Chapter 4 - Predecessors of Dhanapala

86 CHAPTER FOUR PREDECESSORS OF DHANAPALA 1 2 In the introductory verses of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala, Dhanapala has referred to nineteen literary personages in all. Most of them are poets, but a few of them are referred to due to the poet's deep regard for them as being the luminaries in the scholarly tradition of Jainism. We will consider in detail each of the e predecessors mentioned by him in his own order and see whether his order is chronological or otherwise. (1) INDRABHUTI GANADHARA : Gautama Indrabhuti was the first disciple of the last Jain Tirthamkara Mahavira. After instructing NEE Gautama, Mahavira 3 set off on his preaching tours in real earnestness. The Jain tradition rejects the theory that Gautama Indrabhuti revolted against Jainism and became the founder of Buddhism The Svetambara tradition relates the following story of the conversion of this earliest and the greatest disciple of Mahavira. Once when Mahavira went to the 1.Tilakamanjari Intro.vss. 19-36. 2. They are Indrabhuti, Valmiki, Vyasa, Gunadhya, Pravarasena, Padaliptacarya, Jivadevasuri, Kalidasa, Bana, Bharavi, Magha, Haribhadrasuri, Bhavabhuti, Vakpatiraja, Bhadrakirti, Yayavara, Mahendrasuri, Rudra and Kardamaraja. 3.The Heart of Jainism p.40.. 4.ibid.p.50.

87 city of Apapa to preach, a rich Brahmin was preparing to offer a great animal sacrifice and he had invited Gautama Indrabhuti and his ten brothers to be present at the occasion. When they heard of the new teacher and his denunciation of the animal sacrifice they were very much enraged at his audacity and determined to oppose and expose him. In order to thoroughly grasp the opponent's doctrines so as to be able to refute them, they listened to Mahavira's discourses which, however, convinced them by the gentle and thoughtful answers given to all the questioners. According to the Digambaras, Gautama Indrabhuti was born of Brahmin parents in a village called Govara, his father's name being Vasumati and his mother's Prthvi. His vanity grew with his learning. One day, an old man came to him with a verse which he had heard from Mahavira and which he wanted to understand. The verse contained references to Kala, Dravya, Panca Astikaya, Tattva, and Lesya, not one of which could Gautama understand; but being too true a scholar to pretend to a knowledge which he did not possess, he sought out Mahavira for an explanation. All his pride vanished before the great ascetic, whose pupil he readily became. 5.The Heart of Jainism p.61. 5

88 Out of the eleven Ganadharas only Gautama and Sudharma survived Mahavira and the former was the only disciple 6 who was not present at his death. After his death Gautama Indrabhuti, according to same authorities, succeeded him and continued to be the spiritual leader for 7 my master' twelve years. Gautama could not conquer his personal attachment to his great ascetic master, and despite all his efforts, he continued to think of him as and 'my friend'. Only on the night that Mahavira died was he able to overcome all his feeling of personal 8 devotion and possession. According to others, Gautama Keva 9 never held office, having become a Kevali. Dhanapala rese pectfully remembers him as the first religious leader who first received from his master the famous three 11 10 aphoristic truths and preached them to the world. (2) VALMIKI:- He is the celebrated author of afthe Ramayana and is mentioned as the first poet who eulogized (Prastavanadi-purusa) the line of Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa (Raghuvamsa). Strangely enough Dhanapala has mentioned the Ramayana as "Raghuvamsa". Valmiki is compared to the Sun. Dhanapala seems to have more respect for the Ramayana than for the 6.The Heart of Jainism p.44. 7.ibid.p.68. 8.ibid.p.127. 9.ibid.p.68 ft.nt. 2. 10.P.T.O. LL.p.t.o ་ - di

