34. Visvanatha Mahadeva Ranade

34. Visvanatha Mahadeva Ranade, a Cittapavan Court-poet of Raja Ramsing I of Jaipur and his works Between A. D. 1650 and 1700 * In the Gotravali of the Chitpavan Brahmins of the Maharashtra we find the surname Ranade. The gotra of the Ranade family is Bharadvaja. There are at present numerous Ranade families in the Maharashtra. Some of the members of these families are highly educated and well-placed in life. During the last 100 years the Ranades have produced some men' of literary pursuits but it is not known if any such men were produced by this family before A. D. 1880. It is, therefore, worth while investigating and putting on record whatever information we can discover from authentic records² about the literary men belonging to the Ranade family preferably before A. D. 1880. As I have no early genealogies of the Ranades with me, I shall satisfy myself by recording here a usage of the surname 'Ranade which I found in a document of A. D. 1660 while studying some documents of my own family³ between A. D. 1633 and 1685. This * Journal of the B. B. R. A. Society, N. S. Vol. 17, pp. 43-55. 1. The late Justice Madhava Govind Ranade stands at the top of such men. His versatile intellect, patriotism, and sterling character as also other qualities of head and heart have already won for him an immortal fame in the history of Maharashtra. Among living members of the Ranade families mention may be made of Prof. R. D. Ranade, now head of the Philosophy Department of the Allahabad University, the author of some standard works on philosophy such as 'Constructive Survey of the Upanishadic Philosophy,' 'Mysticism in Maharashsra,' etc. In the field of Marathi literature I may mention here my friend Prof. S. B. Ranade, now Professor in the Ismail College, Andheri, who has already made a mark in the field of Mafathi Poetry by the publication of his numerous poems during the last 30 years or so. 2. No family history of the Ranades has so far been published. It is time that some one attempts such history. 3. Vide p. 219 of Sardesai Commemoration Volume, Bombay, (Continued on the next page). (259)

document is a sale-deed of property by one Rogbhat bin Gopala bhat Ranadiya in favour of Jan Thakur bin Ram Thakur. Evidently Rogbhat Ranadiya was living in A. D. 1600 when he sold a property to Jan Thakur of Jamasade near Devagad. Gopalabhat, the father of Rogbhat, was a contemporary of Ram Thakur about A. D. 1633, which is the date of the earliest sale-deed of property purchased by Ram Thakur. It is clear from this contemporary document that one Ranade family was resident near Devagad in the Ratnagiri District of the Bombay Presidency. Like many other Chitpavan Brahmins the Ranades must have migrated' from (Continued from the previous page) 1938, where I have recorded the dates of sale-deeds of properties purchased by my ancestors, viz. the Thakurs of Jamsade (near Devagad in the Ratnagiri District of the Bombay Presidency). 1. Compare the following account of a Chittapavana going to Bengal (between A. D. 1660 and 1690) from Konkon for attaining siddhi under the guidance of a tantric teacher of Radha :In the Fragments of Poems pertaining to the Maratha King Sambhaji (A. D. 1680-1689) published by me in the Annals (B. O. R. I.), Vol. XIX, Part I (1938), pp. 49-60, we find the description of a fe of II in Bengal (pp. 57-58-verses I to 32). A Chittapavana siddha radha Brahmin called sivayogi from Konkon went to this siddha and became his pupil :- sivayogi nama kascidbrahmanascittapavanah | nisamya tasya siddhasya caritam paramadbhutam || 33 || hitva komkanakam desam tam desam samupasritah | gurutvenasu tam siddham varayamasa sutratah || 34 || " This cittapavana Brahmin served the siddha of radha devotedly and in course of time attained siddhih- 66 pragalbhodarasevabhiraradhya gurumadarat | alabhacchivayogi sah siddhikamapi suvratah || 5 || " He then returned to it near Sangameshvar in the Ratnagiri District of the Bombay Presidency and founded there a mathi or hermitage- 66 pasyanksetrani nanarasabharabharitah paryatantirthapanktih | premna srmgarapurya vyaracadatha mathim komkane kruradese vastum yogi prasiddhastadanunutagunam sannivasam cakara || If the above story of a far migrating to a remote place in Bengal from Konkon is correct, we have in it a parallel to the case of (Continued on the next page)

