the mountain range of Nepāla country and the Kāmarupa is the mountain situated in the Assam. Probably the Nīlakūṭaparvata where situated the celebrated Kāmākhyādevi’s temple.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Kāvyamīmāṃsā: Pp- 93:
‘yatrāṅgakaliṅgakosalatoyalotkalamagadhamudgaravidehapālapuṇḍraprāgjyotiṣa-
tāmraliptakamaladamallavarttakasuhmabrottaraprṛbhatayo janapadāḥ’| ,
[2]:
S.M. Ali: Op.cit. Pp-130
[3]:
Kāvyamīmāṃsā: Pp- 93 ‘bṛhadgṛhalohitagiricakoradarduranepālakāmarupādayaḥ parvatāḥ’ |
[4]:
Kāvyamīmāṃsā: Pp- 93 ‘śoṇalauhitya nadau | gaṅgākaratoyākapiśādyāśca nadyaḥ’ |
[5]:
Kāvyamīmāṃsā: Pp- 93 ‘lavalīgranthiparṇakāgurudrākṣākasturikādīnāmutpādaḥ’ |