Mahabharata. 89 (3) VYASA :- He is the compiler of the Mahabharata. Strangely enough Dhanapala nas mentioned him with a rathe er insulting nomenclature, viz,'Kanina', i.e. "a virgin's son" 12 Possibly the metrical exigencies warranted this 13 word in the verse. Neither the Amarakosa nor the Trikandasesakosa notices this word in the above sense. It is Dhanapala who seems to have coined this word in this sense for the first time.Remacandra has readily followed 15 Dhanapala and incorporated and further applied it to 16 Karna also in this sense in his dictionaries. It is a clear reflection of his precilection for Jainism and hatred for the Brahmanism. The attitude reflected in the selection or coining of this derogatory epithet in the above sense is corrobarated by Merutunga who has narrated an incident in which Bhoja invited Dhanapala to listen to a Mahabharata recital. Dhanapala in is said to have given a very strong reply pointing out to the worthle- -HµMN===HAN HHHHHHHHIV- 12.Tilakamanjari •vs.20_cd: vande valmikikaninau suyacandramasaviva || 20 || 13.Amarakosha I 11.11.22 : vistaro vigrahom vyasah sa ce sabdasya vistarah | 14. Trikanda-shesha-kosa of Purusottama • III. 111.452: vyaso munau ca vistareh ..) 15.Abhidhana-cintamani of Hemachandra Entroductions Intro. vss. to his own commentary vs.3.b:.--.. vyutpattirdhanapalatah |- 16. Abhidhana-cintamani of Hemachandra • III •510ff vedavyasastu matharah || 51|| dvaipayanah parasaryah kanino badarayanah 1 vyasah 114221; Anekartha-samgraha of Hemachandra III.394 bc:.. kaninah kanyakasute | karne vyase || 394 ||

90 17 ssness of the heroes thereof. Vyasa is compared to the 18 moon, possibly because he was but a compiler of old epic and Puranic ballads in contrast to the self-luminent poet valmiki. (4) GUNADHYA : He is mentioned not by his name but only by his work, viz, the Brhatkatha, which, according to Somadeva, was originally composed in the Paisaci Prakrit. Dhanapala compares the work with an ocean and acknowledges the fact that most of the prose-( as well as the verse- ) -romances till his time borrowed the elements of their story from this source. But this, according to our poet, makes it only a patch-work and detracts them from the necessary element of freshness 20 It is significant that Dhanapala has not drawn upon this work in order that it may not prove to be a mere patch- -work. Possibly he agreed, as a devout Jain, with Jinasena | 17.Prabandha Chintamani•p.42: kanijasya muneh svabandhavabamdhu vaidhavya vidhvamsino, netarah kila panca gokula sulah kundah svayam pandavah | tedami panca samanajataya iti khyatasta dutkirttala, punyam svastyayana bhavedyadi nrnam papasya kavya gatih || 18. See infra ft.nt. 12. 19.Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, N.S. Bress Edn I.viii.2. | 20.Tilakamanjari • Intro•vs•21: satyam brhatkathambhodhe bindumadaya samskrtah | tejetarakathah kanyah pratibhanti tad gatah ||21 ||

91 in whose opinion it is his Mahapurana that properly qualifies for the tatle "Brhatkatha"21 Could it be that .22 Dhanapala dropped the wellknown name of Gunadhya in order to suggest an oblique compliment to Jinasena also ? Gunadhya's date is generally believed to fall by about 78 A.D. during the regime of Satavahana. But the tradition preserved in both the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, N.S. Bress Edn and the Brihatkathamanjari of Kshemendra regards Gunadhya as a contemporary of Panini and Vararuci alias Katyayana the grammarian. The Puranic tradition regards him as a contemporary og Hala, the son of Arista Satakarni who ruled between the years 2644-2649 of the Yudhisthira 24. Era, i.e. 495-490 B.C. Dhanapala seems to have kept this in mind in mentioning the Brhatkatha just after Ramayana and the Mahabharata. (5) PRAVARASENA :- Pravarasena is referred to as a highly successful poet whose fame rests on his epoch-makig -making Prakrit epic Setubandha, just as Rama was successful as a military genius whose bridge over the ocean 21.Mahapurana of Jinasena • 1.63 and 115: dharmanubandhini ya syatyavita saiva sasyate sesa papasavayaiva suprayuktapi jayate || 63|| and adbhutartha mimam divyam paramarthabrhatkatham limbhairanekaih samdrbdham gunadhyaih purvasuribhih || 115 || 22.Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva, N.S. Bress Edn 1.1.78-80; I.v.117-118; 1.vi.66-67; II.i.l etc. 23.Brihatkathamanjari of Kshemendra I.i.71; I.ii.9-11,70-71.. 24.A History of Classical Sanskrit Literature p.417..

