CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION. The title of this research worl< is, "Rajasuya, Niranunasika and

Transcription

1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The title of this research worl< is, "Rajasuya, Niranunasika and Subhadraharana of i^elputtur - A grammatical Study." Rajasuya^, Niranunasika^ and Subhadraharana^ are the three best representative works of Melputtur as opined by many critics. Rajasuya exhibits the sastrapanditya of Melputtur, where as Subhadraharana excels in poetical merit, and Niranunasika reveals his mastery on vocabulary. A work devoid of nasal sounds is a novel adventure in the entire history of Sanskrit literature of Kerala, as far as we know. These are Prabandhas, a kind of mixed Kavya variety containing prose and verse The methodology of the present study The present study, though specialized in Sanskrit grammar, also include some multidisciplinary aspects. Hence its methodology should be designated as per the requirements.

2 The accepted texts of Rajasuya, Niranunasika and Subhadraharana are as available from the Prabandhamaf)jarT of Dr. N.P. Unnl. Portions of additional texts are also considered wherever necessary. The data of the study are mainly accumulated from around 250 reference books, a select list of which is included as bibliography. The internet is widely browsed and more than a dozen sites are included in the bibliography. The birth place of Narayanabhatta and other locale where he was educated and spent his family life were also visited. Many people who knew about the facts and myths were interviewed. Available research papers were referred to. Every reasonable human effort and pain has been taken to gather information on the author, his works and the grammatical peculiarities inside them. In compliance to the traditional style, the definition (nirvacana), meaning (padartha), sutra, commentary (vyakhya) and example (drstanta) have been given wherever required. For the grammatical study of the texts, they are broken up into words and phrases

3 according to the analytical method and after the analysis the results are integrated and the conclusion is arrived at. While considering facts on the life, date, and works of Narayanabhatta, critical analysis based on the review of facts or views expressed by earlier scholars are resorted to. Whenever chronological dissimilarities are to be resolved the historical method of verification of the validity of documentary evidences is followed as far as possible. It is attempted to make the study objective by depending mainly on text based and concept based factual features of things. Lists of particular sets of words or other facts are resorted to for the detailed study and for the gathering of evidence according to the survey method. Logical conclusions are arrived at whenever necessary by deductive inference. The preliminaries of this thesis comprises of the title page, certificate, declaration, preface, table of contents, list of abbreviations and transliteration table. The text of this thesis consists of Introduction, Sandhi, Samasa, Karaka, Krt, Taddhita and

4 Conclusion. The reference material of this thesis consists of ten appendices and bibliography. This thesis is typed on one side only on 80 gsm copier white paper in letter size (8.5" x 11"). Margins of 1.5" at the top and left sides and 1" at the bottom and the right side of the page are left consistently. The text is typed in Tahoma fond in 14 size and in double spacing and all the pages are numbered serially in the upper right corner. The notes are typed separately under the heading references in Tahoma fond 12 size, and in 1.5 space at the end of each chapter. All appendices and tables are also typed as above. Wherever size does not support the above format minimum changes have also been resorted to History of mixed type of composition Even the Vedas consist of prose and verse.'* The three samhitas, namely, the Taittiriya, the Katha and the MaitrayanT of the Krsnayajurveda show the use of prose along with verse. Brahmanas of many other systems also contain both prose and verse.^ The mixed type of composition comes to appear in the upanisads, the

5 epics, the puranas, the jatakas and the inscriptional literature as well as in the drsyakavyas. The conversation between sage Yajfjavalkya and Maitreyl in the Satapathabrahmana also contain abundance of prose. In the Hariscandra episode of the Aitareyabrahmana also prose is found to be mingled with verses/ The upanisads and the Taittirlyasaitihita, contain prose in a metrical flavour. In Mundakopanlsad the narratives are in prose. The story of Yama and Naciketas of Kathopanisad.is introduced in prose followed by verse." The episode in Mahabharata of king Sibi being testified by Indra and Agni begins with prose sentences.^^ In the Bhavisyaparva of Harivamsa, the Khila (supplement) of the Mahabharata, there are instances of prose that maintain a poetic character.^^ The prose of the puranas is developed and shows literary richness. Campu writers not only are influenced by the puranas in respect of uses of prose and verse, the presentation of the theme, and the delineation of sentiments, but also have collected the subject matter of their works from the puranas. Balanced and compounded prose endowed with figures of speech Is met with in the Bhagavatapurana. Most of the 5^*^

6 skandha of Bhagavatapurana contains prose.^^ Such passages are available in the Visnupurana also.^'* The puranic prose stands midway between the plain and spontaneous prose of the vedic literature, and the ornamental and artistic prose of the campu literature. ^^ There were akhyayikas even at the time of Mahabhasya wherein Patarijali has mentioned some of the akhyayikas namely Vasavadatta, Sumanottara and Bhaimarathl. Katyayana also has referred to akhyayikas. ^ Pafjcatantra, Hitopadesa and other works like Vetajaparjcavimsati follow a narrative style of mixing prose and poetry.^^ Buddhist works Lalitavistara and Jatakamala also contain prose and verse.^ Most of the Buddhist Pali story literature is in a form where prose, verse and sutras are interwoven.^ The Binding vine is a modern English work in both prose and poetry.^ But Campu is regarded as a distinct category of kavya literature, using prose and poetry without discrimination Origin and development of campukavya From the view point of construction, Sanskrit kavya is of three types namely Gadya^^, Padya^^ and Misra". Misra kavyas include

7 drsyakavyas, the tales and the fables like the Pafjcatantra and Hitopadesa, and campus as well as many others. Campu comes under the third category of sravyakavya.^'* Campu is an original branch of Sanskrit literature. Apart from the Chinese Bianwen", a literary style by mixing prose and poetry, an equivalent to the campu is scarcely found in world literature.^^ There is no uniformity in the etymology and derivation of the word campu. Though both campu and campu are used to denote the term as in Parijataharanacampu and Campubharata, the word campu is commonly used." The roots from which the word campu may have evolved as enlisted in the Dhatupatha of Panini, are 'capa santvane', 'capi gatyam' and 'caha parikalkane' (capa ityeke).^^ The root 'cap' belonging to the bhvadigana, means 'to console, to soothe'. Prose-work when burdened with the lengthy compounded words may come to be monotonous or boring, and the introduction of verse side by side, therefore, brings in a sense of relief. Hence the root 'cap' can be regarded as the origin of the word campu in the sense that it consoles or soothes the reader. The root

