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JULY, 1885.]
VIDYAPATI AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES.
183
The Bangali line of Sana' kings was not compelled to devote itself to marshalling armies for the repulsion of conquering Pagans; its efforts were rather directed to collecting "troops of pooms." At a time when the kings of Dehli, Âjmôr, Mêwar, and others were summoning up all their forces for a death struggle with the conquering flood of Musalman invasion, -when Mahmûd of Ghazni was engaged in breaking the images of the gods in a Western India soaked in the blood of Hindus,-the Sena kings of Bihar and Eastern Bengal, surrounded by the gems of their court, were tranquilly engaged day and night in the enjoyment of the pleasures of poetry. On one side of India the day of destruction of Hindû religion and Hindû rule had arrived, and bearded ghouls in the form of men were plundering hearth and home; while on the other side of India tho Sê na kings were peacefully listening to the honied accents of Jayadeva, soft and sweet as the clove-laden breeze of Malaya. They were great encouragers of learning, and their profound knowledge of Sanskrit is celebrated to the present day.
All invaders of the golden lands of India
had launched their attack from across the Indus, and had been compelled to content themselves with engaging with the western provinces. Alexander was obliged to return without crossing the Satadru; the Khalifa Walîd conquered Rajputânî and Gujarat and was satisfied ; Mimûn turned his back on Aryan land, after suffering several defeats in Rajputinâ; and Mahmûd of Ghazni was obliged to be content with conquering Kanyakubja. In short,-up to the year 1203, no invader had ever penetrated to Bengal; and hence the Sê na kings had no necessity for laying plans for the protection of their country. The country of Mithila' fell within their territories, and to the present day it is called Darbhanga, or the western door of the dominious of the Séna kings. In the height of Bengal's power, the flame of its poetry burnt brilliantly. Up to then no news of the approach of foes had reached the land, and in the midst of the timid Baugalis, who lay, as it were, enveloped in a profound sleep, arose, like the voice of a midnight lute, that song of the sweet poet Jaya deva, called the Gita-Govinda.
The Sena kings reigned in Bengal in the eleventh and twelfth centuries after Christ, their dynasty ceasing in A.D. 1203. They were extremely powerful, and, scoording to the Anashta-Sambidikdra, Lakshmana Sens reigned for twelve years as far as Dehll. Adisura was the first king of the race. It is uncertain in what year he wrested Bengal from the hands of the Pala kings. - [See, however, Dr. Rajendra Lala Mitra's paper on the PALS and Sina Dynasties, in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. XLVII. 1878, Part I., p. 384.-G. A. G.)
• There is plenty of evidence that MithilA formed part of the kingdom of the Senas. At the present time Maithila Brahmans use the Bangalt alphabet, not strictly socurate, but sufficiently so for the purposes of the argument.-G. A. G. and the era of Lakshmana Séna. The ers of Lakshmana Sena is not current in Bengal, although it is so in Mithila. Darbhanga is a corruption of Dwira-banga, and AyodhyAPraslds, the historian of the Darbhanga Raj, has pointed out that Darbhaogh is the Western door of Bengal. This is the popular explanation, but I cannot believe it to be true. It is opposed to the rules of philology. I know of no instance in the modern languages of India, in which a b situated like the b of bangt, has become bh. It is a standard saying in Mithila that the derivation of the names of places and people should not be sought for, as they cannot be found.-G.A.G.)
• There is considerable difference of opinion as to the date of. Jayadeva. He was born in the village of Kenduvilva, on the north bank of the river Ajaya. The modern name of this village is Kedull, and here & yearly festival takes place in memory of the poet. Mr. Elphinstone says that Jayadeva lived in the 14th century: while Baba Rajant Kanta Gapta, the author of life of the poet, states that it may be admitted that he was born in the latter half of the 13th or former half of the 14th century, Professor Lassen maintains that his birth took place between the years 1100 and 1150, Professor Wilson calls him a follower of Ram Ananda, and fixed Ramananda's date as falling in the latter half of the 14th century or the former half of the 15th, and
in that case the Gita Govinda must have been written in the 15th century. In our opinion Jayadeva wu ono of the gems of Lakshmana Sena's court, which is supported by Professor Lassen's opinion. In the doorway of Lakshmana Sena's palaoa, a slab hua boon found in. soribed as follows:
गोवर्धनश्च शरणो जयदेव उमापतिः ।
कविराजश्व रत्नानि समिती लक्ष्मणस्य च ॥ "In the court of Lakshmana Séns, there were five Roma, vis. Govardhana, Sarana, Jayadeva, UmApati, and Kavirja." The opening lines of Jayadeva's poom contain some of the names of these gems, as follows:
वाचः पक्रवयत्युमापतिधरः सन्दर्भशुद्धि गिरां जानीते जयदेव एव शरणः इलाध्यो दुरूहहुतेः। शृंगारोत्तरसत्पमेयरचनैराचार्यगोवर्धनः
स्पर्धी को ऽपि न विश्रुत: श्रुतिधरोधोपी कवि:क्ष्मापतिः॥ (Not translated in the original. The translation in here given :"Umpati is prolix in his language, and Jayadeva alone knows how to give a regular coherenoo to his words, while Sarans is worthy to be praised for the use with which he composes difficult verses. The master Govar. dhana is famous for his compositions excellently describing the most perfeot love, and the poet Dhiyl, lord of the earth, is famous and without a rival." According to Maithil tradition there were two Jayadeva, vis. (1) the famous author of the Gita-Givinda and (2) & less known poet, who with Vidy&pati and Um&pati adorned the court of king Siva-Simha; see J. A. 8. B. p. 76, ap. number, Part I. 1984, Twenty-one Vaishnava Hymne, edited and translated by G. A. Grierson.-G.A.G.1.
A comparison of these two passages makes it certain that Jayadeva was a member of the court of Lakshmana Sens. His songe quickly spread throughout India. The colebrated poet of Rajasthana, Chand, in a cutalogue of
