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INTRODUCTION
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The various love and creative sports of Meghavāhana illustrated by him' and the mention of terms such as
'विदूषकान्' ' निपुणचित्राकारै' 'रागविशेषेषु संस्थाप्य'....
' शृंगारप्राय रसानि स्वरचितसुभाषितानि' 'निखिलनाट्यवेदोपनिषद्भिर्नर्तकोपाध्यायैः ' ‘कुलक्रमागतवैशिककला कलापवैचक्षण्याभिः साक्षादिव कामसूत्रविद्याभिः '
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illustrate his thorough insight into the lore of Kāma or Kāmasūtra of Vātsyāyana.
‘ज्ञातनिःशेषपुराणेतिहाससारैः दृष्टसकलकाव्यनाटकप्रबन्धैः ' परिचितनिखिलाख्यायिकाख्यानव्याख्यानैः प्रमाणविभि:,... अभ्यस्तनाट्यशास्त्रैः, कामसूत्रपारगैः, शब्दविद्यामिव विद्यानाम्, कौ(कै)शिकीमिव रसवृत्तीनां, उपजातिमिव छन्दोजातिनाम्, जातिमिवालंकृतीनाम्, वैदर्भीमिव, रीतिनाम्, प्रसत्तिमिव काव्यगुणसंपदाम्, पंचमश्रुतिमिव गीतिनाम्, रसोक्तिमिव भणितीनाम्, etc. all these go to establish Dhanapala's scholarship in the lores such as legend and Chronicle, Drama, poetry, Prose, Philosophy, Dramaturgy, Kāmaśāstra, Grammar, Prosody, Figures of speech, Music and Rhetorics.
'कलाविदो विदितसकलशास्त्रतत्त्वाः कवयो वाग्मिनः काव्यगुणदोषज्ञाः विज्ञातविविधपुराणेतिहासकथाः कथाख्यायिकानाटकादिप्रबन्धबद्धरतयो रतितन्त्रपरम्परा परामर्शरसिकमनस:..... राजपुत्राः"
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refers to arts, sastras such as Dharmasastra, Arthaśästra, Ratitantra (Kāma śāstra), Purāna, Itihāsa, Kathā, ākhyāyikā, Nātaka etc. forming the domain of Dhanapāla's study.
The complete picture given in the cultural study (Fine Arts) amply display his knack for the understanding of all the practical lores.
B. WORKS OF DHANAPALA - A SURVEY
Ascription of three works to the authorship of Dhanapāla goes beyond any doubts in the opinion of literary critics. Pailacchi, a Prakṛt lexicon and Rṣabhapaṁcāśikā, a short poem of fifty verses eulogising the Jaina ācārya Rṣabhadeva, also written in Prakṛt hardly stand in need of a critical study within the field of our survey. Tilakamañjarī, being the most celebrated of the works of Dhanapāla, is a Katha like Kadambarī of Bāṇa and Gadyacintāmaṇi of Odayadeva. The classification of prose Kavya in Sanskrit into two forms such as Ākhyāyikā and Kathā is quite popularly a
1. TM: Vol. I, pp. 74-75
2. Ibid. Vol. I, p, 51.
3. Ibid. Vol. I, pp. 51-52.
4. Ibid. Vol. II, p. 328.
5. Ibid. Vol. II, p. 240.