8 'cap' belonging to the curadigana is used in the sense of gati (movement) indicating the change in position of prose and verse in a campg. The process of alternate change of prose and verse supports the view that the word campu is derived form the root 'cap' used in the sense of 'to move'. The root 'cah' belonging to the 'curadigana' is used in the sense of pounding. The idea in considering the root 'cah' as the basis of the word campu is that the prose and the verse, when combined together in a campu, cannot be separated, and if so it may lose its identity as a campu.^ Of the three explanations, the first 'capa santvane' is more plausible. Prose and verse in a campu are combined together into a singular form, which is supposed to ease, to satisfy or to console both the author and the readers by way of breaking the dull monotony of either sheer prose or sheer verse. But it does not mean that Raghuvamsa or Kadambarl must necessarily produce dullness or monotony or that the authors of campus are less talented. On the other hand, it upholds a freedom to the author of a campu to offer a novel experience to his readers which Kalidasa and Banabhatta could

9 not offer to their readers. The admixture of prose and verse in a campu must be lil<e the blend of honey and grapes, characterized by relishing quality. The poetic taste of campu can not only be enjoyed either from the prose or from the verse alone, but also from the admixture of both. Hence 'caha parikalkane' also appears to provide an acceptable etymology of the word campu. Though in a less plausible manner, 'capi gatyam' meaning is also acceptable. Prof. D.R. Benre, the renowned Kannada poet and dramatist, quoted by Dr.Mugali in his articles, holds that the word campu is to be derived from the Tulu words Sampu and campecampe meaning mixed and beautiful. The etymology of the word from Kannada kan can as kampu Campu is also worth considering.^ Kannada etymologists aver that the word campu is derived from the Kannada word 'cen' meaning beautiful (cen + pu). ^^ Vamana who lived between A.D. 770 and A.D. 840,^^ in his Kavyalahkarasutravrtti stipulates only two divisions namely gadya and padya. But Vamana divides gadya as vrttagandhi, curna and utkalikapraya.^^ Hence it may be assumed that the padya in the

10 10 campus of that time were considered vrttagandhi gadya^^ by Vamana. Dandin defines campu as, "gadyapadyamayl l<aciccampurityabjiidhlyate.^^" Visvanathakaviraja in his Sahityadarpana identifies it as, "gadyapadyamayarh kavyarti campurityabhidhlyate." Bhoja lavishes praise on the campu style of composition.^ RatnasrTjrjana disregards occasional verses in akhyayikas as inessential. In a campu the verse and prose are both important, and though the proportions of verse and prose vary considerably, both occur at fairly regular intervals in most of the campus. As examples he mentions the Jatakamala and DamayantT.^^ Bhoja too gives the Damayantl, and Vasavadatta as models for campu.^^ Raghavan has shown that this Damayantl is quite different from that of Trivikrama of 10*^ century A.D..'^ Generally it is admitted that any kavya, if written in mixed prose and verse is a campu, unless it is a drama or one belonging to any other well known category of literature. Campu being a sravyakavya'*" is often subjected to sophisticated definitions also. Hemacandra's definition is one of

11 11 them.'*^ Vidyanatha in his Prataparudrlya has also accepted the definition of campu as given by Dandin.'*^ Haricandra in Jivandharacampu has praised the joy available from campu.^^ A campukavya is supposed to contain astadasa varnanas.'*^ It starts with an invocation to the istadaiva of the poet followed by his homage to the earlier poets he likes, the characteristics of his kavya, his genealogy, the main story, and finally the beneficence that the reading of his kavya would bestow on his readers.**^ But practically they are not followed strictly. The main rasas of the campus are srhgara, vtra and bhakti.'* Santa is also predominant in many campus. Normally the verses of campus are constructed in any one of the six khyata meters namely Campakamala, Utpalamala, Mattebhavikridita, Sardulavikridita, Sragddhara and Mahasragddhara.'*'' The prose may be in regional meters. Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu were the first among the regional languages to popularize campus. The Bengal Vaisnava school used campu for its religious writing in the le*^"^ century and it continued as a popular form in some of the modern Indian languages

12 12 till the emergence of modern prose replacing it completely or, to put in other words, till the works of prose and poetry were clearly defined."*^ Now campu has its influence in almost all Indian regional languages. The sixth and seventh centuries A.D. produced prose, poetry, and campu with artificiality of the highest class. The history of the evolution of campu, however, did not attract much attention of the early rhetoricians like Udbhata, Vamana, Rudrata, Anandavardhana and Kuntaka, when compared with other popular branches of literature. According to some, although Dandin, a e^^-y**^ century Sanskrit author of Prose romances and expounder of poetics,* has defined campu, no specimen of this type of composition is available before the 10*^ century. Earlier specimens must have been lost.^ According to A.B.Keith, the oldest extant campu is probably the Damayantlkatha or Nalacampu of Trivikramabhatta whom we know as the author of Nausari inscription of the Rastrakuta king Indra III in A.D.915 and as the author of the Madalasacampu. But he admits that we have in the

13 13 Jatakamala, on the one hand, and in the inscription of Harisena on the other clear cases of something which may be deemed fairly like the campu, and Oldenberg has adduced analogous cases in the Jataka book. But it is only from a later period that we have works written in the full kavya style in which the poet shows now his ability in prose and now in verse, without seeking to reserve verses for any special end.^^ There is evidence to believe that Gunavarma I, the Kannada poet who flourished at the court of King Ereyappa (864 to 913 A.D.) on whom Gahga king had conferred the title of Mahendrantaka wrote the campukavyas Harivamsa and Sudraka, extracts from which both in verse and in prose having been included in subsequent anthologies and in works of grammar and poetics as illustrations. Kannada poets have come to the conclusion that they must have been campukavyas." The earliest Kannada work available to us is Kavirajamarga (850 A.D.), a work on poetics. This work mentions earlier poets like Vimatodaya, Nagarjuna, Gayagandhu, Durvinlta, Srivijaya, KavTsvara, Panditacandra, Lokapal etc. who composed their