Konkon to Poona and other places above the Ghats during the Peshwa period of Maratha history, when the rule of the Chitpavans, i.e. the Peshwas attracted many Brahmins to their capital Poona, which then provided prospects to many ambitious youths. As I have not studied all the records of the Maratha history pertaining to this period I am unable to say whether any member of the Ranade family made his home in Poona and took to any political or literary pursuits. The study of family history will he greatly facilitated if a dictionary of surnames current in Maharashtra is compiled. Such a dictionary should record the usage of every surname in a definitely dated document so that we can have before us under each surname dated usages of that surname from the earliest to the latest with indication of the source for each usage recorded. In the case of the surname Ranade we have no means of determining the geography' of the residence of the Ranades and their migration (Continued from the previous page) another cittapavana, viz. visvanatha ranade, going to Benares and becoming a pupil of Kamalakara anb Dhundiraja. As the cittapavana sivayogi is shown as contemporary of King Sambhaji (A.D.1680-1689), he appears to have been a contemporary of visvanatha ranada who composed his srmgara arf, say, between A. D. 1667 and 1675. 1. Vide 313 by the late Mrs. Ramabai Ranade, Poona, 1935, pages 1 to 10. Here an account is given of the ancestors of the late Justice Madhava Govind Ranade. The native place of this line of the Ranade family is Pacerisada near Guhagar in the Chiplun Taluka of the Ratnagiri District. The genealogy of this family, as recorded here, is as follows:- bhagavamtarava (migrated from Konkon and settled at Karkamb near Pandharpur) c. A. D. 1775. son bhaskararava (alias appaji ) was in the service of Chintamanrao son amrtarava Patwardhan of Sangli. (migrated to Ahmadnagar. He retired as Mamalatdar). balavamta govimda gopala fat boy son Hc (born 18-1-1842; died 16-1-1901). (Continued on the next page)

from the earliest home to other parts of the Maharashtra or outside. The study of surnames is further rendered difficult by the early Maratha practice of using only the name of the person and his father without the use of the surname, unlike the present practice of using the names of the person and his father together with his surname in each case. In spite of the tendency to omit surnames we often find the mention of the surname or Upanama in some late Sanskrit works of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. In accordance with this tendency, which finally became universal in the nineteenth century, we find the surname Ranade mentioned by a writer of the seventeenth century in his two rare works, each of which is represented by a single MS only. I shall now record whatever information can be gathered from these two MSS about the personal history of this member of the Ranade family belonging to the Shivaji period of the Maratha history and then link it up with other contemporary history as far as possible. Aufrecht makes the following entries about an author fa Hand his works :CC I, 584- 'Srngaravapika natika' composed by far. CC I, 661- graf, nataka by Visvanatha, IO. 274.' CC II, 138-'fa, son of Mahadeva, son of Visnu, son of Haribhatta : Srngaravapika natika. He wrote this play by desire of King Ramasinha, son of Jayasinha.' (Continued from the previous page) Amritrao, the grandfather of Justice M. G. Ranade, had much interest in Sanskrit learning. He prepared copies of several MSS for his own study. In 1925 the B. O. R. Institute acquired a small collection of MSS from Dr. N. M. Ranade, the son of Justice Ranade. This collection belonged to his father. It is possible to infer that some of these MSS may have been collected by Amritrao Ranade. 1. Vide p. 783 of Madhyayugina Caritrakosa by S. Chitrav, Poona, 1937" (about A. D. 1650), author of the drama azanar. He was son of Mahadeva and pupil of Dhundiraja. He was a Chittapavana Brahmin, possibly with the surname He wrote the drama by 'order of Ramasinha." 66 Ranade." fa, comIt appears from the above remarks that the work I, is not known to the M. Caritrakosa. posed by