92 commemorated him for centuries to come. He is mentioned just after Gunadhya but before Padaliptacarya, both of whom are mentioned by their works and not by their names. The reference to Pravarasena is very cleverly worded: "Victorious is Pravarasena, whose fame in the form of Setu (i.e. Setubandha-kavya) rises at the top of the ocean of literature in the same manner as the great Rama was victorious with his highly efficient army, (and) whose fame in the form of the Setu (bridge) 25 has been swimming over the ocean." We are not sure whether Dhanapala intends to suggest that Pravarasena got the fame of having composed the poem 'Setubandha' though he was not its real author as was the case with the famous bridge which became well-known after the name of Rama, though it was really built by his great army consisting of Hanumang, Nila and others. Perhaps Dhanapala believed in the tradition of Kalidasa's authorship of the poem, and he might have regarded Pravarasena as a senior contemporary of both Jivadevasuri and Kalidasa. But this Kalidasa cannot be identical with the one who is believed to have flourished in the first century B.026 during the reign of Vikramaditya, the son 25.Tilakamanjari Intro•vs. 22 : jita pravarasenena rameneva mahatmana| taratyupari yatkirtih seturva yavaridheh || 2|| 26.A History of Classical Sanskrit Literature §.124.

93 .27. of Mahenraditya Gardabhilla of Ujjayini?" M.M.Dr.V.V..Mirashi also regards Pravarasena as a contemporary of Kalidasa who possibly helped the former in composing his poem, and places both in the fifth century A.D. 28 (6) PADALIPTACARYA:- Prabhacandra has given the following account about him. He was born in Kosalapuri (Ayodhya) during the reign of vijayabrahma, His father's name was Fullasresthi and mother's Pratima. As he was born due to the grace of the goddess Vairotya of the Naga class, he was named he was named 'Nagendra'. In his early childhood he was given away by his mother to Acarya Nagahastin of the Vidyadhara Gaccha from whom he returned in the seventh year. Next year he was sent back to his preceptor who initiated him into the monk order. He was educated under Mandana Gani from whom he picked up the essentials of Grammar and literature within a single year so as to be able to compose lyrical pieces. Once as he was on his rounds for alms, he happened to see a beautiful young girl about whom he composed a lyric. His preceptor was displeased and scolded him saying in Prakrit "You are scorched in the fire of attachment" (Palitto'si). At this 27.Kali(K).p.7ff. 28.Kali(M).p.124.

94 he requested his preceptor to add just one mora in the first syllable so that he may become a 'foot-annointer' (Palitta). Pleased at this witty modesty, the preceptor confirmed his disciplehood and deputed him to Mathura in his tenth year. On completion of the pilgrimage to Satrunjaya, he went to Krsnaraja of Manyakheta, where he mastered various branches of learning from Armakhapata and invented a code-language called 'padalipta'. During his pilgrimage in Saurastra he met with Siddha Nagarjuna at Tankapuri (modern Tankara), from whom he obtained the mystico-medical science of ointments. Nagarjuna built a city called 'Padaliptapura' at the foot of Mount Satrunjaya at the top of which he eracted a Jain temple wherein was set an image of Padaliptasuri also along with that of Lord Mahavira. It was to this image that Padaliptasuri composed a hymn beginning with the words 'Gaha jualena · etc., in which he coded the mystic formulae for converting other metals into et Myy gold. Satavahana of Pratisthana and Balamitra,of the nephew of Kalakacarya, in Broach, were his contemporaries. Padalipta composed his, Neminathacarita at the foot of Mount Girnar. To Krsnaraja of Manyakheta he recited his famous metrical romance' Tarangalola. As an expert in

95 yogic practices he once concentrated his vital airs at the forehead and exhibited a fake death. He breathed his 29 last by fasting for thirty-two days at Satrunjaya. Muni Kalyanavijaya places him in the third century A.D. But there is no evidence about the contemporaneity of Krsna- 30. raja, Aryakhapata and others. It is to the purifying aspect of the Tarangavati-katha of Padalipta that Dhanapala pays compliment. Perhaps it was due only to the metrical compulsion that Dhanapala paid the compliment to the work only while not mentioning the name of the author. (7) JIVADEVASURI: Formerly called Mahidhara, he was the son of a merchant named Dhrmadeva of Vayada community. His mother's name was silavati. He was initiated by Jinadattasuri in the Jain monk order, wherein he was rechristened 'Rasilasuri'. His brother Mahipala was initiated into the Digambara order. At their mother's insistence to determine the superiority between the rival factions of Jainism, Mahipala went over to the sect of Rasilasuri who appointed him as a successor and 31 renamed him 'Javadevasuri'. He composed the Vivekavilasa and the Sakunasastra. According to Muni Kalyanavijaya, he 29.Prabhavaka-charita p.27 ff. 30.Prabhavaka-charita Intro.p.35 31.ibid.pp.41-44.

