69. Dates of the Works of Kayastha Camunda

I DATE OF RASASANKETAKALIKA OF KAYASTHA CAMUNDA AND HIS REFERENCE TO AN ANECDOTE ABOUT KING SIMHANA. Vaidya Jadavaji Trikamji Acharya, whose efforts in the cause of the publication of ancient works on Indian Medicine are really praiseworthy, has published in the Ayurvediyagrantha' mala a work on rasas or Medical preparations called the Rasasanketakalika." the preface to this work the Editor makes the following remarks regarding the author and the importance of his work :- 66 In sa cayam camundah kasmin samaye katame va janapade samajaniti nirnetum na kincidapi sadhanamupalabhyate | gramthascayam laghurapi atisaralatvat visadarthatvat drstapratyaya- rupaprayatnasadhyaprayogavatvacca rasacikitsagranthesu murdhanyah | putrapradarasaprabhrtayah kecana apurvaprayoga adhyanropalabhyante | " In the above remarks, I am here concerned with the date of the author of the Rasasanketakalika and not with the medical value of the treatise which an editor of Vaidya Jadavaji's status and reputation is most competent to judge. When the above book was published Aufrecht's Catalogus Catalogorum was in existence. It appears, however, that this Catalogue has not been used by the Editor in making the remarks quoted above to the effect that there are no means for determining the place and time of Camunda, the author of this Rasasanketakalika. The following entry 2 in Aufrecht's Catalogue would certainly have helped the Editor to study the question more carefully :I Poona Orientalist, Vol. V, pp. 1-10. 1. Edited along with Rasasara of Govindacharya, 1915, Bombay. 2. Cata.Catalo. Part I, p. 185. 479

480 " STUDIES IN INDIAN LITERARY HISTORY "" camunda ' or canda kayastha wrote at Medapata under King Rajamalla (1489): I med. Bik. 643. Lahore 22; Tasfest med. L. 910. K. 216, Oudh 1877, 62. In an article contributed by me to the Annals of the Bhandarkar Institute (Vol. XII, pp. 294-296) I have proved that Camunda Kayastha wrote his fvaratimirabhaskara in Samvat 1546 (= A. D. 1490) during the reign of King Rajamalla of Mewad (1474 to 1509). I shall, therefore, try in this paper to prove the identity of the Author of the Jvaratimirabhaskara with the author of the Rasasanketakalika. cr dw dw In the first verse of the Rasasanketkalika the author states that he composed the work and that his name is camundah kayasthavamsabhuh ' In the last verse of the Jvaratimirabhaskara (v. 63 on folio 116 of MS No. 9202 of 1884-87) the author calls himself " This identity of names is not sufficient to prove the identity of authorship for the two works under reference because in the Rasasanketakalika no chronological and historical data are available. I have, therefore, tried to find if any verses are common to both the works. Fortunately my cursory perusal of both the works has enabled me to detect the following lines in the Rasasanketakalika which are found also in the Jvaratimirabhaskara:- 1. Aufrecht, III, 40 mentions a as the author of a work called quia (Peters 6, 399) which is identical with No. 399 of 1895-98 in the Govt. MSS Library at the B. O. R. Institute, Poona. The identity of this with the author of the Rasasanketakalika will be examined in a separate note. Aufrecht also records ( Part III, 130) a work on jyotisa called but its author is not mentioned. It appears to be a different work from the varnanighantu of camumda referred to above. 2. This MS is dated Samvat 1689 (= A. D. 1633). It was copied at Ajmere and contains two impressions of a seal on the last folio. The seals are in Persian script. Mr. G. H. Khare of the Bharata Itihasa Mandal has given me a tentative deciphering of these seal-impressions, according to which the Seal contains the words " Kesav Ibn Ganesh Kher." If this reading is correct it would mean that the Seal belongs to some owner of the MS subsequent to the date of the Copy viz. A. D. 1633. Keshav Ganesh Kher is a Maharashtra Brahmin name while the copy was made at Ajmere in Rajputana and the MS was acquired by Sir R. G. Bhandarkar from Gujarat.