14 14 works both in prose and verse. Stanza 27 of its first ciiapter clearly states that these Kannada works are consisting of both gadya and padya. The authors of Nalacampu and Yasastilakacampu were also hailing from Karnataka. Hence the Kannada scholars claim that the campukavya was first born in Kannada and was subsequently adopted by Sanskrit poets." The Buddhist Jatakamala proves that the campu is quiet an old type of ornate poetry. Harisena's panegyric on King Samudragupta contained an inscription of about 345 A.D. can also be referred to as an old example of campu. Nevertheless the campus that we possess are mostly recent works.^"* The Jatakamala of Aryasura, also known as Bodhisattvavadanamala is a 3-4 century A.D. work, narrating thirtyfour Jataka tales of the Sanskrit tradition, narrated in the form of a Campukavya. It has a unique place in the Buddhist narrative literature due to its high literary qualities. Jatakamala has gone through a few editions and translations. The editions by Hendrik Kern and by P.L. Vaidya and the translation of J.S. Speyer are noteworthy.

15 15 The latest edition by Pandit Satakari Mul<hopadhyaya is publisiied by Al<shaya Prakashan, New Delhi, in 2007 (615 pages, ISBN ).^^ In 1983, Dandhan Nath Acarya Galgali's SrTsambhulihgesvaravijayacampu was selected as the best book in Sanskrit by Sahitya Academy.^^ Hence the growth of campq has not come to a cease still Campu in Sanskrit According to M. Krsnamacariyar the earliest campus are not now known" whereas according to Keith Nalacampu is probably the oldest extant campu.^^ Madalasacampu is another work by Trivikrama who is also known as Yamuna-Trivikrama.^ As stated earlier, Jatakamala of Aryasura of the 3-4 century A.D. and the works retrieved by Oldenberg^ are extant now. Hence the averments of Krsnamacaryar and A.B. Keith are no longer valid. Yasastilakacampu, known as Yasodharamaharajacarita is a Jain work of Somadeva or Somaprabhasuri, the noted poet and logician who was a court poet of Calukya king Arikesarin II.

16 16 61 Yasastilakacampu is believed to have composed in 959 A.D. According to Sures Candra Banerji, Haribhadra who is supposed by some to be identical with Haricandra is the author of the JTvandharacampQ (8*^ century)." Scholars like S.N. Dasgupta and S.K. Dey hold the view that, the poet of the JTvandharacampQ is Haricandra, who is the author of Dharmasarmabhyudaya. ^ If this view is accepted, we can say that the parents of the poet were Ardradeva and RathyadevT. Bana of the 7*^ century refers to one Bhattara Haricandra. ^ According to DTpak Kumar Sarma, Bhattara Haricandra can, in no way, be identified with the author of JTvandharacampQ. ^ The RamayanacampQ, known as CampQramayana or BhojacampQ is a work of Bhoja, the king of Dhara of Paramara line. The Rajamrgahga of Bhoja himself, the copper plate inscriptions and other historical records ascertain that Bhoja ruled over his kingdom in between 1018 A.D. and 1063 A.D. The last kanda of the work was added by another poet Laksmanasuri, as is supported clearly by the colophon.

17 17 Campu became extremely popular after the 10 century A.D. replacing biography to some extent. The practice of performing biographies through campus became a fashion. The contents of the campus varied extremely and no limitation was found either in Its theory or practice. They range from biographical^^ to retelling stories from tradition^ and from historical ^ to akhyaylkas^ or satire^^ or to a description of a festival^^ or a sacred place.^^ Hence the contents of campus did not have practically any restriction. Udayasundarlkatha, a campukavya, written by Soddhala contains narrations about the Kamboja Pala king Dharmapala.^"* Soddhala a Kayastha of Lata flourished in the 10^*^ century A.D. under the patronage of king Mummuni Raja of Konkan.^^ Bhagavatacampu of Abhinavakalidasa was composed in ll**^ century.^ Anantabhatta who wrote Bharatacampu was a rival poet of Abhinavakalidasa. If it is so, Anantabhatta seems to have flourished in the 11*^ century A.D. along with Abhinavakalidasa. There is opinion that Anantabhatta wrote Bharatacampu in 1500 A.D.^^ Kavikufjjara, pupil of Abhinavakalidasa, wrote Rajasekharacarita.^^

18 18 Besides Manasollasa a work on elephantology, Somesvaradeva (1126 to 1138 as a ruler) has the authorship of Vil<ramahgabhyudaya campukavya in which the hero is his father Vikramaditya Vl7 BharatesvarabhyudayacampG is the work of Jain poet Asadhara of the 13^''century A.D.^ Somesvaradeva (1240) wrote Suratotsava and Kirtikaumudl.^^ Sunyapurana is a campukavya written by Ramai Pandit in the 13th century or earlier. This campu contains historical events showing the conflict between the Buddhists and the Brahmins after the defeat of the Palas and the arrival of the Senas in Bengal. ^^ Ahobalasuri in 14*^^ century A.D. wrote Yatirajavijayacampu. The chronology of the masters of Visistadvaita and the biography of the great Ramanuja is the main theme of this campu. ^^ AcaryadigvijayacampG (c.l539) of VallTsahayakavi^'*, Jagadguruvijaya of Srlkanthasastri^^, Saiikaracampu of Laksmlpati*, Sahkaranadasaurabha of NTIakanthakavi, and Vidvanmodatarahginl of Cirafyivi Bhattacarya ^ are some 15^^ century campus.