32 32 96 must have flourished during the fifth or the sixth century A.D. None of the literary works of Jivadevasuri is extant. He is remembered by Dhanapala as a Prakrit poet. (8) KALIDASA :- He is mentioned as "Asannavartin" i.e. "situated nearby". This has been interpreted by Pandit Bechardas Doshi as suggesting that Kalidasa was 33. acio a "close-predecessor" of Dhanapala. The context, in on the other hand, would rather warrant that/Dhanapala's opinion Kalidasa was a close predecessor or rather contemporaneous with Jivadeva who is held to have flourished in the fifth or the sixth century A.D. It is quite possible that Dhanapala simply meant 'juxtaposition' or 'comparision' by this 'asannavartitva rather than proximity in point of time, which, if considered after all, would confirm Kalidasa's date in the fifth century A.D. Dhanapala pays compliment to the dazzling brilliance of Kalidasa's poetic diction in comparision to which the diction of all other poets just fades like Malatimadhavam of Bhavabhuti-buds 34 in the vicinity of a lamp. (9) BANA :- Dhanapala has allotted two verses to Bana who is referred to twice with specific mention of 32.Tilakamanjari Intro.vs 25. 33.PIN(D) Intro.p.37. This has been misinterpreted by Muni Kalyanavijaya in Prabhavaka-charita Intre. p. 44. 34. Tilakamanjari • Intro vs. 25 : mlayatti sakalah kalidasenasannavartina | 'girah kavinam dipena malati kalika iva || 25 ||

97 both of his famous prose-romances. He is very properly placed between Kalidasa (5th century A.D) and Magha, who is gegerally held to have hailed in the latter half 35 only of the seventh century A.D. Not/that, the poet also knows that Bana left his work incomplete and it was comleted by Pulindra whose genius was almost on a par with that of his father Bana. Dhanapala says that just as an arrow (bana) aimed even by an ordinary person will subdue the victim, the more so if it is shot by an expert forest- -dweller (pulindra), even so though Bana alone is capable of subduing other poets by the flourish of his pen, his power is enhanced by the support he got from Rasa Mala of Forbes 36 Pulindra who completed his incomplete work. In the next verse Dhanapala compares the Kadambari with the wine and the Harsacarita with the nector, both of which made him 37 well-known like the ocean. Such an emphatic and clear reference to Bana evidences a deep sense of regard for his literary success. It is significant in view of the fact that Dhanapala has definitely aimed at emulating, and improving upon, Bana, whom he kept as his 35.Mahakavi Magha pp.93 ff. | 36. Tilakamanjari Intro.vs. 26 : kevalo'pi sphuranvanah karoti vimadankavin | kim punah klasa sandhana pulindra krta sannidhih || 26 || 37.1b 1d.pw vs.27; kadambarisahodaya sudhaya vaibudhe hrdi | harsakhyayi- kya khyatim bapodabdhiriva labdhavan || 27|| |

98 ideal worthy to be achieved, and to be surpassed if possible. This is reflected in his choice of the subject, the hero and etcetera which are superior to those in Bana's work, which is but more earth-bound in comparision been to that of Dhanapala. Bana's story-structure has/closely followed and improved upon by Dhanapala, who has also suggested that while the Kadambari pleased the scholars, the Hargacarita got him ample fame, probably due to the consequent royal patronage! And it is Bana who is his real fore-runner as far as the form proper * of his prose-romance is concerned. (10-11) BHARAVI AND MAGHA :- Apparently Magha is mentioned prior to Bharavi, who, however, is his acknowledged predecessor. He says that the poets' enthusiasm waned at witnessing the inimitable literary performance of Magha and it was only as a sweet past memory that poets, like the monkeys, remembered about still imitable Bharavi 38 ✓ (also, the Sunshine), who, however, no longer held sway. Quite natural to his Jainistic attitude towards Siva and Visnu who are the heroes respectively of the epics of both Bharavi and Magha, Dhanapala has disposed them both just in one verse. 38. ↑M(N) • Intro•vs. 28 : maghena vinitotsahah notsahante padakrame | smaranti bhavereva kavayah kapayom yatha ||2||