Page 15 - 06 ( visamajvare sitabhanjirasah ) paradam rasakam talam tulyam gandhakatankanam | sarvametatsamam suddham karakhelya rasaidinam || 2 | mardayetena dihyacca tamrapatrodaram dhanam | agularghardhamanena tatpacesikataye || 3|| yantre yavarasphutantyeva vrihayastasya prstatah | tatah susitale grahyatamrapatrodaradbudhaih || 4 || tarasamam maricam datva sarvamekatra curnayet | dvigu parnakhandena vatike, paittike jvare || 5 || " 481. The above verses in the Rasasanketakalika are also found on folio 22 of MS No. 920 of 1884-87 of foaratimire bhasitara with * slight variations :-- 66 paradam rasakam talam tuccham tankanagamdhakam | sarvametatsamam suddham karavelya vairdinam || 54 || mardayettena lihyacca tamrapatrodaram dhanam | aguladhyarddhamanena tam pacetsikatahvaye || 55 || yamtra yavarasphutatyeva vithastasya prstatah | tatah susitalam graham tamrapatredara budhaih || 56 || tatsamam maricam dadyat sarvamekatra curnayet || 57 || sitabhanji rasonama dviguh vatake jvare | datavyah parnapamdena ksanannasayate jvaram || 58 || " The above matter common to both the works proves beyond doubt the identity of authorship especially in view of the identity of names of the authors referred to already. In spite of the common matter the relative chronology of the two works cannot be determined unless either of the two works is found mentioning the other work by name. The work Rasasanketakalika composed, therefore, during the reign of King Rajamalla of Mewad (1474 - 1509 A. D.) is very important as pointed out by Vaidya Jadavaji Trikamji Acharya in his Preface. Among the several rasas mentioned in this manual we find one called " kravyadarasa " prescribed against the lethargic condition of the bowels and want of appetite (agnimandya). Verses 67 S.I.L.H.31

to 72 of the Fourth Ullasa of the work describe the method of its preparation, which is concluded with the following verses narrating its marvellous effects and miraculous properties:- " bhojayetkanthaparyantam guruma misa bhojanam | ksipram tajjiryate bhuktam punah kanksati bhojanam || 73 || ghatasravakumbhayonivrkodarasanaiscaraih | sahastradrkupancacaturmukhairasevito'gnaye || 74 || asya samsevanadete sarve jata mahasanah | atah samsevyatebhupairmahadagnivivrddhaye || 75 || kuryaddipanamadbhutam ca pacanam dustaya yocchedanam tundasthaulya nibarhanam, garaharah sulartimulapahah | gulmalihavinasano bahurujam vidhvamsanah sramsano vatagranthimahodarapaharanah kravyadanama rasah || 76 || simhanaksonipalaya bhuribhojyapriye sam | dattavan bhairavanando bhuyo gramastakam dadau || 77 || " " The above extract gives us an impression that ancient Indian kings were addicted to over-eating and required special medicines agnivivrddhi to enable them to digest everything they swallowed." " or stimulation of appetite was more a matter of concern for the well-fed kings than for the famished peasants. Verily this miserable condition of the kings afforded a nice opportunity for the ancient physicians to make a fortune and hence in verse 77 of the above extract we get an anecdote about King fg who is stated to have been ' bhuribhojyapriya ', excessively fond of eating or rather a glutton. A physician by name bhairavananda administered the rvyadarasa to this King and the King was so much pleased by its marvellous effects that he gave the physician no less than eight villages as a reward. Students of history proper may perhaps be able to verify the above anecdote and its historical content. The anecdote is amusing enough as it is cited by Kayastha Camunda as an illustration " atah samsevyate from history to prove his point contained in the line: bhupairmahadagnivivrddhaye | " i.e. the kravyadarasa should be taken by kings to effect a good appetite. " Vincent Smith' mentions a Yadava king of the name Singhana 1. Early History of India, Oxford, 1924, pp. 451-452.