19 19 Srlparamanandadasa or Kavikarnapura, the poet of the Anantavrndavanacampu, was born in the year 1524 in a village in the district Nadiya of Bengal. His real name was Puridasa. ^ Varadambikaparinayacampu composed in about 1540 A.D. by Queen Tirumalamba, wife of Acyutaraya, the king of Vijayanagara, is a secular, biographical campu which deals with the story of Acyutaraya. * The only known woman campu writer of the period is Tirumalamba who composed Varadambikaparinayacampu. Pafjcakalyanacampu and Bhagavatacampu are of Cidambarakavi who is patronized by King Venkata I ( ) of Vlzianagar.^^ Parijataharanacampu of Sesakrsna ^ Tatvagunadarsacampu of Annaya^ya^^ Mandaramarandacampu of SrTkrsnakavi, "* Nathamunivijayacampu of Ramanujadas, ^ TTrthayatraprabandha of SamarapuhgavadTksita, ^ Nrsimhacampu of Surya^'' who has been also a musician and logician are some campus of the 16^^ century.

20 20 Visvagunadarsacampu of Venkatadhvarin has reference to the Huns and the date of the work, hence, is l?**^ century A.D.. Yadavaraghavlya, Varadabhyudaya, Uttaracampu and Srlnivasacampu are his other works. ^ Bhagavatacampu of Cidambara (c. 1600), Viramrtodaya and Anandakandacampu of l^itramisra (1620)^, BharatacampQ of RajacudamanidTksita (1600)"^, NTIakanthavljayacampQ of NTIakanthadiksita (1650)^ ^, and DraupadlparinayacampQ of Cakrakavi (1650)^ ^ are some l?**" century campus. Laksmana of Sarigara village wrote the Bharatacamputilaka. His father Gahgadhara wrote a campu Madrakanyaparinaya and his grandfather Dattatreya wrote Dattatreyacampu.^""* Raghavacarya, son of Venkataraya and Srlsailamba of Trivellore, Chenglepat was probably also the author of Bhadracalacampu, composed at the instance of local magnate Sundaresa."^ There are many Uttaracampus written by Yatiraja, Sahkaracarya, Hariharananda, Venkatadhvari, Garalapuri Sastri, Raghavacarya, etc..^ ^ There are two Anandakandacampus, one

21 21 composed by Samarapuhgava of the le**"-!?*^ century, who is the poet of TirthayatraprabandhacampQ and the other by Srlman Mitramisra, who enjoyed the patronage of Virasimha ( A.D.) of Orissa. "^ Mitramisra was the author of Viramitrodaya and Anandakandacampu. His patron RajavTrasimhadev of Orccha ruled in A.D. and was probably identical with Birsing Dev, who is said to have killed Abul Fasal, the Scholar of Emperor Akbar. ^ ^ Rajasuya, Subhadraharana and Svahasudhakaracampu of Narayanabhatta/ ^ Keralabharana of Ramacandra, ^^ Gopalacampu of JTvaraja or SrTjTvagosvami/^^ NTIakanthavijayacampu of NTIakanthadlksita/^^ TTrthayatraprabandha of Samarapuhgavadlksita/^^ and Parijataharanacampu of Sesakrsna^" pertain to the l/*" century A.D. SamarapuhgavadTksita who was the son of Venkatesa of Vadhulagotra and brother of Suryanarayana and Dharma, lived at Tiruvalahgadu in North Arcot District, Madras about the middle of the 17^^ century. His TTrthayatraprabandha describes the holiness of

22 22 several sacred shrines and waters visited in the course of a pilgrimage/^^ Bhagavatacampu of Somasel<hara who was honoured by Madhava Rao ( A.D.) ^^ and Citracampu of Banesvara Vidyalahl<ara (17*^-18^^ century)^^^ of Hughly of West Bengal are two 18th century campus. Sarikaradlksita, son of Balakrsna of Bharadvajagotra, was a poet of the court of king Sabhasimha of Bundelkhand. He died in 1780 A.D. He wrote Gahgavataracampu on the story of the Ganges and Sahkaracetovilasa on the life of Maharaja Cetasimha (Chetysingh) ( A.D.) in the time of Governor-General Warren Hastings.^^^ Balabhagavatacampu of Padmaraja, who is also known as Ambhoja or Varnadhika Bhoja was written around 1800 A.D.^^^ Vidyaratna Dattatreya Sastri ( ) of Pangrada in Konkana was the principal of Sanskrit college at Rajpur in His famous campu work is Gahgagunadarsa.^^

23 23 A list of some well known campus is enclosed as Appendix I with details of the publishers wherever they are available. Hence it can be assumed that like any other branch of literature, Sanskrit campus also have contributed much to the development of classical Sanskrit literature Sanskrit campus of Kerala In Kerala, where the Indian traditional campu style survives in its purest form, campus are performed in theatres by actors, as kuttu, meaning 'acting', or more properly prabandhakkuttu, 'acting of a composition'. The solo actor appears in the role of a jester or a fool on the traditional stage called kuttampalams. He is free to add translations and explanations in the vernacular Malayaiam and to insert comic dialogues of his own. Cakyarkuttu or prabandhakkuttu is a special form of narrating stories with special rites and orders using prabandhas. A campu may be of any length with chapters similar to the acts of a play, the average number being eight. The Jatakamala is in 34

24 24 chapters, each of which containing a separate story. But some Kerala campus have only one chapter each. Both campu and prabandha are compositions with prose and verse portions intermingled. But there are differences between these two terms. The narration is important in campus. But the prabandhas are mainly used to play and act on stages. However, in the later period these two words were used as synonyms. The Prabandhas, normally short campukavyas,^^^ used by the Cakyars form an important section of Sanskrit literature in Kerala. The prabandhas used in KGtiyattam and Pathakam are also compositions conforming to the campo pattern, though shorter in size. Narayanabhatta wrote a number of such prabandhas at the request of his friend Iravi Cakyar (Ravi Nartaka) of Kuttafjceri.^^^ The most ancient extant Sanskrit campu of Kerala is Amogharaghava (1299 A.D.) of Divakara, son of Visvesvara.^" Divakara wrote this work, according to his own statement, in 1299 A.D. It narrates the story of the Balakanda of Ramayana.