CC III, 123-'Visvanatha, with the surname Ranade, of the Chittapavan family: Sambhuvilasa Kavya.' CC III, 132-', kavya by Visvanatha, IO. 1148, No. 3850.' According to Krishnamachariar' 'Dhundiraja's pupil wrote the natika Srngaravatika on the loves of Candrakeli, King of Avanti, and Kantimati, daughter of Campavati. The India Office MS of the Sambhuvilasa is described by Dr. Eggeling as follows on p. 1446 of IO. MSS Cata., VII (1904), No. 3850 (1148 c) :- 'Foll. 19; size 9 in. by 4 in.; good Devanagari handwriting of 1719 A. D.; eight lines in a page. Sambhuvilasa, a devotional poem in honour of Siva, in three cantos by Visvanatha, surnamed Ranada (?), of the Chittapavana family. " Visvanatha refers to himself in two verses in the introductory portion of the Sambhuvilasa as follows:- " srisatkena samanvitam prathamato natva gurum buddhidam vighnadhvamsapa ( pa )rayanam ca hrdaye dhyatva ganadhisvaram | nanalamkrtijatiritimahitam srivisvanathah kavih kavyam sambhuvilasanama kurute samkhyavatam pritaye || 1 || " 1 1. Classical Sanskrit Literature, 1937, p. 661 Visvanatha Bhatta Ranade mentions one gas his guru. Krishnamachariar refers to the descendants of a go. These are as follows:- - ghundiraja ( probably same as vyasayajvan - A. D. 1713 ). son balakrsna son sankara ( diksita ) wrote the play pradyumnavijaya for Sabhasundara Raja of Pannah, grandson of Chitrasal of Bundelkhand. On p. 245 Krishnamachariar observes: of Laksmana, composed a comm. on in 1713 A. D. probably at the direction of King Sarbhoji (of Tanjore ).' The identity of dhundiraja, the guru of visvanatha bhatta ( Ranade), with of A. D. 1713 needs to be proved on independent evidence, if it is suggested by Krishnamachariar.

264 " STUDIES IN INDIAN LITERARY HISTORY dhyatva manasapujanam ca vidhivatkrtva kavirbrahmanah slokanvisvaguroh puro spathadimansrivisvanatho nijan | ,, Canto I consists of 40 stanzas, II of 80 stanzas, and III of 14 stanzas. At the end of Canto II the following date of copy is recorded :- 66 samvat 1776 ' magha-suddhi trayodasi bhaumavasare li0 || uddhavaji nagesa | " The MS ends as follows:- 66 iti sricittapavanajatiya ranadopanamaka kavisrivisvanathakrte srisambhu- vilasa sesanama cavye [ 0 vilasakhye kavye I, II. ] trtiyah sargah | was a ChittaIt is clear from the above lines that fa pavan Brahmin of the surname I who had migrated to Benares for spiritual reasons (brahma hrdi smaran ) after having realized the futility of existence (jnatva prapamcam mrsa ). 2 These reasons are stated by him in verse 14 of Canto III which precedes the above colophon and reads as follows:- bhuktva vaisayikam sukham kavirasau sa jatabodhastato drsyam sthavarajamgamaraka ( 0tmaka ) midam jnatva prapamcam mrsa | sarvanamdagrham paratparataram srirajarajesvari- rupam brahma hrdi smaran siva (va) ne kasyam sthitirnirmame || 14 || " Dr. Eggeling has devoted three pages³ to the description of 1. This date corresponds to 11 th February. 1720, which is a Thursday according to Ephemeris (vide Indian Ephemeris, Vol. VI, p. 242). 2. In a work called the advaitasudha (B. O. R. I. MS No. 143 of 1902-07), composed by laksmanapamdita in A. D. 1662, he states that he migrated to Benares from Maharashtra for spiritual reasons after abandoning all his belongings ( daksinadisyapasya sriyah kasyamudasinamati, etc.). Laksmanabhatta appears to have been a contemporary of Visvanathabhatta Ranade and went to Benares for reasons identical with those mentioned by Visvanathabhatta in verse 14 of Canto III of the Sambhuvilasa. Laksmana had two preceptors, (1) ramasrama and (2) uttamasloka, like Visvanatha's two gurus : (1) kamalakara and (2) dhundiraja . 3. IO. MSS Cata., VII, pp. 1615-1618-MS No. 4196 (274) - • Foll. 42, size 11 in. by 42 in., Devanagari Character. Foll. 1-26 (Continued on the next page) anshanab

