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NOTES ON AUTHORS
No. 47. DEVIDĀSA, the author of Rajanīti ke Kavitta and Prema ratnakara, both of which have been found in the present search, is one of the two poets of the same name mentioned by Sir George Grierson. This Devidasa attended the court of Rājā Ratanapala of Karauli. His descendants now live at Chhatarpur, through whom it was known that Devidasa resided for some time in Jayapur (Rajputana). Manuscripts of the first work were previously noticed (see no. 1 of S. R. 1902 and no. 27 of 1906-1908). The second, Prema-ratnākara was written in the name of the Rajakumāra, who subsequently became Mahārāja of Karauli. This is how his authorship has been recorded:
त्योंही कलि मांहि सामवंश के सपूत मैया रतन जू प्रेम रत्नाकर को बनाया है।
'Similarly in the Kali age the able scion of the Lunar family Prince Ratanaji has composed Prema-ratnākara.' This is supposed to come from his own pen, which would have abashed any prince of the present age, but the times were different and apparently the prince was very much tickled by the compliment. The poet himself was, however, a very capable writer. He is believed to have flourished about 1685
A. D.
No. 48. DHARMADASA wrote Mahabharata in Hindi verse in the year 1711 which is equal to 1664 A. D. under the orders of Pratapa-saha, when Sah Jahan was the Emperor of Delhi. The poet says that the year 1711 corresponds to the Vikrama Samvat 80. This is a reference to San Ilahi of the Emperor Akbar, which appears to have begun from 1576 A.D. Akbar prepared his famous Hall of worship in 1574 A. D. His Ilahi era was started subsequently. The poet mentions his 80th in Vikrama Samvat, 1711, which may mean 1654 or 1655 A.D. The slight difference may be accounted for by the short age of the Muhammadan year as compared to Samvat.
