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CCLVIII
Kavyanusasana
form any correct estimate of Şrīpāl's poetic abilities; we can, however, say from them that all his verses are marked by chaste and forceful diction.
For Devabodha of the Bhagavata sect, our main source of information is again the Pra. Cha. The references to Devabodha in later prabandhas are more or less confused. The Pra. Cha. generally refers to him with great respect.
Devabodha who is called a “Mahāvidvăn,' 'a great savant' when he came to Anahillapura, in the begining, showed great indifference towards the king. He had, however, placed at the royal gate his enigmatic verse for the learned men of Anahillapura to explain. We saw that after six months, Devasūri solved the ENIGMA. This made Devabodha an admirer of Devasūri. But probably before the riddle was, solved Devabodha did not care to go to the court of Jayasimha. After consulting Şrīpāla his poet laureate Jayasimha sent a messenger to request Devabodha to come to his court, which, however, the latter refused to do and asked the king to go to him if he wanted to see him. “I have seen rulers of Kānykubja and Kāşi. What do I care for the ruler of Gurjars whose dominion is so small ? If your ruler, however, wants to see me, let him come here, and sit on the ground while I shall be sitting on a lion-seat" (v. 191-193, p. 305-8). This was the reply of Devabodha. Jayasimha was impressed with the man's attitude and so went to see him with Srīpāla. In this visit Devabodha referred to Srīpāla in very contemptuous terms and even when Jayasimha personally informed him of his poet laureate's achievements Devabodha showed scant respect for the blind poet
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