the only MS of Visvanatha's Srngaravatika. His description pertaining to the author and the subject of the drama is as follows:- 'Srngaravatika (or Srngaravapika as it is frequently called in the MS), a play ( natika ), in four acts by visvanathabhatta kavi ( pupil of dhundiraja ), son of mahadevabhatta suri, grandson of visnubhatta kovida, and great-grandson of haribhatta pamdita of the cittapavana family. The subject of the play is the love of the young King of Avanti kantimati daughter of King ratnapala of campavati . " and In the following verse at the commencement of the play the author bows to this guru Dhundiraja :- 66 cchiyai racita jayamti jagati gramtha hi te yanu ksanam drstva mastakaghurnanam vitanute vagisvaro'pi svayam | tasmai vaidikatamtrikadhvaravide sridhumdhirajaya me visve'smin sthirakirtaye'sti gurave sadbuddhidatre namah || 1 || " Evidently Dhundiraja had a large following of pupils includ. ing our Chittapavan author. These pupils had composed some works of value, being inspired to do so by their illustrious guru. who is called by the epithet ' vaidikatamtrikadhvaravid .' After the above salutation to the guru the Sutradhara introduces the author of the play in a long passage which states that the play was written by the order of 'maharajadhiraja- sriramasimha- mahipala ' and then gives us some deatails about the author's pedigree as follows:- haribhatta (pamdita ) of 'cittapavana jati ' 1 Son visnubhatta (kovida ) Son mahadeva bhatta ( suri ) Son visvanatha (kavi ), author of srmgaravapika (Continued from the previous page) 881 written in a large clear hand, about 1650 A. D.; eight lines in a page. Foll. 27-42 in a smaller slanting hand in 1706 A. D.; twelve lines in a page. '

The introductory passage' referred to above calls visvanatha kavi as ' kamalakara tevasi ', ie pupil of kamalakara . We have already referred to another guru of our author, viz. dhumdhiraja . I believe that kamalakara, mentioned by our author is identical with kamalakarabhatta, the author of Nirnayasindhu, composed in A. D. 1612, and whose literary activity is assigned by scholars² to the period between A.D. 1610 and A. D. 1640. The Sutradhara next makes a reference to kumara visnusimha for whose entertainment ramasimha mahipala had ordered the performance of this drama :- 88 ayem visnusimham kumaram puraskrtya srmgaravapikabhinayapradarsanartham srirama- simhamahipalenajnapto'smi | " The play may have been meant not only for prince visnusimha but for other associate princes as well, as will be seen from the following words of the Sutradhara :- « adyasau bahumodatam kavirami srmgaravapim yatha gahamtam nrpasunavah sukhavasadvatrirvajetsuksmatam | " 1. This passage reads as follows:- - adyaham paramamahimaparamatmapadapadmalaya dvamdvanirdvadvabhaktimakaramdasvadanasadamodamana- mahodaramanomilimdena • srimaharajadhirajasriramasimha mahipalenajnapto'smiti | bho bho kamalakaramtevasin (10 si ) srivisvanathakaviviracita camdraketumahipalacaritra- virajita srmgaravapika nama natikastityasmabhirbahudinam sruyate | tadadya sumatina tvaya sa vistirne'sminsabhamamdape gitavadyadyairabhinetavyeti | asti ca tena cittapavanajartayena nikhilamahajanasamajasammanitaharibhatta pamditaprapautrena pratidinam vedavedamtadisakalasastra- dhyapana krtakalaksepanasya visnubhattakovidasya pautrena niramtaram srautasmitanusthanaparayanamatisri- mahadevabhatta-surisutena srivisvanatha (bhatta marg.) kavina sasmakamanugrahabuddhaya pathita samarpita ca | " 2. P. V. Kane : History of Dharmasastra, Vol. I, p. 437. 3. Vide pp. 234-235 of Tavernier's Travels in India, Vol. II, 1889 (London). 'Tavernier passed down the Ganges reaching Rajmahal on the 4 th of January, 1666. On the 6 th M. Bernier left him to go to Kasimbazar, while he proceeded to Dacca, etc.' (p. xxviii of Intro. to Vol. 1). Tavernier visited a house at Benares which was used as a college for the education of the youth of good families. It was founded by Raja Jaising (father of Ramsing ), the most powerful ( Continued on the next page )