99 (12) HARIBHADRASURI :- He is referred to not by his name but as the author of 'Samaraditya', i.e. the 39 40 Samaraicca-kaha inprakrit. He is placed between 705 A.D. and 775 A.D. by Muni Shri Jinavijayaji, while Muni Shri Kalyanavijaya consigns him to the ninth century A.D. Anyway he is definitely a successor of both Bharavi and Magha chronologically. It is curious that while praising 41 the unfailing pacific effect of the work, Dhanapala failed to mention the name of the author for whom he seems to have much respect which is evidenced by the fact that the poet has drawn upon this work for the a part of his plot and some of the motifs of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala Haribhadrasuri was the formerly the family-priest of King Jittari of Cittoda. He resided in a Brahmin colony mamed Pirvagni. His father's name was Samkarabhatta and mother's Ganga. His pride in scholarship culminated in a vow that he would be a disciple of one whose statement hex could not understand! Once he could not make out the meaning of a couplet beginning with the Prakrit words "Cakkiduggam haripanagam ", recited by a Jain nun named Mahattara Yakini whom he asked to explain it. But she 39.Jaina Sahitya Aur Itihasa p.468. 40.Prabhavaka-charita Intro.p. 52. 41. Tilakamanjari • Intro•vs.29 : niroddhum paryate kena samasaditya janmanah | prathamasya vasibhutam samaradityajanmanah || 29 ||

100 42 refused to do so on the ground that it could be explained to the one only who was already formally initiated tinto the Jain order. At this he got the necessary initiation at the hands of Jinadattasuri and became her disciple Gradually he mastered the whole of the Jain religious lore and attained the position of an 'Acarya' and the Disciple-in-Chief. His two cousins Hamsa and Paramahamsa became his first two disciples with the nomenclatures Jinabhadra and Virabhadra, both of whom stealthily passed themselves off as Buddhists in order to study the Buddhistic tenets so as to be able to refute them later on : They were, however, spotted out and both of them died in the consequent scuffle. Haribhadrasuri was mad with rage and challenged the Buddhists in a scholarly assembly of Suranala with the horrible condition that the defeated party must necessarily commit suicide in the pan of boiling oil: Haribhadra turned out victorious and consequently Surapala committed suicide in the stipulated manner. Haribhadra has inserted the word "viraha" (= separation) in each of his "fourteen hundred" works. 42.ht. colophone : sitambaracarya jina bhatta nigadanusarinom vidyadhara- kulatilakacarya jinadatta sisyasya dharma to thakini mahattara suno - rakhyamate racaryasya haribhadya " Intro.p.52. as quoted by Prabhavaka-charita

101 (13) BHAVABHUTI :- This Sanskrit dramatist is mentioned for his dramatic speeches which are marked with specific poetic sentiments and attractive poetic diction dancing I like an actress in a stage performance. Bhavabhuti is commonly held to have flourished in the 44. 43 first quarter of the eighth century A.D. Dhanapala puts him after Haribhadrasuri whose date will, therefore, uphold the view of Muni Shri Jinavijayaji rather than 45 that of Muni Kalyanavijayaji. KL (14) VAKPATIRAJA : THE AUTHOR of the Prakrit epic entitled "Gaudavaho" (Skt. Gaudavadha) has impressed Dhanapala by his poetic genius (Sakti) by which he is almost dumb-founded 46 This Vakpatiraja was, according to Prabhacandra, the court-pundit of King Dharma of Bihar in the Gaudadesa, and he helped Bappabhattisuri in his debate-duel with the Buddhist scholar Vadhanakunjara 47 deputed by King Dharma! When Yasovarma assailed Dharma whom he killed in the battle, he took his poet Vakpatiraja a prisoner with him. Later on this poet composed 43. Tilakamanjari Intro• vs. 30 : spasta bhavarasa citraih pada nyasaih prajartita | natakesu jarastriva bharati bhavabhutina || 30|| | x 44.Bhavabhuti, His Life and Literature p.21. 45.See supra ft.nt.40. • 46. Tilakamanjari • Intro.vs.31: drsva vakpatirajasya sakti gaudava dhoddhuram | buddhih sadhvasarujeva varca na pratipadyate || 31 || 47.Prabhavaka-charita 11.415-442.