( = f) (A. D. 1210)" who invaded Gujarat and other countries and established a short-lived kingdom almost rivalling in extent the realms of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. Inscriptional references to this Singhana describe him as under :- " " asti dhvastasamastavairivisarapraudhapratapanalah kumdasvetadigamtakirttiramalah srisimghanah ksonipah | yenahari haribhasambhrtamatisphitam samastam ksana- drajyam prajyamatha janasya dalitadharadharabhusanam || 2 || " Singhana ruled from Saka 1132 (= A. D. 1210) to Saka 1169 (= A. D. 1247)2 i.e. for a period of 37 years. Whether he gave any village to any physician of the name of a as stated in the Rasasanketakalika of Kayastha Camunda is a matter for investigation. That he did entertain court physicians is proved by the fact of one of the inscriptions mentioned above being composed by an eminent physician who was at the same time noted for his poetic talents. The name of this poet physician was Madhava, son of Dhanesvarabhatta of the Visnuvrddha gotra and belonging to the Taittiriya Sakha. The pertinent verse³ supplying this information reads as follows:- " sadvaidyo bhisagrani kavivarasrimadhavo viprarat ( - ) kse vikramasam ( sam ) kakelivipulam cakre prasasti subham || putrau bhattadhanesvarasya sumateh srivisnuvrddhasya yo vamsejayata sakhaya vimalaya yastaittiriyah krti || 42 || " In inscriptions, devoted more to the praise of kings than to their criticism, it would be difficult to find anything to justify the adjective with reference to King Singhana of the inscriptions. In the Kirtikaumudi of Somesvara a good description of the prowess of King Singhana in his invasion of Gujarat is given, but no reference to his personal habits could be traced in such 1. G. H. Khare: Sources of the Medieval History of the Deccan, Vol. I (1930), p. 71-The verse about Singhana quoted above is repeated in both the inscriptions recorded by Mr. Khare (pp. 62 and 71 ). One of these inscriptions is dated " saka samvat || 1150 || sarvadharini samvatsare " =A. D. 1228 (vide p. 66). 2. Vide Life of Hemadri (1931) by K. A. Padhye, p. 100. 3. Sources of the Medieval History of the Deccan, Vol. I, p. 75. 4. Canto IV, verses 43-46 and 49-53 (quoted by Mr. K. A. Padhye in his Life of Hemadri, pp. 102-104.

poetic descriptions. Besides there are two more namesakes of king Singhana. One of these was called Simharaja or King Simha, though his full name was Singhana. He was probably the brother of Parammadeva, the successor of Seuna Candra (1069 A. D.) of the early Yadava Dynasty.' The other namesake of King Singhana is Singhanadeva² the last prince of the Kalacuri Dynasty whose grant dated Saka 1105 ( = A.D. 1183) was brought to notice by Dr. Fleet in 1875 and published in the Indian Antiquary. Singhanadeva was the brother of King Soma. It was at the instance of a woman that King Soma made a grant in the year Saka 1096 (=A. D. 1174). Her name was Savaladevi, who is represented to have been dearer to the King than his own wife. Her brother was Bhairava by name who had exercised himself on the musical instruments especially on the Brahmavina and was skilled in beating time."3 Bhairava and his sister Savaladevi had, therefore, great influence at the court of King Soma of the Kalacuri dynasty, the brother of Singhanadeva. Is it possible to suggest that this Bhairava had anything to do with Bhairavananda of the Rasasanketakalika, who administered kravyadarasa to simhana ksonipa and got eight villages as a reward? The above anecdote about the fondness of king Simhana for excessive eating () reminds me of a similar tradition current in the Maratha country about Peshwa Bajirao II. Whatever be the truth of this tradition with regard to this last of the Peshwas and his personal habits the fact remains that he was instrumental in indirectly encouraging gluttony to a certain extent. Making due allowance for the charitable motives which prompted him to feed the Brahmins on an enormous scale and pay them daksinas in addition we are constrained to admit that the system engendered indolence instead of encouraging learning, which was the original object of the system. It appears that the system of feeding Brahmins on a grand 1. Vide p. 146 of the Early History of the Deccan (R. G. B. Works, Vol. III, 1927 B. O. R. Institute) where the genealogy of the Early Yadavas or the Yadavas of the Seunadesa is given. 2. Ibid, p. 342. 3. R. G. B. Works, Vol. III, p. 346 - yajnata bhairavo nama yamtre gatre krtasramah | visesadabramhavanayam talamanavicaksanah || "