We are further given by the Sutradhara the genealogy of Raja Rama Simha in several verses.' This genealogy is as follows:- (Continued from the previous page) of the idolatrous princes, who was then in the empire of the Great Mogul.' Tavernier 'saw the children of this Prince (Jaising) who were being educated there and had as teachers several Brahmins who taught them to read and write in a language which is reserved to the priests of the idols and is very different from that spoken by the people.' 'Having entered the court of this college being curious to see it and throwing my eyes upwards, I perceived a double gallery which ran all round it, and in the lower one these two princes were seated accompanied by many young nobles and numerous Brahmins who were making different figures like those of mathematics on the ground with chalk. As soon as I entered these princes sent to inquire who I was, and having learnt that I was a Frenchman they invited me to ascend, when they asked me many things about Europe and especially about France. One of the Brahmins had two globes, which the Dutch had given him and I pointed out the position of France upon them. After some conversation of this kind they presented me with betel, etc. ' [The two princes whom Tavernier met are evidently Ramsing and Kiratsing, the sons of Jaising I. It is possible to suppose that Visvanatha Ranade may have been one of the Brahmins who educated Ramsing and his brother at the Benares College and later after A. D. 1667, when Ramsing came to the throne, Visvanatha was asked to compose a drama for Ramsing's son, Visnusimha or Bhishansing ]. 1. These verses read as follows :- 66 asitsuryakule manupamanibhah srimanasimhabhidho raja ramjitapamditendranivahah simhopamo vikrame | kirtya sarva digamta nityagatayapyasannaya sarvada karna srivalibhojaraja gananakale pura kirtitah || 1 || tasmatkirtisitikrta tribhuvanat sripurnimacamdravad bhumimdrabhujasalinah kila jagatsimhah kumaro'bhavat | sarvanyo yuvaraja eva vasayamasarisarthanyatha matamgan srnirojasa''jisirasi srikarttikeyopamah || 2 || tasminvamdimukhambujesu madhuran srisadhuvadannijan dhrtva vasavamitratam sati gate tatputramurvimimam | ( Continued on the next page )

manasimha (of suryakula ) jagatsiha mahasimha jayasimha ramasimha This genealogy exactly tallies with the genealogy of the Jaipur kings as we find it recorded in the current reference books.' As regards the date of composition of the Srngaravapika I have to point out that it must have been composed after the succession² of Ramsing to the throne of Jaipur as it appears to refer to this succession in the following line :- (Continued from the previous page) sasatsan susubhe taramiha mahasimhabhidhah sampada yascasiddhanadopamo gunijana gramapradah sarvada || 3 || tasmanmanijanadi namna udbhudrajno mahamanavan raja rajadudaracadacarito visvambharabhusanam | namna srijayasimhatya vihito danaistu karnadhikah buddhaya citrasikhamdinandanasamah simhopamo vikrame || 4 || tasya sesacalesarcitapadasaranah srisudharmopamayam kecittarkisabhayam katicana vibudhah samkhyapatanjale ca | kecitsahitya sabde tata itarabudha sritayoge ca sastre vyakhyayavapyamanam nijavasatigrham yanavamtasca jagmuh || 5 || sunustasya sudharnavoditasudhadhamopamo diptibhir- bhumindrasya jayantavannayanayoh pitroh sadanamdakrt rajyam prapya pururava iva parah sriramasimhakhyaya | yah khyato bhuvi vikramamcitabhujah sriparvatiputravat || 6 || " 1. Vide Maharastriya fnanakosa, Vol. XIII, p. ja (121). Mansing died in A. D. 1615. Mahasing came to the throne in A. D. 1620. bisanasimga is mentioned as the successor of Ramsing. After bisanasimga Savai Jaising came to the throne in A. D. 1699. 2. Ramsing came to the throne of Jaipur in A. D. 1667 after the ( Continued on the next page )

'rajyam prapya pururava iva parah sriramasimhakhyaya | " f 269 Secondly, it refers to ' who was obviously the heir-apparant to the throne and for whose entertainment this play was composed by Visvanatha by the order of Ramsing, who is called by the title '' as already noted above. In the following verse² we are told that Ramsing was served by other Rajput princes like Arjuna (Simha?), Hindu Simha, Hari Simha Ravala, Jayat Simha, etc :- 66 virairarjuna himdusimha sabalanam do grasimhodbhata- yam sresthasriharisimharava lajayatsimhadibhih sevitam | drstva samare sapatnaprtana samtrasya bhavanatho dhatte'stavapi satvikannavavadhutulyam pragalbhagya ho || " Students of the history of the Jaipur State will be able to identify the Rajput names mentioned in the above verse. The later limit to the date of Srigaravapika would be about A. D. 1675 because Ramsing died about this time. It appears, (Continued from the previous page) death of his father Mirza Raja Jaising in the month of July 1667 at Burhanpur (vide p. 112 of Chronology of India by Burgess, 1913). Ramsing was ordered to Gawahatti in Assam where he remained till 1675. Ramsing is supposed to have had a hand in Shivaji's escape from Agra in A. D. 1666 (p. 111). 1. The Isvaravilasakavya (MS No. 273 of 1884-86 - B. O. R. Institute) gives the genealogy of the Jaipur kings in the first canto. According to this genealogy two princes are mentioned after ramasimha . They are (1) krsnasimha and (2) visnusimha . 'The interest of visnusimha in poetry and music is testified by the following verse on folio 6 of Isvaravilasakavya :- 66 'nanakautukakavyanatakakathasamgita bhaga bhare- ryastavanmathurapurimadhivasan bhogascakara svayam | khelotkhatakhaleti khadgajabale khamgaraputre'khilam ksiptva rajyadhuram dhuramdharavare vare harisimhake || " 2. Ind. Office Cata., VII, p. 1617. 3. Vide p. 328 of Oriental Biographical Dictionary by Beale London, 1904.-'RAM SING I......... His son Bishan Singh succeeded him after his death about the year A. D. 1675.'