102 his famous above-named Prakrit epic which helped him in getting his freedom back. Then he happened to meet Bappabhattisuri and settled as a court-poet of Maag King Amaraja by whose loose morals, however, he was soon dejected and consequently went to Mathura and took to Jainism. Prabhacandra seems to suggest that this Vakpatiraja was a brave man born in the Paramara family. Who was this Vakpatiraja mentioned by Dhanapala ? He is the one commonly believed to have been a court-pundit of Yasovarma who was killed by King Lalitaditya of Kashmir in Vikrama Samvata 797 (i.e.741 A.D.). He is said to have been a contemporary of Acarya Bappabhattisuri who is said to have been born in Vikrama Samvata 800 (i.e.744 A.D.). The incident of Yasovarman's attack on Dharma and capturing of Vakpatiraja must have occured during the late age of both Bappabhattisuri and Amaraja. Thus Vakpatiraja was in the beginning a court-pundit of Dharma and subsequently that of Yasovarma. Muni Kalyanavijaya doubts the identity of Dhrma with Dharmapala and of Yasovarma with the Mukhari Yasovarma both of whom were long dead before this Yasovarma who was a contemporary of Amaraja. From the clue 48. Prabhavaka-charita 11.394: paramaramahavamsa sambhutah ksatriyagranih | tasya vakpavirajo'sti vidvannirupamaprabhah || 394 || 5 49.ibid.11.739. 49

103 provided by Prabhacandra about the patron of Vakpatiraja being a Paramara king, Muni Kalyanavijaya identified him with Vakpatiraja I, alias Bappayyaraja, the son of Siyaka I, both of whom were the feudatories and generals of the Gurjara Pratihara emperors, one of whom must this 50 Yasovarma have been. Chandomanjari of Gangadasa (15) BHADRAKIRTI : He is the famous author of me now no longer extant poem entitled 'Taragana'. Dhanapala has remembered him as the best of the Svetambaras 51 prabhacandra gives the exact date of birth of Bhadrakirti, alias Surapala alias Bappabhattisuri, as Sunday the third day of the bright half of the month of 52 Bhadrapada in the year Vikrama Samvata 800 (i.e.744 A.D.). His father's name was 'Bappa' and mother's'Bhatti', while his own name was at first Surapala. His birth-place has been mentioned as "Duvatithi" which is identified, by Muni Kalyanavijaya, with Duva near Dhanera in the present 53 Disa Taluka of the Banasakantha District in Gujarat. He left his house at the age of six when he was disenchanted with his father and went to Siddhasenasuri of the 50.Prabhavaka-charita Intro.p.66. 51. Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala (N.). Intro vs. 32: bhadrakirte bhramanyasah kirtistaraganadhvana | prabha taradhipasyeva vetambara siromaneh || 32 || 52.Prabhavaka-charita 21.739; vikramatah sunyadvayavasuvarsa (800 )- bhadrapadatrtiyayam | ravivare hastakse janmamudra bappa bhattiguroh || 739|| 53.Prabhavaka-charita Intro.p.57

104 Modheraka Gaccha at Modhera. Coincidentally both of them reached there on the same day. Having known his plight Siddhasenasuri recognized the genius in the boy, Surapala, who could memorize a thousand verses a day and educated him. The teacher, then, asked the parents for permission to initiate their son as a regular disciple. They consented on condition that the boy should be christened after their parents. Siddhasenasuri initiated him and named him 'Bhadrakirti' but in accordance with his parents' condition the boy was addressed as 'Bappabhatti'. Later on,at the invitation of prince Amarakumara,Bappabhatti went to Kanoj but refused to occupy the preceptor's chair till he qualified for it. He was promoted to that position at a very early age on the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Caitra in the year 54 ." Vikrama Samvata 811 (i.e.755 A.D.). He met Vakpatiraja at Laksanavati, the capital of the Gaudades which was then ruled by King Dharma. It was due to the advice given, and the technique shown, by Vakpatiraja that Bappabhatti secured a victory over the Buddhist scholar Vardganakunjara in 54. Prabhavaka-charita • 11.115: ekadasadhi ke tamtra jate varsasatabdi ke (899 ) | vikramatso'bhavatsurih krsna caitrastami dine || 115 || ||1994 ||

