Essay name: Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala (study)
Author:
Shri N. M. Kansara
Affiliation: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda / Department of Sanskrit Pali and Prakrit
This is an English study of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala, a Sanskrit poem written in the 11th century. Technically, the Tilaka-manjari is classified as a Gadyakavya (“prose-romance”). The author, Dhanapala was a court poet to the Paramara king Munja, who ruled the Kingdom of Malwa in ancient west-central India.
Chapter 12 - Cultural Data
86 (of 104)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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573
the whole swimming-pool was being filled with scented
392 water.
(ii) COOLING DEVICES :-
The climate of India being generally hot for the ma-
jor part of the year, it was but natural that the people
of these days had also invented ways and means of lessening
the effect of heat on human body during the hot weather.
Again, the cultural progress of those times also presuppo-
sed the evolution of such facilities as a part of their
luxurious living.
The principal expedients for keeping cool were 393;
(i) Creeper bowers; (ii) Sport-hillocks; (iii) River banks;
(iv) Yantra-dhārāgṛha; (v) Candana-carcā-vidhi; (vi) Puṣpa-
-śayana; (vii) Moist fans; (viii) Keeping the doors and
windows open; and (ix) Applying mirrors of moonstone to
h
palms and feet. Creeper bowers and the river banks were the
common places were people used to retire in order to get
relief from the scorching heat of the midday Sun. Sport-
hillocks and Yantra-dhārā-gṛha were the luxuries available
to the members of the royalty only. As has been referred to
above, Yantra-dhārā-gṛha was a room cooled with jets of
392. TM(N),p.373(5ff.)
द्वारिका स्थान पुष्करिणीम्-- [dvārikā sthāna puṣkariṇīm--] 1
प्रय सुखोषण सुरक्षिणा गन्धसलिलेन भर्तृ-
[praya sukhoṣaṇa surakṣiṇā gandhasalilena bhartṛ-
] 393. ibid., p.180(14ff.); 69(7); 229(19); 311(10).