scale and paying them daksinas began early in the Peshwa period. For instance, in an entry in the Peshwa's' Diaries for 28 th July 1736 we read the following entry :- "Panta Pradhan performed the ceremony of feeding the Brahmins from Sravana Suddha Pratipada. On the Nagapancami day daksina was distributed at the rate of 1 to 2 rupees per head. 4000 to 5000 Brahmins had gathered for the purpose. " Now compare with the above acccount the following account of a similar feast to the Brahmins given by Bajirao II at the close of the Peshwa Period: The ceremony in the month of Sravana (was duly celebrated) and daksina was distributed as usual (to Brahmins). This year the number of Brahmins was less by ten to twelve thousand. Khicadi was served for five days as in the previous years. On Monday at 17 ghatikas in the day (at about 2 P. M.) the distribution of daksina to the Brahmins assembled began. Owing to some showers of rain on that day the Brahmins did not attend the feast in large numbers. On the following day it was arranged that daksina should be distributed simultaneously at all the four gates. This arrangement resulted in the admission of the entire number of Brahmins inside (the enclosure). Shrimant Rajasri Dada ( = Raghunathrao Kurundvadkar) had been appointed as one of the distributors of daksina and he worked in that capacity. On Tuesday afternoon Sindia (Mahadji Sindia) was personally present at the ceremony. On that occasion he distributed rupees in handfuls to certain meritorious or austere Brahmins from Poona. (Out of this number) some ten to twelve persons received as daksina Rs. 800, 400, 150, 200, each and so on. The total number of Brahmins recorded at the four gates (of the enclosure) was 32,231. Total amount of money distributed was Rs. 1, 13, 281. Three Brahmins of weak constitution expired on this occasion. "2 It would, therefore, appear that the modest number of 4000 to 5000 of Brahmins fed in A. D. 1736 had increased to more than 1. Peshwa Daftar Selection No. 22, p. 176. 2. Vide Letter No. 3523 dated 15 th August 1793 from Visaji Narayan Vaddekar to Balasaheb (pp. 4656-7 of Khare's Aitihasik Lekha Samgrah, Vol. IX. (Poona 1916).

by A. D. 1793. These figures tell their own tale and need no comment.' II DATE OF VARNANIGHANTA OF KAYASTHA CAMUNDA A. D. 1482 (SAMVAT 1538) Aufrecht 2 records only one MS of a work called Varnanighanta by Camunda. This MS is identical with No. 399 of 1895-98 in the Govt. MSS Library at the B. O. R. Institute, Poona, and consists of 2 folios only. It appears to be a vocabulary of tantric terms. It begins as follows:- 1. Vide remarks of Dr. Sen in his Administrative System of the Marathas, Calcutta, 1925, p. 471-Originally the Dakshina System was instituted by Dabhades but was continued by the Peshwas after the fall of that family. It was originally meant for scholars but was extended to Brahmins in general. "Bajirao II spent about 4 lacs of rupees annually in Dakshina grants." Mr. Elphinstone maintained a Pathashala at Poona out of the Dakshana grant. Feeding of Brahmins to their heart's content and giving them daksinas at religious sacrifices was practised in the Peshwa period. Raja Savai Jaisingh of Jaipur (1699 - 1743 A. D.) who performed an Asvamedha Sacrifice gave plenty of daksinas and feasts to Brahmins on that occasion. The following verses from Isvara Vilasa Kavya, a poem dealing with the Jaipur dynasty describes this sacrifice in chapters IV and V of the same. In chapter V we get the following verses " << asminyajne jayamane yavadyadyena yacitam | tavattattena viprena ksipramasmadalabhyata || 29 || " evam sa daksinabharam sabhuribrahmabhojanaih | samgam sa vajimedhanam cakre pamcottaram satam || 52 || " (These verses are quoted from MS No. 273 of 1884-86 in the Govt. MSS Library at the B. O. R. Institute, Poona. This is the only MS of this poem discovered so far and hence important.) 2. Cata. Catalogorum, Part III, p, 40.