105 a scholarly debate. Bappabhatti converted Vakpatiraja to 55 Jainism when the later was in his old age and met him at the temple of Varahaswamin in Mathura. Prabhacandra further informs us that it was for the sake of students and apprentice-poets that Bappabhatti composed his famous epic entitled 'Taragana', which was but one of his fifty-two works in all 56 True to his religious faith al 156 he undertook a fast unto death and expired on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Sravana in the year Vikrama Samvata 895 (i.e. 839 A.D.) at the age of ninety-five years, during which he was honoured with the titles like *Vadikunjarakesari', "Brahmacari','Gajavara','Rajapujita' and so on. (16) YAYAVARA :- Popularly known as Rajasekhara, Yayavara is praised by Dhanapala for his diction which is marked by the beautiful superimposition and mature lucidity?? Dhanapala has not specified whether he refers to the famous Kavyamimamsa supposed to be a fragment 58 of a bigger tretise called 'Kavi-rahasya' or to the 55.Prabhavaka-charita 11.555-564. 56.1bid.vs.660 dvapancasatprabandhasca krtastaraganadayah | bhariya sriba bhattina sauksaka visarasvatopamah ||66na 56.ibid.vs.660145424F 57. Tilakamanjari Intro vs. 33: samadhiguna salijya prasanna pasciktrimah | yayavara kavevaci muninamiva vrttayah || 33|| 58.A History of Classical Sanskrit Literature p.742 ff.

106 dramas like the Bala-ramayana, Bala-bharata, Viddhasalabhanjika and Kappuramanjari of Rajasekhara who is believed to have flourished between 880-920 A.D. 59 (17) MAHENDRASURI :- He is saluted as he was the poet's own religious preceptor. Dhanapala seems to have been highly impressed by his religious discources full 60 of superhuman significance. We do not get any information about him even though a whole chapter the seventeenth one has been devoted to him by Prabhacandra in his Prabhavaka-charita Instead of saying anything about Mahendrasuri, the chapter relates, almost from the beginning to the end, the life of Dhanapala, who, of course, might have been valued in Prabhacandra's days, and even before that, as a prizeconversion for which the credit, though it should really go to Sobhana, ultimately, and of course rightly, went to the latter's teacher who could catch two priceless birds at one stroke. (18) RUDRA :- As the author of the Trailokyasundari-katha distinguished by the beauty of Paronomasia, is 59.KMR(GOS).Intro.p.XXXI 60.Tilakamanjari • Intro•vs.34: surimahendra evaiko vaibudharadhitakramah | yasyamatyo citapraudhikavi visaya krdvacah || 34||

107 61 greeted as capable of sobering haughty poets. Nothing is further known about this poet except that his stray verses are quoted in the anthologies beginning with the twelfth 66 century onwards. He is also called "a veritable Treasure 62. of Wisdom" "He might have been a senior contemporary of Dhanapala. (19) KARDAMARAJA :- He is introduced to us as a son of Rudra, the author of the Trailokyasundari-katha. He is 63 lauded for his attractively pithy sayings. notable Dhanapala has ignored some of the/predecessors who were more or less eminent in the field of Sanskrit and Prakrit literature. The reason might be that they did not come up to the literary standard which Dhanapala might have had in his mind when he composed his proseromance. Among theme the following deserve to be specially noticed: (20) SUBANDHU :- As the author of the chhor Vasavadatta-katha, Subandhu is well-known in the history Sanskrit literature as a writer of a prose-romance in a 6206 701-77271138/1 61. TMCN). vs. _ 35:sa madandhakavidhvamsi rudrah kairnabhinandyate | visivama suslista lalita yasya kuksi trailokya sundari || 35|| 62.ibud.vs.36 cd: kavi ratrailokya sundarya prajnanidhih || 36 || - santu kardamarajasya katham hya ja suktayah | 63.1bid.vs.36: kavi ratrailokyasundaryah yasya prajnanidhih pita || 36||

108 64 style which revelled in sustained paronomasia. Dr.J.M. } Shukla opines that "Subandhu probably lived at the court of Malava king who was either Damodaragupta or Mahasena- 65 gupta during the period between 550 A.D. and 600 A.D. He has further shown how Bana paraphrases Subandhu's words over and above accepting most of them under the 66 growing desire to surpass then him. Not only that, the very fact that a poet of the calibre of Bana thought it noch worthwhile to bodily pilfer a number of passages without the change even of a letter, is a proof supreme of the masterly genius of Subandhu in whose work one finds the chiselled beauty of Sanskrit diction that one 67 meets with in Kalidasa, Bharavi, Magha and Sriharsa. The reason for not taking any notice of such a notable predecessor in his own field of prose-romance proper might be that by the tenth century A.D.Bana had gained so much popularity that almost all his notable predecessors simply faded away in the background. Moreover, in Dhanapala's opinion too much of paronomasia was not a desirable literary ideal in his times. 68 -- 64. VKS. Intro.vs.15: sarasvatidattavara prasadaya ke subandhuh sujanaikabandhuh | pratyaksara slesamayaprabandham vinyasa vaidagdhya nidhi nibandham || 13 || 65.ibid.Introduction p.20. 66.ibid.pp.37-40. 67.ibid.pp.42-54. 68.sl(N). Intro•vs. 16: varnayukti darbhanapi snigbhaga jaga mano haram jati kosa dha na slagham krtirlipi riya srute || 16 ||

