Page #1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ KAVI PARAMESVARA OR PARAMESTHI . Dr A. N. Upadhye, Kolhapur. In the history of Indian literature, there are many celebrated authors who are repeatedly remembered in subsequent works; but neither their works are available to-day, nor do we know any biographical details about them. Kavi Paramesvara or Paramesthi is one of them. In this paper i propose to put together whatever bits of information have been available to me, especially from Kannada and Sanskrit literature. Eminent Kannada poets like Adi Pampa (c. 911 A. D.), Abhinava rampa (C. 1100 A. D.), Nayasena (1112 A. D.) Aggala (1189) and Kamalabhava (c. 1235) respectfully refer to Kavi Paramesthi along with Samantabhadra, the logician poet and Pujyapada, the grammarian.I Adi Pampa, it may be noted, calls him jagat-prasiddha. Their verses are given below. zrImatsamantabhadra - svAmigaLa jagatprasiddha kaviparameSThi-1 svAmigaLa pUjyapAda - svAmigaLa padaMgaLIge zAzvatapadamaM // Adipurana (Mysore 1900 ) I. 15. kaviparameSThigaLa guNa stavanaMgaLa pUjyapAdayatipatiya guNa - / stavanaMgaLorme nAlage-- ge baMda mAnavana vAGmalaM niMdapude // Ramayana I. 11. zrImatsamaMtabhadra - svAmigaLa negaLteMvetta kaviparameSThi - // svAmigaLa pUjyapAda - svAmigaLa padaMgaLIge bodhodayamaM / / Dharmamrta (Mysore 1924) I.14. ___1_R. Narasimhachary: Karnataka-kavicarita Vol. I. (Bangalore 1924), pp. 2, 4-6. 375
Page #2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ 376 13TH ALL INDIA ORIENTAL CONFERENCE : PRAKRIT & JAINISM samanike manmAnasadoLa samaMtabhadAMghrinakharakAMtijalaM mattamalina kaviparameSThi - kramakamalaM pUjyapAdapadanakhakumudaM // Candraprabha-puranam (Mysore 1951 ) I. 20. bhavaharasamaMtabhadrara kaviparameSThigaLa pUjyapAdara kAru - / NyavareNya dugdhavArdhiyoM - Laviratamirkemma cittamattamarAlaM // Santisvara-purana ( Mysore 1912) I. 20. . Then turning to individual references, Gunavarma II ( c. 1235 A. D.) tells us in his Puspadanta-purana, I. 26 ( Madras 1933) that Kavi Paramesthi's mouth was beautiful with unparallelled speech, that he was praised by the learned, that he was almost the Para-brahman, and that he was no doubt a purana-purusa: nirupamasarasvatIsuM -- daracaturAnana nazeSavibudhastutyaM / paramabrahmanenal kavi -- parameSThi purANapuruSanaibudu pusiye / / Parsvapandita ( 1205 A. D.) qualifies him as 'guna-jyestha' or 'pre-eminent in virtues' in his Parivapurana: niSThAparatvadi para -- meSThistavanamananUnamaM mADi guNa --1 jyeSThanenisirpa kavipara -- meSThiguNastavanamamarge-dala karaNIyaM / / Nemicandra (c. 1170) tells us in his Neminathapurana (Mysore 1914) (1. 15-16 ) that Kavi Paramesvara wrote a purana glorifying 24 Tirthakaras and that Brahman and Sarasvati were waiting on his glory. jinara purANaMgoLI - dane baredauDe baredevairIbhuvanaM jI -- yaneM bareMdirisidarirpa -- tunAlkama pAgaLe sukaviparamezvararaM / / sukavi parameSThigaLa nA - Takavenisida bhuvanavaMdyavaravidyAtI - rthakaratvapuNyalakSmige sakaLazrutadevi yakSi yakSa bomma / /
Page #3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Kavi Paramesvara Or Paramesthi 377 - Then, still earlier, Civundaraya (978 A. D.) in his Adipurina (Bangalore 1928 ) clearly tells us that Kavi Paramesvara wrote a Trisasti salaki-purusa-purna: caritapurANadoLodane bareMdar baradikkidar triSaSTidAlAkA ---- / puruSapurANamaM kavi - paramezvararaMtu jasake noturumoLare / / , and in another context (p. 6), he declares that the mahi-purana was composed formerly by Kuci Bhattaraka and Srinandi Muni, aud that his work, namely, the Kannada Cavundaraya Purana only follows the compositions of Kavi Paramesvara, who is called jinagamatilaka, Jinasena and Gunabhadra: viracisidara munne mahA - purANamaM negaLda kUcibhaTTArakarUM / / parama zrInadimunI - zvararuM tadanaMtaraM jinAgamatilakara // kaviparamezvarar baradudaM jinasenamahAmunIzarI - yavanige peLdu mANe guNabhadramunIzvarareTadai peThdu pa - llavisidudaM triSaSTipuruSapratibaddhapurANamaM maho - tsavadoMLe bhavyakoTigariyala baredaM guNaratnabhUSaNaM // Gunabhadra, at the end of his Uttarapurana (middle of the 9th century A. D. ) informs us that the Adipurana composed by his teacher Jinasena was based on the gadya-kathi of Kavi Paramesvara: kaviparamezvara-nigaditagadyakathAmAtakaM purozcaritam / Jinasena (c. 837 A. D.) also respectfully mentions him as the compiler of the entire purina, possibly under the title Vagarthasangraha: sa pUjyaH kavibhiloMke kavInAM paramezvara : / vAgarthasaMgrahaM kRtsnaM purANaM yaH samagrahIt // Adipurana I. 60. Besides these literary references, the Humch inscriptiont of 1077 A. D. mentions Kavi Paramasthi along with a host of Jaina teachers and authors. . About Jinesena, Gupabhadra etc. see, Premi : Jaina Sahitya aura Itihisa, pp. 282, 497 ff.; also Hiralal : Dhavali, Intro. Amraoti 1939. + Epigraphia Carnatica VIII, Nagar No. 35. O.C.... 48
