________________
to the first edition of KIRTIKAUMUDI
one. Thus, it would appear that Visaladeva put his foot on the step from which Lavanaprasāda aiid Viradhavala kept themselves back half out of chivalry and half out of policy. In the grant of Visaladeva, the title Mahārājādhirāja is applied to him, though up to his time the kings of the house of Pattaņa alone were considered as entitled to it. The last mention I have found of the king of Pattana is in connection with Lavanaprasāda's having asked for money in a friendly manner from Bhimadeva. There is no mention anywhere of any actual hostility between the house of Dholka and Pațțaņa. Bhimadeva, though personally valiant, seems to have allowed himself quietly to be superseded by his ambitious kinsmen, first in actual power and then in rank.
VI
In concluding this introduction, it remains for me to acknowledge that the publication of this book is entirely due to Doctor G. Bühler. He lent me two manuscripts, one, A, a copy of some old manuscript made for him, and another, B, which he had borrowed from Mr. Javerilāl Umiaśankara. He also handed over to me å portion of the poem copied out by him for the press, and obtained the permission of the Director of Public Iltstruction for the inclusion of this Publication in the Bombay Sanskrit Series. Besides, I am indebted to him for pointing out most of the sources of information which I have embodied in these pages. In fact, but for him I should not have been able to do the little I have done. For the third manuscript I got later on, I am indebted to Mr. Vrajalal Shashtri, of the Gujarat Vernacular Society. All the three manuscripts seem to be copies of the same original manuscript, the differences they show being generally due to the varying intelligence or rather ignorance of the copyists.
GUJERAT COLLEGE, 2 1st September 1883.
A.
V.
K.
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