25 25 Kalyanasaugandhika is anonymous, though generally believed to be the work of an author from Kerala. Hanumadapadanacampu of Mahisamahgalam Sahkaran Namputiri/^"* Uttararamacaritacampu of Mahisamahgalam Narayanan Namputiri, Laksanasvayamvara, Banayuddha, and ViprapatyanugrahalTIa of Nellikkatt Isvaravariyar, Usaparinaya of Ilayitam Narayanan Namputiri, Rukminlsvayamvara and Rukmarigadacarita^^^ of Etavettikkattu Narayanan NampGtirl, Balaramavijayacampu of Cojakavi STtaraman are some Sanskrit campus of Kerala. ^^ Uttararamayanacampu was written by a Namputiri of Devanarayana's court around 1642 A.D.^" The Santanagopala is a campu of great poetic merit, written by Asvatitirunal Ramavarman ( A.D.)^^ This work is not to be confused with a campo of the same name attributed to Melputtur Narayanabhatta. Such a mistake is seen committed by even researchers. Santanagopalacampu as reproduced in the Prabhandhamalijarl^^ and other similar collections of works by Narayanabhatta do not contain the alleged opening stanza of Asvatitirunal Ramavarman." Ullur also mentions another

26 26 Santanagopala used by Cakyars.^^^ The KartavTryavijaya is another campq by Asvatitirunal Ramavarman."^ It deals with the story of KartavTryarjuna's victory over Ravana. There is also another KartavTryavijaya by an anonymous author.^^^ Kartavlryapadana is also an anonymous work from Kerala.^^"^ Bhagavatacampu of Ramapanivada is of great literary merit. It deals with the story described in the tenth skandha of Bhagavata. The work as it is available now extends only up to Mucukundamoksa. As in the other works of Ramapanivada, this too contains many Prakrt passages. ^^^ Balaramavijaya of STtaramakavi and VallTparinayacampu of Svamidlksita are also worth mentioning. Uttaracampuramayana and Nayanldarsana are the works of a Namputiri pertaining to Kumaranellur. Vayodhlsvari who is the Orakattamma herself is remembered in Uttararamacarita, Bhasanaisadhacampu and Mahisamahgalam bhanam. Hence it can be assumed that they are of the same author. The author of Keralabharanacampu is a colakavi RamacandradTksita who lived in the 2""^ half of the 17*^^ century A.D.

27 27 PurvabharatacampQ of Koiikkot Manavedaraja (17^^ century)^^ is a celebrated campu. Narayanapandita of the 17^^ century is the author of Masotsavacampu, Bhagavatacampu, Nrsimhacampu and Vaidehlnavasarigacampu.^^^ Srlpadmanabhacarita is of Krsnasarma." Kamadevadahana,^^' ParvatTsvayamvara," Bharatacampu^'*^ Vrkasuravadha,"^ Sudarsanamoksa,"^ AmbarTksacarita,"'* Trnavarttavadha/"*^ Slmantinlcarita," Syamantaka,"^ Vatsarajaprabandha," Gajendramoksa," and Cellurapuresastotram,^^ are some anonymous works or works of doubtful authorship. Among all these authors and campus, Narayanabhatta and his works deserve special exposition Life of Melputtur Narayanabhatta (Melputtur Narayanabhatta was born in Melputtur Illam of present Kurumpattur Village, Atavanat Panchayat, Tirur Taluk of Malappuram District of Kerala, India. The place Melputtur was originally under the rule of Vettattu Natturaja and was later under the Ponnani Taluk of Malabar District of British Madras Province Melputtur Illam was situated at a distance of 1.5 kilometers to the

28 28 east of the famous Candanakkavu temple which is around 4 l<ilometers in the Puttanattani route from Tirunavaya. Melputtur Illam became heirless and was subsequently merged in the Maravafjceri Tekketat Illam. After the enforcement of the Land Reforms Act in Kerala, 17 cents of land where the remnants of the Melputtur Illam building was situated came under the ownership of a Muslim named Kummalil PalNyalil Alavi. He gifted the land to the Guruvayur Devasvam which constructed a small Melpattur smarakamandira there and inaugurated it in 1978 on 1157 Vrscikam 8. Two stanzas are reproduced in this regard in the Melpattur Smaranika-1985.^^^ That smaraka was however partially neglected by the Devasvam until these days. However there is a festival conducted there on every Vrscikam 8 which is the date of the installation of the statue of Melputtur Narayanabhatta. A local organization named Melpattur Smaraka Samraksana Samiti is also established with its headquarters at Atavanat Panchayat, Kurumpattur Village of Tirur Taluk, Pin Its present Secretary is Alur Prabhakaran. Some

29 29 photographs of Melpattur Smarakamandira and some other places that have relevance in the life of Melpattur are shown in Appendix II. (Melputtur Narayanabhatta's life period according to some is A.D. He was the third student of Trkkantiyur Acyuta pisaroti. He was a member of Madhava of Sahgamagrama's Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics. He was a mathematical linguist (vaiyakarana). His most important work, Prakriyasarvasva, sets forth an axiomatic system elaborating on the classical system of Panini. However, he is most famous for his masterpiece, Narayanlya.^^^ (Narayanabhatta studied mlmamsa from his father Matrdatta who was a scholar in Bhatta Mlmamsa, Rgveda (adhyayanam) from Madhava, Tarkasastra (science of arguments / logic in Sanskrit) from Damodara and Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar) from Acyutapisaroti. All this information is given in a verse at the end of the Nyaya section in Prakriyasarvasva.^" He became a pandita by the age of sixteen. He is said to have married Acyutapisaroti's niece and settled in Trkkantiyur. He was a propounder of Purvamlmamsa,