therefore, that Visvanathabhatta Ranade composed his drama Srngaravapika between A. D. 1667 and 1675.' The surname Ranade of Visvanatha as also his caste-name far is clearly mentioned by him in the body of the text of the drama Srngaravapika towards the close of the work which reads as follows:- 66 " yo jatya khalu cittapavana iti khyatastathopakhyaya vikhyato bhuvi ranada iti jadajnanapahanau krti | tasya srikavi- visvanathaviduso (da) dosojjhitaisa krtih kuryaccetasi sammadam bahuvidham samkhyavatam samprati || 89 || iti niskrantah sarve || caturtho'nkah || iti sricittapavanajatiya ranadayopa- namaka kavi visvanatha bhattaviracita samgaravapika nama natika kaiyam paripurna samvat 1763 samae agahana vadi astami | " The above MS of this drama, dated A. D. 1707, is the earliest dated MS of the work. Whether Visvanatha composed any other works I cannot say at present. It is for the present Ranade families to see if they can identify Visvanatha and his three ancestors, whose names he has recorded in the drama before us. It is also a matter for investigation whether Visvanatha had any sons and whether his descendant is represented in the living Ranade families in the Maharashtra or outside. I have pointed out earlier in this paper a Ranade family residing near Devagad in the Ratnagiri District of the Bombay presidency. It is not improbable that Visvanatha's ancestors, viz. father Ha, grandfather fac and great-grandfather had their home in the Ratnagiri District and may have been connected with the contemporary Ranade family residing near Devagad between A. D. 1600 and 1675. 1. Vide p. 110 of Beale's Dictionary of Ori. Biography - Bishan Singh (= mentioned as H by Visvanatha) was the son of Ramsing and father of Sewai Jaising. Bishun Singh died about the year A. D. 1693 (A. H. 1105) From the Hindi MSS Report (for 1909-1911), Allahabad, 1914, pp. 16-17, we learn that Kulapati Misra composed his or metrical version of the Dronaparvan of the Mahabharata in A.D.1676 under the patronage of Ramsing of Jaipur. In the Beale's Dictionary of Ori. Biography (p. 328) we are told that Ramsing died about A. D. 1675. This date conflicts with the date of composition of Kulapati Misra's work composed under Ramsing's patronage.