109 (21) UDYOTANASURI :- Another notable predecessor ignored by Dhanapala is Udyotanasuri alias Daksinyacihna, the celebrated author of the famous Prakrit metrical &'Katha' entitled 'Kuvalayamala'. Udyotanasuri completed his work in the year 700 of the Saka Era (1.e.779 A.D.) in the temple of Rsabha Jina at Jabalipura in 69 Gujarat. It is highly probable that Dhanapala was acquainted with this work since he seems to have drawn upon this work for one of the plots of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala It is one of the best literary, though religious, works comparable to that of Haribhadrasuri's Samaraicca-kaha to which also Dhanapala is indebted for a part of his story. 70. ( 22 ) SIDDHARSI : - The author of the Upamiti-bhava- -prapanca-katha has also been neglected by Dhanapala. Siddharsi completed his work in the year Vikrama Samvata 962 (i.e, 906 A.D.). He seems to have been a contemporary of the Paramara King Vakpatiraja I and Vairisimha alias Vajrataswamin. Being a devout follower of Jainjism, Dhanapala could not but be unaware of such a Sanskrit work very popular with the Jains. Siddharsi was the grandson of 69.KUIM.p.282.22 ff. and 283.6 ff.: sagakale volige varisana sahahim satahim gae haim| ema dinenunaihim rahya avaranda velae | e|| 70.Upamitibhava Prapancha-katha of Siddharshi P.1240: samvatsara visa ka samvatsarasataja vake dvisastisahite- tilacine carayah | jyore sitayancamyam punarvasau gurudine | samaptirabhut ||

110 Suprabhadeva, the minister of King Varmalata of Srimala. Muni Kalyanavijaya wonders why Dhanapala, who mentions Magha, should have ignored the latter's cousin ? was it because Siddharsi belonged to the rival ·Digambara sect while Dhanapala wase a follower of the Svetambara 71 sect of Jainism ? Muni Kalyanavijaya thinks this probable since Dhanapala has also ignored the Bhuvanasundari-katha, in Prakrit, of Vijayasimhasuri (ViSam.975 i.e.919 A.D.). Or was it because he did not come to know about these. works as they could be available only with the Digambaras with whom he had no contact ? (23) SOMADEVA :- The author of the Yasastilakacampu is also not mentioned by Dhanapala. The campu was completed by Somadeva in the Saka year 881 (i.e.959 A.D.) ?? It seems rather incredible that a poet and scholar like Dhanapala could not possibly have had an access to this Jain religious romance of Somadeva who was but his senior contemporary. The answer might be in 73 Dhanapala's aversion to the Campu form. 71.Prabhavaka-charita Intro.p.75. 72.YTIC p.2. 73.'"M(N).Intro.vs. 17 cd: jahati padmapracura campurapi katharasam 11907

111 (24) TRIVIKRAMABHATTA :- According to Muni Jinavijayaji, it is Trivikramabhatta's Nalacampu that Dhanapala has in view when he comments against a style or a form abounding in too much paronomasia and too many metrical pieces?4 Trivikrama has composed his work with the express purpose of exhibiting his supreme skill at handling double-meaning capacity of the Sanskrit language, ordinary expression being, in his opinion, not appreciable .75 poetry He was the a poet at the court of the Rastrakuta King Indra III (914-916 A.D.) 76 He is quoted by 77 Bhoja in his Sarasvatikanntnabharana. There is, therefore, no doubt that he was definitely a predecessor of Dhanapala who must have ignored him for the same reason for which Subandhu was given a similar treatment. 000 - 0 - 000 74.Tilakamanjari Intro.vs.16 cd and 17 cd. 75.Numismatic Chronicle Intro.vs.22 ab: bhanga slesakathabandha duskaram kurvana gaya| 76.A History of Classical Sanskrit Literature p.497. 77.Numismatic Chronicle 1.29 quoted under SKB.IV.76 as an illustration of Sabdaikavali. The verse is: parvata bheda pavitra jaitra ** narakasya bahumata gahanam| harimita harimiva harimina vahati pathah pasyata payosani ||192||