Lilavai

SR No.: 002796
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: A N Upadhye
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Publication Year: 1966
Total Pages: 500
Language: Sanskrit, Hindi, English
Classification: Book_Devnagari & Literature
File Size: 15 MB

Page 46

INTRODUCTION
Bhusana bhatta1 (i. e., our author's father), a moon in the sky of his family, i. e., very prominent in his family. His kinsmen looked at him with great respect for his mastery over, or his ability to recite through one mouth, the four Vedas which had originated from the four mouths of Brahman: in fine, he was a prodigy of Vedic learning. Our author is the son of this Bhuṣaṇa-bhatta. His name is perhaps Kutuhala. He states, of course out of modesty, that he was a man of meagre intelligence (asara-mati).2 It is just possible that kouhalena (gāthā No. 22) is not to be taken as a proper name. In that case, the author has not disclosed his name; and he composed this work out of curiosity for, or interest in, the story of Lilavati. One can point out, though not with sufficient cogency, that Uddyotana, the author of Kuvalayamālā3 and Sādhāraņa, the author of Vilāsavaikahā', have used the word kohalena under nearly similar contexts; and even in this Lilăvai, the word kohalena is used more than once where it has nothing to do with the author's name. Moreover, the author has not mentioned this name at the close of the work, as expected. As yet no quotation from the Lilavati mentioning the name of its author has come to light, so we have to be guided by the evidence which is available to us. The Sanskrit Commentator, whose name also we do not know, has believed without any hesitation that the name of the author of Lilavati was Kutuhala, and there are at least three clear statements in his commentary:
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1 ) तस्य भूषणस्य तनयेन असारमतिना तुच्छबुद्धिनापि कुतूहलनाना विप्रेण विरचितं लीलावती नाम कथारत्नं शृणुत । on No. 22.
2 ) हे कुवलयदलाक्षि | कुतूहलो महाकविर्निजभार्या संबोधयति । on No. 921.
3 ) अथ कुतूहलकविः स्वभार्यां प्रति वक्तव्यसंक्षेपमाह । on No. 1312.
name.
Further, Kutuhala is not an altogether impossible proper Aufrecht records in his Catalogus one author of the name Kutuhala-pandita whose work Śri-Krsna--saroja-bhramari has been published in
1 The grandfather of our author is Bahuladitya; so the author's father Bhusanabhatta is different from the son of Baṇa, the author of Kadambari. If Băṇa and Bahuladitya were the names of the same person, our author would not have failed to mention it,
2 See gathās Nos, 18-22.
3 The gatha, which occurs in the Introductory portion, is being quoted here from
a Ms. : कोऊहले कत्थइ परवयणवसेण सक्कयणिषद्धा । किंचि अवल्मंसकया दो वि य पेसायभासिला ॥
4 This reference is more specific and to the point.
en eft fàबंधेण । कोऊह लेण एसा पसण्णावयणा विलासवई ॥ ६ ॥ See Catalogue of Mss. in Jesalmere Bhandars, p. 19, Baroda 1923,