" aradhyakhilanayakam pasupati tadvallabhamambika- manamya svagurum vilokya munibhistamtranyanekani ca | srimatkumbhatanudbhavah prakurute camumda nama krti kayasthornanirghatasastraracanam sanmamtrasamsiddhaye || 1 || abhivamdya jagaddhatrim srimattripurasumdarim | camdah prakurute varnanighamtam karunagranih || 2|| humkaro vartulastaro bimdusaktistridaivatah | pranavo mamtra gavyasyatpamcedevo dhruvastrikah || 3 || mamtradyah paramam bijam mulavedadyatarakah | sesadirvyapako vyaktah paramjyotisca samvidoh || 4 || " 487 The author's name as given in verses 1 and 2 is camda or camumda kayastha and not mere camumda as stated by Aufrecht. He is identical with kayastha camumda the author of jvaratimirabhaskara, a treatise on fevers and rasasamketakalika or a treatise dealing with rasas or certain medical preparations. We have shown elsewhere' that the work jvaratimirabhaskara was composed in A. D. 1489-90 ( Samvat 1546) though the exact date of the rasasamketakalika cannot be determined. 2 However, we are sure that it was composed during the reign of King Rajamalla of Mewad (1474 to 1509 A. D. ). 88 " a The work Rasasanketakalika begins with the words " sivam natva corresponding to the first line of Varnanighanta viz. aradhyakhila- nayakam pasupatim " showing thereby that Kayastha Camunda was devotee of God Siva. His father's name as recorded in the Varnanighanta (verse 1, line 3) was Kumbha ( srimatkumbhatanudbhavah ). In the Jvaratimirabhaskara also he is called : in the following verse :- " dese srimedapate rasayugasarabhumanavarse dasamyam sukkayamasvinasya tridasagurudine yoginipatra ( ta ? )nasthah | bhupe srirajamalle nivasati vasudhamamdale kumbhasunuh kayasthascamdanama jvaratimiraharam bhaskaram samvidhatte || " The above verse occurs in MS No : 920 of 1884-87. In the Bikaner MS of the fvaratimirabhaskara instead of " kumbhasunuh " in the 1. Annals (B. O. R. I.) Vol. XII, p. 294-96. 2. See my note on the Date of Rasasanketakalika published above.

d, above quotation we have the reading "" which becomes kumbha sunau applicable to "rajamalai " and in fact rajamaha was the son of King Kumbha but the reading" of the Bikaner MS is wrong as in the varnanirghata, kayastha camumda is clearly stated to be kumbhatanujava and hence " kumbhasunuh " is the correct reading. The composition of the present vocabulary, Varnanighanta shows that the author was a follower of tantras and mantras, for the proper application of which the vocabulary viz. the Varnanighanta was composed. The MS ends as follows:- srisivadyagamacarya manuryo gopitah pura | tasphutikaranayaitadudyamam krtavanaham || varse srivikramarkasya gajagnisvidusamyute jyesthe mase site pakse mularke pratipaddine rasah srirajamallasya rajye sri yoginipare camumdenagamajnanam gramtho'yam prakatikrtah itisricamumdakrto varnanighamtah samaptimaphanit || " agni, imdu The work was composed in the Samvat year 1538 represented by the chronogram (",,, ) = A. D. 1482 i.e. eight years before the date of composition of the work Jvaratimirabhaskara (composed in A. D. 1490). King Rajamalla was reigning at the time. The work was composed at Yognipura.' Rajamalla of 1. Kayastha Camunda's Jvaratimirabhaskara was also composed at yoginipura ( = yoginipattana of the verse quoted in this note from the Jvaratimirabhaskara). As Rajamalla was the King of Medapata ( = Mewar ) yoginipura or yoginipatana must have been in the old province of Mewar. Its exact location and identification need more evidence for being determined with accuracy. it has been identified with modern Delhi (see Dynastic History of Northern India, Vol. II by H. C. Ray, Pp. 801, 1095, 1145). See also J. A. S. B., Vol. XLIII, Part I, Pp. 106-109 and E. I. XXI, 281 ). afghas nothing to do with Jogipura settlement mentioned by Badaoni in the following passage regarding Akbar's interest in Yogies :-- 66 It was this craving for unravelling the mysteries of the uni- (Continued on next page)

Mewad ruled from A. D. 1474 to 1509 and the dates 1482 and 1490 for the composition of the Varnanighanta and the Jvaratimirabhaskara respectively harmonize with the period of Rajamalla's reign viz. 1474 to 1590 A. D. (Continued from previous page) verse and exploring the nature of things which led him to found the settlement of Jogipura where he called 'Yogies' for private interview at night and made inquiries into their practices and usages, alchemy, physiognomy and the power of omnipresence of soul. Badaoni alleges that with the help of Yogis Akbar learnt alchemy and showed in public some of the gold made." [Vide p. 100 of Muslim University Journal Vol. III (April, 1936) containing Abdul Ghafoor's article on A sidelight an Akbar's genius. "] 66