Page #4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ 378 13TH ALL-INDIA ORIENTAL CONFERENCE : PRAKRIT & JAINISM Thus we see that Kavi Paramesvara is being respectfully mentioned by various authors from the beginning of the 9th century almost upto the middle of the 13th ceutury A. D. His personality stands before us as that of a famous, worthy authoritative poet with remarkable mastery over expression. He composed a purana glorifying 63 salaka-purusas or celebrities of the Jaina church. Gunabhadra says that it was a gadya-katha and that it was used by Jinasena for his Adipurana. Jinasena calls it Vagartha-samgraha; and Camundaraya used it for his Kannada work. It is a high compliment to the scholastic greatness of Kavi Paramesthi that he is ranked with Samantabhadra and Rujyapada whose works have come down to us. This is all that we glean about Kavi Paramesvara's personality from the casual references of subsequent authors, some of whom had actually, used his work. His date is uncertain, *a But he definitely flourished earlier than Jinasena who finished his Jayadhavala in 837 A. D. As yet we have not been able to trace the work of Kavi Paramesvara in any Ms. library; but the chances of tracing it are not remote, because many collections in the South are not fully explored. Lately, the section of santipurana from the Camundarayapurana has been published,t and we are lucky to find there that Camundaraya has given some quotations attributed to Kavi Paramesvara. I reproduce below the extracts almost as they are: kaviparamezvarara vRtta / rAmatvaM gaNadhRtvamapyabhimataM lokAntikatvaM tathA SaTkhaNDaprabhutA sukhAnubhavanaM sarvArthasiddhayAdiSu / iMdratva mahimAdibhizca sahitaM prAptaM na saMsAribhiH tatprApto bhavahetusaMsRtilatAcchede kutaH saMyamaH / / kaviparamezvarara zloka / kaSAyodrekakAluSyaM vratadarzanasattapaH / dUSayatyacirAdrAjan tataH krodhAdi varjayet / / tyAgena lobhaM kSamayA prakopaM mAnaM mRdutvena manohareNa / (A) R. Narasimhachary would like to put Kavi Paramegvara between Samantabhadra and Pujyapada, and he gives to him a tentative date, viz. 550 A. D. This is just a conjecture; and the earlier limit of his dato is not at all fixed. We want more evidence. + Kannada Sahitya Parisat Patrika, vol. 29, Mareh-June 1944, pp. 63, 58,
Page #5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ Kavi Paramesvara Or Paramesthi vRttena mAyAmRjunAbhivRddhiM nareMdra hanyAtparalokakAMkSI | sthUleSu dayAM prANiSu karoti sUkSmeSu vilasadanukampAm / Arambhahatakarmasu gRhAzramo niSpratijJAnaH // caraNAdavanALmayA viSayA nAnAdapi prajAsuvadA / tadavanaye vardhitAM na ciraM saMsArabhAk nRpatI | [1]* hiMsAH prANino'nyAyAdrAjadaNDena vArayan / saMcinoti vratI puNyamahiMsAyAH samArjitam // alpAnalpAparAdheSu tadyogyAnapi daNDayan / khacarendramahApuNyaM samAdhatte nRpaH kRtI // guMdahiMsAvratamanarapi tatsusAdhuvacaH satyaM prANipIDAparAGmukham / yena sAvadyakarmANi na spRzanti bhayAdiva // nAgnirdahatyuccazikhAkalApastIvraM viSaM nirviSatAmupaiti / zastraM zatadyotavibhUSaNatvaM satyena kiM te na bhavedabhISTam // guMdu satyavratamanarapi parasvArjanamanyAyaM prakAzastenamucyate / nRpate corathaMlloke vaJcakastena saMsmRtaH // iha janmani tadrAjan vyaktamakhyAtivardhanam / vicitraduHkhasaMpAdi paratra ca vizeSataH // adharmasaMgraho'nyAyAnnRpasyAnyasvasaMgrahaH / prajAvidveSaNIyazca jAyate yena karmaNA // daste yavatamanarapi paradAraparAvRtta vartate yaH kSitIzvaraH / samagvihitakarakamalamukulairdevairapi sa praNamanIyaH // [?]+ svadAragatabhyetya mAtrayAnubhavannRpaH / bhaved svArthaparaH kAmaM janAnAM cApadezakaH // 379 We are not in a position to state whether only the opening verse of the larger extract belongs to Kavi Paramesthi or all the verses are to be attributed to him. All the quotations are in Sanskrit and in a metrical form. One verse is very obscure and one line metrically defective. Cavundara ya says that he has used Kavi Paramesvara's work; it is very good of him that he quotes by mentioning the author's name. This verse is apparently corrupt and obscure. | Metrically defective.
