5.2. Ratnaketudaya by Balakavi

Ratnaketudaya is a drama in five acts describing the love between prince Ratnaketu of Malava dynasty and Lilavati, daughter of king Jayasena. Ratnaketudaya gives the description of some places which are historically important.

One is Cochi the capital of his patron Ramavarma. Balakavi travelled through different places and finally reached Kerala. Kerala is full of spices like cardomom Arecanut tree and coconut trees. The Cochi is just like Amaravati^[1]. Ratnaketu passes through Coladesa.

The poet describes Coladesa as follows in Ratnaketudaya.—

sthane sthane śiśiramadhuraṃ vāri sahyātmajāyāḥ
kūle kūle madhumadaraṇatkokilāḥ puṣpavāṭīḥ
madhye madhye bhavabhayaharaṃ mandiraṃ devatānāṃ
dūre dūre vasati vacasāṃ colabhūmeḥ prabhāvaḥ ||

The famous Cidambaram temple and deity Siva is also described in Ratnaketudaya.

nyastodastāṅghripadmaṃ.............................
........................... citsabhāyām ||

The information that can be gathered from these two dramas are of some are in the reconstruction of the mediaeval history of Cocin^[2].

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

parimalabahulailānāgavallīpinaddhakramukanikarakerān keralānāviveśa |
āgāhiṣṭaṃ ca punaraparāmarāvatīmiva koccīti kṛtābhidhānāṃ rājadhānīm ||
tasyāṃ ca
mādyatkoṭakapādatāḍanaraṇanmāṇikyabhūmītalam
śūtkurvatkāriśīkara dviguṇita pratyuptamuktāphalam |
rājadvāramudāravetra latikādhāripratīhārakam
pratyadiṣṭanṛpālapālanibiḍaprāgbhāgamāḍhaukata ||

[2]:

For more details see Kerala Sanskrit Literature -P 155 Kerala Sahitya Caritram, Ullur II -363 -367—Ratnaketudaya, A study and critical Edition -Jeena George, Govt. Sanskrit College, Trppunittura, 1999