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which obviously contained the praise of both the king and God Narasimha. Struck by the sweetness of the verse, the king asked him about its author and the gandharva replied as follows :
"In the north-western parts there is a place called Anandapura peopled by great Brahmins. A Brahmin family belonging to Kausikagotra and proficient in Vyakarana and Mantrasastra migrated from there to Acalapura, a city founded by Müladeva near Nasik. In this family was born one Nārāyaṇasvamin who performed many sacrifices and attained great renown, and to him was born a son named Damodara. This Damodara, through the influence of the great poet Bharavi, became the friend of Prince Visnuvardhana.* Once Damodara accompanied Visnuvardhana during a hunting
*Sri M. R. Kavi identifies Damodara with Bharavi in his Introduction to the Avantisundarikathāsāra. This view seems to
be based on the verse,
' स मेधावी कविर्विद्वान् भारविः प्रभ (वं )बो गिराम् । अनुरुज्याकरोन्मैत्री नरेन्द्रे विष्णुवर्धनी ( ने) ॥ ( I. 23)
the
[.
in the work, where the Editor has taken at to be correct reading in consonance with the other words in the fanf in the first half of the verse and not as seen in the manuscript. The Ms. of the work in the Travancore University Mss. Library (No. C. O. 1688), reads it ae f g for. This must be taken as the correct reading, as cannot be connected with any other
otherwise, the word
word. The passage
66
यतः कौशिककुमारो महाशैवं महाप्रभावं गवां प्रभवं प्रदीप्तभासं भारविं रविमिवेन्दुरनुरुज्य दर्श इव पुण्यकर्मणि विष्णुवर्धनाख्ये राजसूनौ प्रणयमभ्ववनात् । " (p. 10)