Page #6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ 38o 13TH ALL'INDIA ORIENTAL CONFERNECE : PRAKRIT & JAINISM Kavi Paramesvara's work, as the quotations indicate, was in Sanskrit and in verses. There is one difficulty in accepting this that Gupabhadra has described Kavi Paramesvara'e work as gadyakatha. Possibly it was in prose with some verses here and there, and for convenience Camundaraya might have quoted only the verses. If not the whole work of Kavi Paramesvara, at least a couple of quotations are available to us. And I do hope, some day, 'like'the "Varangacarita of Jalila, Kavi Paramesvara's purana would be discovered...
Page #7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ SAMARAMIYANKA KAHA OF HARIBHADRA Dr. A. N. Upadhye, Kolhapur. Uddyotanasuri, the author of Kuvalayamala ( completed on 21st March, 779, A. D.) was a disciple of Haribhadra; and any information he gives about his guru deserves our special attention. He speaks about his guru thus in the introductory' verses of the Kuvalayamala :* jo icchai bhavavirahaM bhavavirahe ko Na vaMdae suaNo / samayasayasasthaguruNo. samaramiyaMkA kahA jassa // Clearly this is a respectful reference to Haribhadrat who is well-known as virahu ika and who is proved to be the guru of Uddyotana. According to Uddyotana, then, Haribhadra composed Samaramiyaika kaha which has been all along rendered into Sanskrit as Samara-mrganka Katha. The statement of Uddyotana is quite clear, and naturally various questions can be raised. Is it that Haribhadra wrote a Samara-mrganka-katha besides his famous Samaraditya--katha; or is it that the phrase samara-miyamki kahi only refers to the present Samaraicca-kaha ? The first question has to be answered in the negative, because no other source, as far as I know, has attributed an additional work, Samara-mrgarka by name, to Haribhadra. A comparison of the concluding verse of the Samaraditya Katha, which runs thus, jaM viraiUNa puNNaM mahANubhAvacariyaM mae pattaM / teNa ihaM bhavaviraho hou sayA bhaviyaloyassa / / with the verse of Kuvalayamala, quoted above, hardly leaves any doubt that Uddyotana has the present Samaraicca-kaha in view. As long as we render the title in Sanskrit as Samara-mrgarka Katha, we will be forced to find out how mugika can mean aditya, and wheider the Sanskrit language supplies any reference to the effect that miganka did mean 'sun' as well, beside the pormal meaning 'moon'. * I have on hand a critical edition of this important Prakrit campu based on the Ms. material so kindly entrusted to me by Shri Jinavijayaji, I am quoting this verse from a transcript. Seo Jocobi's Iutro. to his ud of the Samaraiccakaha, BI. No. 169, Calcutta 1926. 381
Page #8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________ 382 13TH ALL-INDIA ORIENTAL CONFERENCE : PRAKRIT & JAINISM There is no doubt that Uddyotana has in view the present Samaraiccakaha, and as I shall show presently, the phrase samara miyanka kaha signifies the same. But the various difficulties about this problem are due to the wrong Sanskrit rendering of this phrase, namely, Samara-mpgarka katha. In my opinion, the real Sanskrit rendering should be Samara-mitarka katha, which means the story of Arka or Aditya, limited, qualified or prefixed by Samara, i. e., the Samaraditya-katha. The equation of amka with arka can be explained. In Prakrit we have a similar phenomenon in Karkota-kankoda (Hema. VIII. i. 26 ); in the Tiloyapannatti both akka and amka are used for arka ( see VII.295-96, 345-46 ); and the famous royal name Vikramanka is just a phonetic variation of Vikramarka, i. e., Vikramaditya. So we can safely conclude that Uddyotana's phrase Samara-miyamka kaha is to be rendered into Sanskrit as Samaramitarka katha, and it stands for the Samaraditya katha of Haribhadra.