30 30 Uttaramlmamsa and Vyakarana. In the commentary on Narayanabhatta's Dhatukavya, Ramapanivada has also referred to him as belonging to the family of Uparinavagrama) ^^^ Kufjfiunniraja do not agree with the popular traditions in Kerala that Narayanabhatta's mother was a sister of the Payyur Bhattas patronized by Manavikrama, the King of Calicut, on the ground that King Manavikrama had lived in the 15*^ century, and Narayanabhatta flourished in the 17*^ century.^^^ But it doesn't mean that she has not belonged to the Payyur family at all. /The word Damodararya referred to in the verse etc. denotes that Damodara was an elder brother of Narayanabhatta. There is also information that they were three brothers. The very fact that Narayanabhatta did not stay at Melputtur also proves that he was not the eldest brother. The opinion of UHur interpreting Damodararya as Damodaracarya^^ also do not hold good. It was also a common practice among the namputiris of Kerala to name the elder son the name of his paternal grandfather, the second son the name of his maternal grandfather and the third son the name of his own

31 31 father }^^ In the circumstances it can be inferred that Narayanabhatta had an elder brother named Damodara. According to K. Kui^rjunniraja, Narayanabhatta had a younger brother, also named Matrdatta, for one of the manuscripts of the Narayanlya says that it was copied by the author's younger brother Matrdatta."^ (When he attained the age between five and ten he was sent for vedic education. He also had an introductory education in Sanskrit including the Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa, influenced on which he has written 'Tarakavadha" which contain the kali date 'cittam banena sakam ( ) which corresponds to 1568 March 12. He studied at Candanakkavu and surrounding places until he attained youthful age. The prime deities of Candanakkavu were Ganapati, Bhagavati, and Visnu.^^ The Navamukunda temple was not away from Candanakkavu and Mukunda also remained as a deity of his younger days. It can hence be inferred that those works which contains prayers to the three deities of Candanakkavu and Navamukunda are his early works.")

32 32 It is not baseless to think that Narayanabhatta has married the niece of Acyutapisaroti as he was not the eldest son.^ The popular tradition also supports the same. There are numerous stories which reveal that Narayanabhatta had lived at Trkkantiyur for a while. His famous chronogram 'balakajatram saukhyam'^^^ also proves that he had a wife and a son. The very fact that he has returned back to Trkkantiyur after leaving Ampalapuia"^ is also an evidence to prove that he had some family relations there. An autobiographically interpretation of dasaka 53 of NarayanTya^ ^ also reveals that he has entered into the world of sex as advised by one of his poor colleagues and that his wife had influenced him to learn more. According to Krsnamacariyar Narayanabhatta's son Krsnakavi wrote the poem Tarasasahka.^^^ While residing at Trkkantiyur at his wife house, he had the opportunity of becoming a disciple of Acyutapisaroti. The chronogram 'balakajatram saukhyam' corresponds to a Metam 1 which had some astronomical peculiarities. Hence the popular tradition that Narayanabhatta made the chronogram 'balakajatram saukhyam' on the request of

33 33 Acyutapisaroti as a mental exercise may be correct. It may equally be correct that Narayanabhatta must have made the chronogram 'balakalatram soukhyam' as referring to his own wife and son. When Acyutapisaroti was not satisfied Narayanabhatta made another chronogram 'lihgavyadhirasahyah' which may perhaps be indicative of a urinary infection suffered by him at that time. Somehow it is later proved on the strength of the legends on NarayanTya that Narayanabhatta was suffering from serious illness the cause of which was infuriation of vata as mentioned in Ayurveda. Most probably the illness must be something connected with the nerve system, such as one like epilepsy as he is said to have become unconscious during vatakopa."^ Guruvayur was traditionally believed to be a temple where vata diseases were cured by the blessings of the deity there in the form of Guruvayupuresa. It is also well known that Vayu is the god of all vatas. Hence he went to GuruvayGr temple with a decision to write NarayanTya within one hundred days. According to the Vanamala vyakhyana of NarayanTya, Narayanabhatta left Trkkantiyur for Guruvayur on a Tiruvonam afternoon after lunch and that the

34 34 writing of Narayanlya must have been commenced the day following the next day. ^^^ If it is so the fifty third dasaka must have been written on or around the 29*^^ birth day of Narayanabhatta. Narayanlya being a bhaktikavya cannot be devoid of autobiographical references, because bhakti is always the result of the union of an individual with the deity on whom he believes. Hence Narayanlya also contains a brief reflection of the experiences of the author. It was also a fashion during the medieval centuries throughout India to write verse with dual meanings. Hence it is reasonable to think that the fifty third dasaka of Narayanlya is constructed in a style capable of being interpreted in two ways one of which gives a brief description of the experience of Narayanabhatta until his 29*^ birthday. One of the possible interpretations of some slokas of the dasaka 53 of Narayanlya is given as Appendix III. (There is a strong tradition that Narayanabhatta wrote Narayanlya, after accepting the advice of Eluttaccan to start with fish (mln tottu kuttuka). Both of them had Acyutapisaroti as their prime preceptor. It is also believed that Turjcatt Ramanujan Eluttaccan

35 35 wrote Ramayanam Irupattinaluvrttam on the request of Narayanabhatta.^ ^ While residing at Guruvayur Narayanabhatta had acquaintance with Puntanam Namputiri also. His works which praise Guruvayupuresa were also written around this period."> The Zamorin who had ritual connections with the Guruvayur and Navannukunda temples must have heard of Narayanabhatta and invited him to KoHkot. It was during this time he must have written Manavikramaprasasti. Then he returned to Trkkantiyur just before writing Vyasotpatti. (However there is evidence that Narayanabhatta has written some prasastis on the Maharaja of Kocci, Virakeralaraja (M.E = A.D.)^^^ was ruling there then. His Gosrlnagaravarnana or Vlrakerajaprasasti therefore must be written during this period. Kocci kings being worshippers of Siva may have appreciated the saiva themes and therefore it can be assumed that the saivite works of Narayanabhatta were also written at that time. ) His AstamTcampQ and BimbalTsaprasasti must have been written after leaving the patronage of the Kocci kings and before his

