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________________ PRAKRIT VERSES IN SANSKRIT WORKS ON POETICS 469 (e. and f.) Vakpatiraja's Mahumahaviaa (Sk : Madhumathavijaya) and Gaudavaho (Sk. Gaudavadha)--these two poems were composed in the first half of the eighth century A. D. Of these two kavyas, Mahumahaviaa is now lost. Vakpati himself refers to this work in his 'Gaudavaho. "How can my robust (flowery) language (employed) in the Madhumathavijaya shrink to the size of a (compact) bud ? (But then, the later blossoming of the wild creepers is much thinner and softer than its first."33 Abhinavagupta while commenting on Dhvanyaloka34 cites the following gatha as forming a part of Pancajanya's speech : 0, (Madhu-matha (-mathana, Visnu), you once as a boar carried with ease the entire terrestrial on the tip of your tusk; then how is it that today you find even this (very light) ornament of lotusfibre too heavy to carry35 ?" The following gatha in Maharastri, cited by Anandavardhana in his Dhvanyaloka, is most probably drawn from this mahakavya (now lost). For in its content and expression it has very close resemblance with Gaudavaho v. no. 66. The two gathas in their translation are as follows: One, "The literary art of great poets is all conquering. For it causes various ideas to enter the heart (of the reader) and appear (there) in a form which is different, as it were, from their real form." (Translation by Masson and Patwardhan) 36. and two, "What is real appears as unreal and what is unreal appears as if it were real, and (sometimes) a thing appears exactly as it is--these are the ways (prakrtayah or padavyah) of good poets." (Translation by Masson and Patwardhan) 37 Vakpati's second work is available in its entirety38. It is a unique historical poem in Maharastri Prakrit. It is a stupendous work comprising over 1200 gathas. It is no doubt a mahakavya having a wide variety of topics but unlike its prototype Ravanavaho (better known as Setubandha) it has no divisions called Asvasakas. It is just one long, continuous composition with kulakas appearing here and there. The purpose of this poem is to celebrate the glory of his patron, King Yasovarman, with particular reference to his slaying of the Gauda King. This important event, however, has been only cursorily mentioned in the whole poem. The principal topics dealt with in this long poem may briefly be touched upon : The opening sixty one gathas present by way of margalacarana (invocations) word-pictures of the various devatas (divinities) like Brahma, Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
| SR No. | 001868 |
| Book Title | Studies in Jain Literature |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | V M Kulkarni |
| Publisher | Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre |
| Publication Year | 2001 |
| Total Pages | 114 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, Literature, & Story |
| File Size | 14 MB |