A court-poet of Sevai Jaising, who had close knowledge of the ancestry of Jaipur princes, has given us a fine description of Ramsing's interest in literature. This poet is Krsna Kavi who in his Isvarvilasakavya (composed about A. D. 1744) refers to Ramsing I as follows:Folio 5 of MS No. 273 of 1884-86- " tatputro ramasimha sakalavasumatibhagya saubhagyabhuma bhuyah syamasidhumanumitaparabalottapitejo hatasah | yah saumdaryaprasarairjagati ratipatirbhavinam manabhamgam svasyabhijnaya vijnastanumatanuhara krodhakumde juhava || 39 || kale praleya- hemacalayugalamapi praskhaletsagaro'pi ksobhena tyaktavelo bhavati na tu caledramasimho'tidhirah | seva subhava sambhavitatama ' yavanasakaravimakau sadyo nirmocya bhuyastaramupari bharam svatmanah so'yamuhe || 40 || yasyottumgaturamgasamgatamadaproddamamatamgabhu- bharamdolacalacalacaladhara cakrasya yatravidhau | asamadhipatih prakampitamatih kastena ha vartate prayo'nanyagatirbhave savarunam krtva saranyasthitam || 41 || kavyalapakalakalapakalana kautuhalotkarsakah prodyannatakasatakaprahasanakhyanaprabamdhotsukah sriramayanabharatadi vilasatyauranavagvistara- ksirambhonidhirajahamsarucirah sriramasimho nrpah || 42 || purvadigvijayamudvahato'sya prodbhatah kila bhatah suvisamkah | ramgamrdbhuvi kuramgamrgavyam cakrire paravilasavanesu || 43 || bhuyo nihsanaghosaprapatadatihimopadravenatidurgan durgahyamkabiladimbalakhabukhahara rumasamamta desan | yah sadyo nirjigaya prabalanijabalacchaditaratibhumih prodyatsamgramikasvapravaraprarilasatprsthapalyanaropam || 44 || " I shall now record the chronology of Visvanatha Mahadeva [Vishwanath Mahadev] 1. seva and sumbha in verse 40 are Shivaji and Sambhaji respectively. Ramsing had a hand in their escape from Agra. After Jaising's death in A. D. 1667 Ramsing was made governor of Assam (verse 41). Ramsing's love of literature is described in verse 42. It was this love of nataka s and prahasan s that evidently encouraged visvanatha ranade to compose srmgarakhapika .

Ranade, his contemporaries and predecessors as far as could be reconstructed from the data recorded in this paper :A. D. 1600 * The great-grandfather of Visvanatha (=VMR) " 1612 1625 1633 1610-1640 c. 1640 1660 1666 1667 1667 ... ... ... ... ... c. 1675-76 1667-1683' • probably lived at this time. His name was as recorded by VMR. Kamalakarabhatta composed his Nirnayasindhu. VMR is called the kamalakarantevasi ). pupil of Kamalakara fac, the grandfather of VMR was possibly living at this time. One Gopalabhatta Ranade was living at Jamasade near Devagad in the Ratnagiri District of the Bombay Presidency. He was contemporary of Visnubhatta Ranade, the grandfather of VMR. w Period of the literary activity of Kamalakara, the author of Nirnayasindhu. Probable time of the contact of VMR with his guru. Kamlakara at Benares. One Rogbhat Ranade (Ratnagiri District). living near Devagad Tavernier meets the two sons of Mirza Raja Jaising at a Benares College. One of them was Ramsing. Death of Mirza Raja Jaysing, the father of VMR's patron Ramsing. Ramsing came to the throne of Jaipur. He had a hand in Shivaji's escape from Agra in A. D. 1666. Death of Ramsing according to some sources. Contact of VMR with Raja Ramsing and composition of Srngaravatika for Prince Visnusimha. 1. After this paper was drafted 1 had occasion to read Roa Bahadur G. S. Sardesai's paper in the P. V. Kane Volume (1941) on An Unkown but Daring Project of King Sambhaji," pp. 390-394. This paper refers to two Sanskrit letters of Sambhaji to Raja Ramsing of Jaipur addressed in A. D. 1683. One of these letters is dated c. 1682. This date clearly shows that Ramsing did not die c. 1675. (Continued on the next page)

1676 ... 1682 1693 600 1706 ... 1720 VISVANATHA MAHADEVA RANADE 273 Kulapati Misra composed his Dronaparva under the patronage of Ramsing. Sanskrit letter of Sambhaji to Ramsing. Death of Visnusimha (or Bishansing), father of Sewai Jaising (A. D. 1699-1744). Date of India Office MS:of Srngaravatika by VMR. Date of India Office MS of Sambhuvilasa by VMR. (Continued from the previous page) as stated in Oriental Biographical Dictionary (p. 328) but that he was living in A. D. 1682. Visvanatha Ranade mentions fa and also states that he composed his work for this prince by order of Ramsing. Rao Bahadur Sardesai says (in his footnote on p. 391 of his paper) that Krishna Singh or Kisan Singh was the only son of Ramsing. This son was put to death at about the age of 19 near Parenda on 18 th April, 1682, by Aurangzeb for complicity with his rebel son Akbar. Sambhaji mentions 'If in his letter to Ramsing referred to above. He also mentions '11 'who rose • against Aurangzeb and was later killed in a fight. Visvanatha Ranade also mentions 'arjuna himdusimha Is he identical with 'hada durjanasimha ' ? Without a reliable history of Jaipur, based on contemporary sources, I find it difficult to deal with these names. S.I.L.H.18