36 36 patronage at Ampalapuia. Vanamala vyakhya of Narayanlya states that Narayanabhatta went to VaikkattastamT and had acquaintance with Vatakkumkur Godavarmaraja and wrote AstamTcampu^ Narayanabhatta must have then left for Ampaiappuia where the Puratamtirunal Devanarayana^^ who lived between 1566 and 1622 was the king. Most of his grammatical works and some of his major prabandhas were written there. Since the Lord of worship of Devanarayana was Krsna, the works wherein the name of Krsna is praised can also be deemed to have been written while Narayanabhatta residing there. When Devanarayana fell in prolonged illness Narayanabhatta returned to Trkkantiyur where he found his preceptor Acyutapisaroti also in death bed. He spent a few more years at Trkkantiyur after the death of Acyutapisaroti and left for Mukkola to worship the Bhagavati there. If the chronogram 'balakalatram saukhyam' (1633 April 7 or 808 Metam 1) was composed on the same day which it points to, it can be assumed that he was staying with his family at Trkkantiyur even after his composition of Srlpadasaptati (1627 October 17 = 803 Tulam 7). It is

37 37 also generally accepted that Narayanabhatta has abstained from all worldly temptations after the composition of SrTpadasaptati. Hence the opinion that Narayanabhatta was under the patronage of Manaveda of Calicut who was the Zamorin from A.D.^^^ and that SailabdhTsvaraprasasti was written in 833 M.E. = 1658 A.D/^^ do not seem plausible. There are some devotional stray verses by Narayanabhatta about the Goddess of Candanakkavu, Ganapati, and the lords of Ampalappula, Ettumanur and Vaikkam temples."^ It can be assumed that the stray verses which praise Goddess of Candanakkavu and Ganapati are his teen age works and the verses praising the lords of Ampalappuia, Ettumanur and Vaikkam temples may have been written while his stay at the respective temples, the former while he was under the patronage of Devanarayana and the other two while his acquaintance with Vatakkumkur Godavarmaraja. Narayanabhatta had academic contacts with Somesvara DTksita of Cojadesa and Yajfjanarayana DTksita, minister of Raghunatha Naik of Tanjore. ^^'*

38 38 Narayanan Namputiri of VeNarihallur, author of Bhavarthadlpika commentary on Bhavabhuti's Uttararamacarita and Dihmatradarsinl commentary of Bodhayana's Bhagavadajjuka, Candrasekharavariyar, the author of Krsnacarita Mahakavya and Narayana, the author of Tantraprayascitta and Anusthana Samuccaya^^^ are some of the disciples of Narayanabhatta. There is a legend that Narayanabhatta died after falling in a pool when his legs had slipped at its stone steps. "^ But according to unor and others, Narayanabhatta while starting from Mukkola Melekkavu for bhajana, passed away at the southeast corner of Kiiekkavu/^^ The author of the Bhaktapriya vyakhya of Narayanlya has praised Narayanabhatta as, ''samadhigatanikhilanlgamarthasatatvah sabdaparabrahmaparavaraparlnah paramabhagavatah sakoiasahrdayamahitayasah srl narayanakavih"^^^ Date of Narayanabhatta Narayanabhatta himself has given a large number of kali dates from which it is possible to have a fair idea about the period in which he has flourished.

39 39 a) The short campu Tarakavadha of Narayanabhatta is generally supposed to be incomplete by many scholars. But at the end of the existing campu, there is a probable chronogram 'cittam banena sakam' ( ), ^^ which corresponds to 1568 March 11. As shall be stated under this subhead itself, the birth of Narayanabhatta may be on the Utratam star of 733 Tulam of Malayalam Era which corresponds to 1557 October or November. Narayanabhatta must be around 10 years and 5 months old if both the Kali number and the date of birth proposed are correct. The opening stanza of Tarakavadha runs as follows. 'astyastasatrutridasojsurendrah mahabalastarakanamadheyah santrastadevendrakirltakotisamghrstapado niyatarh nitantam' It can be seen that the above verse is influenced by the astyuttarasyam etc. of the Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa which was regarded as an introductory text into Sanskrit education in Kerala. Hence the chronogram 'cittam banena sakam' fits, on the ground that the work was one of the earliest attempts of a genius writer at his pre-teenage. It can also be averred that the work was not seriously

40 40 taken up as an individual literary work at that age and hence the conclusion that the work was completed by him as seen in the chronogram 'cittam banena sakam' is not unsound. ^ b) Sarvamatasamgraha of Narayanabhatta as published by the Kerala University^ " contain a chronogram 'samsaratyarke samyak' in its concluding Verse.^ ^ However it is stated in the footnotes of the concluding verse that the concluding two verses containing the chronogram are not found in other manuscripts of the work. It is also noteworthy that the verse contains a Koilam year in bhutasamkhya which do not fit to the meaning of the stanza and seems as an awkward composition which is uncommon to Narayanabhatta. It is also unnatural for Narayanabhatta to state a Koilam Era. Moreover there is already another chronogram 'sasvannisreyasaya'^ ^ denoting the starting of the work in the beginning of the work which corresponds to 1586 June 24. A work which started on a day cannot be completed on a date earlier than its commencement. Considering all these, it can be assumed that the chronogram 'samsaratyarke samyak' is not composed by Narayanabhatta.

41 41 y c) At the end of Narayanlya, there is a chronogram ayurarogyasaukhyam^ ^ denoting the Kali date , which is corresponding to 1586 December 6. d) There is a probable chronogram 'ca tlragah pathikah' ^^ in Vyasotpatti^ ^ of Narayanabhatta, at two stanzas before its concluding verse. This date corresponds to 1589 October 27. It was a common practice among the old campus to include the first verse of the next work or next sarga as the concluding verse of that work or sarga, ^^^ especially in the case of individual prabandhas included in Ramayanacampu or Bharatacampu, as the case may be, where this practice is generally followed. Including the chronogram at the concluding stanza will therefore cause unnecessary confusion. Hence it can be assumed that Narayanabhatta has resorted to include the chronograms in the stanzas just before the concluding verse in such cases. Vyasotpatti is the second among the 37 campus of the Bharatacampu of Narayanabhatta.^ ^ Hence the validity of the chronogram 'ca tlragah pathikah' can be justified.

