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HISTORICAL DATA IN THE UDAYANA PLAYS OF SRIT ARS *
S. K. Sharma
Apart from being an able administrator Śrı Harşa of Vardhana dynasty was a great patron of letters and a poet himself as evident from Bāpa's allusions such as "Kavyakathāsu apitamapi anirtam udvamantam"
"Sakalaloka-Hrdayasthitamapi nyāye tişthantam"2 "Sarvavidyāsamgıtagrhamiva Sarasvatyāḥ"3 "Kanyantahpuramiva Kalanan"4 and "Jagati jvalatpratāpajavalanaprakārakstajagadrakṣaḥ.
Sakalapranayimanorathasiddhasri-parvato Harşah" . "api ca asya................prajñāyāḥ sastrāņi .
Kavitvasya vācah...........na paryāpto vişayah"6 and those made by Jayadeva in his Prasannarāghava7 and Harsa himself in his plays Ratnāvali, Priyadaršikā and Nāgānanandam (Śrı Harşo nipuņaḥ Kavih)
Jayadeva's encomium eulogising him as the joy of the muse-dame constitutes the happiest tribute to the king's poetic talent. In the light of this point his personal commitment of calling himself a skilled poet is no false bragging at all. Keith is of the view that : "Comparison with Kalidasa is doubtless the cause why Harşa bas tended to receive less praise than is due to his dramas which equally belauds him as a poet of merit, of course, wlien judged indpendently without any comparisons drawn with his predecessors.
* Paper originally presented and read at the XVIlth AIOC Kurukshetra Dec. 1974. 1 Haryucaritam, Ucchväsa II, p. 192, Calcutta ed. 2 lbid., p. 193 3 Ibid., p. 211 4 Ibid., 5 lbid., Introductory verse 23, p. 15 6 Ibid., Ucchvāsa II, pp. 214-15 7 Yasyāścauraścikuranikarah Karina-paro Maygro, Bhaso hasah kavikulaguruh Kalidaso
vilāsah, Harso Harso hydayavasati) pancabānastu Banah, keşāvin naişā karhaya
kavitakamini kautukaya. Act I Versc 22 pp, 31-32. Caukhamba Vidyabhavana series cd. 8 Ratnavāli 1.5, M. R. Kale, p. 6
Priyadarsikā 1, 3, p. 4, R. V. Krishna machariar; Naginadam 1, 3, pp 8-9, Prof.
Ramasundra-Sarma 9 The Sanskrit Drama, p. 175.