42 42 J e) In the beginning of Kaunteyastaka, ^^^ tiiere is a probable chronogram, 'anavabuddhya siddhyat'^^^ ( ) which corresponds to 1590 March 10. The name, position and the Kali are closely intermingled and therefore there is no cause to doubt the genuineness of the chronogram 'anavabuddhya siddhyat'. yf) There is a probable chronogram 'bhutavivatyutsukau'^ ( ) corresponding to 1593 February 6, in the last stanza of Kotivirahaprabandha^ ^ of Narayanabhatta. The word bhutavivatyutsukau is seen as a part of a compound word. That fact alone cannot be taken as an evidence to disprove it as a chronogram, because both the last two lines of Kotiviraha are formed into a single compound word and therefore there is no demerit in the normal vigraha of the compound word. Hence the existence of 'bhutavivatyutsukau' as a chronogram is sustainable. J g) Nadlpustirasahya^ ^ ( ) is an established Kali date composed by Narayanabhatta which corresponds to 1611 June 29. h) The Prakriyasan/asva gives two dates yatnah phalaprasuh syat ( ) and krtaragarasojdya^^^ ( ) which are

43 43 equivalent of 1617 January 9 and 1617 March 10 respectively. The author therefore has utilized 61 days for completing the work, not the popularly accepted sixty days. According to S. Venkita Subramonia Iyer these chronograms work out to 2"^^ Makaram and 3'^^ MTnam of 792 M.E. (sixty days from the middle of January to the middle of March 1617). This is slightly at variance with the date given in the granthavari noticed before, namely that it was commenced on 27* Makaram 791 and a part of it was completed on 3'"'' MTnam the same year. As has been already pointed out elsewhere the granthavari has to be taken as more dependable and yatnah phalaprasgh syat and krtaragarasojdya need not be considered as chronograms.^ "* For the following reasons the opinion of S. Venkita Subramonia Iyer do not seem plausible. To err is human. No work may be termed as flawless. Even the Kerala Sahitya Caritram of UHur has been corrected by later authors in a great deal. Hence the averment that all the other dates given in the above said granthavari are corroborated by other evidences, does not necessarily prove that there is no error in a matter of question in

44 44 the granthavari. It can be seen from all the nine introductory verses of Prakriyasarvasva that the same was written only after the completion of the other contents of Prakriyasarvasva, Then only the author can tell what has happened during the process of writing the book."^ J Moreover, the first chronogram yatnah phalaprasuh syat is not composed at the beginning of the work, but along with the last verse of the introductory verses in combination with the concluding chronogram krtaragarasojdya. It only means that Narayanabhatta has recapitulated the date of the commencement of the work which was just sixty days ago from his memory and composed both chronograms at the concluding day of the entire composition. The averment that the above said nine introductory verses if written after the completion of the other contents, the same must have been included at the end of the work also do not seem reasonable, because such an arrangement will not help a reader to have a primary opinion of the work for which the introductory verses are intended for. For a person of Narayanabhatta's scholarship and

45 45 caliber, a period of two months is sufficient for the completion of Prakriyasarvasva for which model books were already existent/^ In these circumstances, there are better chances for yatnah phalaprasuh syat and krtaragarasojdya to be genuine chronograms. The fact that only one of the later commentarians, but not the earlier commentarians has stated that yatnah phalaprasuh syat and krtaragarasojdya are chronograms, is not a bar for their existence as chronograms on the light of the fact that many chronograms by Narayanabhatta are identified even by recent researchers. J\) The chronogram Vidyatma svarasarpat'^^^ ( ) is well known and corresponds to 1620 August 14. i) In the second stanza of the second sarga of Dhatukavya there is a probable chronogram 'kamsajtvasramsaya' ^ ^ ( ) which corresponds to 1621 August 6. Since there is no other source to identify the correct period of Dhatukavya and since the date of this chronogram is almost in par with the prevailing tradition kamsajtvasramsaya may be regarded as a valid chronogram.

46 46 k) The probable chronogram 'Tsvaramakham samyak' ^ ( ) which corresponds to 1622 August 10 appears in the last line of the stanza just before the last stanza of Yajnasamraksanaprabandha.^ Yajfjasamraksanaprabandha is a part of Ramayanaprabandha and hence the last stanza cannot be depended upon for recording the chronogram. The immediate success of the Rajasuya by Narayanabhatta which describes the highest among the makhas and written just before this chronogram date may have influenced him to compose this chronogram with all his humility. Though Tsvaramakham is taken from the compound word munjsvaramakham, it does not necessarily alter the basic meaning of the words in the sense that yajfja as mentioned in Yajfjasamraksana was conducted by both the Muni (Visvamitra) and Isvara (Rama). Hence Tsvaramakham samyak can be regarded as a chronogram. I) 'Bhogankatham prarthaye' ^ ^ ( ) is a chronogram found in the 70^*^ stanza of Srlpadasaptati^ ^ by Narayanabhatta. This chronogram was first identified and submitted in an M.Phil

47 47 dissertation by Sri. Bhargavaraman, Department of Vyal<arana, Sree Sankaracarya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, Tiiis chronogram corresponds to 1627 October 17 which is 803 Tulam 7 of the Utratam star as arrived at by the calculation according to B.V. Raman in the Prophet 3 (Supersoft Prophet) astrological program by S. Ajayalal. It is generally accepted that Srlpadasaptati is composed on the day of the 70**^ birthday of Narayanabhatta.^ ^ Hence the chronogram at the 70*^*^ stanza is reasonable. The chronogram date is not much earlier than his generally accepted dates which are largely only guessworks. If this chronogram is correct, Narayanabhatta must have completed Srlpadasaptati on celebrating his 70**^ birthday on 1627 October 17, on the Utratam star of Tulam 803. If so, he might have born on the Utratam star of Tulam 733 which corresponds approximately to 1557 October or November. Vanamala vyakhya of Narayanlya narrates his journey to Guruvayur to write Narayanlya. Melputtur must have started from Trkkantiyur after his early lunch on the Tiruvonam day, using a boat in the Ponnanipula through Tirur and must have reached Guruvayur