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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[DEORMBER, 2002.
On the other hand, the Prabandha is incorrect in stating that Amarapandita and, through him, Arisimha came to the court of Dholkâ only during the reign of Visaladeva, circa Vikrama-Samvat 1296 to 1318. For soon after Visaladeva's accession Vastupala lost bis high position and died, as Narachandra had prophesied, in the Vikrama year 1998. From the Suksitasankirtana it is apparent, however, that it was written when the minister was in the zenith of his power. This is proved, for instance, by two verses at the end of the first and second cantos :
I. 42. - Daily, illustrious prince of the council, Vastupala, the Brahmans cry blessings on you : Long may you live !'-the bard princes: May you attain the age of Brabmü !' - and noble women : May, you never grow old and be immortal!' But I will also say something : *May you rejoice in your life as long as your far-reaching fame dances in the sky.”
II.52.-"Heavenly (wishing) cow, (paradise) trees, (wish-fulfilling) precious stones! Why hide ye yourselves in the tottering rocks of the divine mountain (Mera)P Adomn the earth; nobody demands you! May the illustrious minister Vastapals alone live for ever!"
It is hence certain that both poets stood in close relation to the minister who served Visaladeva's father, and their connection with him, according to the last verse, is scarcely doubtfal. For when an Indian poet praises the generosity of his hero in the above manner, it is & certain sign that he has either experienced the same or hopes to do so. There are, however, a number of other passages which make it still clearer that Amarachandra and probably also Arisimha belonged to Vascapula's suite of poets which the Praband has often mention. The next vers, II. 54, onght to suffice to convince the most incredulous. It says: - "Poverty has resignedly deserted so completely those men who continually rejoice in praising Vastapâla that she, indolent in spite of the command of the gods, does not even cross the threshold of their neighhours' honses." That is to say, in simple prose, that the singer and other poets were well paid by Vastupala. If one must accept from this that Rajasekhara places the prime of Amarachandra and Arisimha too late, it need not therefore be concluded that they had no connection with Zealadeve. It is very possible that they kept themselves in favour at the Court of Dholki after Viradhavala's death and the fall of Vastupala.
As to the exact date of oomposition of the poem we need not be content to ascribe it merely in general to the period of Vikrama-Barvat 1276-1296 or 1297, during which Vastupila occupied his high position. It will be seen later, from the comparison of his statements concerning Vastupâla's buildings with the inscriptions, that it was probably written about the Vikrama year 1285. It is probably some years younger than the Kirtik aumuds. The Sukritasankirtana seems never to have found much esteem even with the Jainas. Neither Rajasekhara in the Prabandhakosha, nor Jinaharsha in the Vastupalacharita, quotes it, although the latter gives long extracts from older sources. Both follow Somebvara's Kirtilaunuudi, the greater fame of which put the poem of the less distinguished Arisimha in the shade. Its anthor Arisinha is perhaps mentioned in Sarigadbara's Paldhati, where & verse of a certain Arasl-Thakkura, No. 76 (Peterson's edition), is mentioned. Arast stands for Arist, and is a quite correct Prakrit form of Arisimhs (see Ueber das Navaadhasánkacharita, p. 39), which 8 still frequently used in Gujarat. The identity of the two persons is, of course, by no means roved by the similarity of their names, but is only a possibility.
• Kirtikaumudt, PP. xviii-xix; Irabandhakosha, p. 288:- Sre-Vastupalo jvardrwy llena podstastijalıp dlarla sputrapautrani saputranh cha jayantarinhabhaahata !
vatsah Sri-Narachandrashribhirialadharibhil 1887 Farahd Bhadrapada bads 10 din divagama nesamay
vayamukta
mantrin 1998 wargarohanan bhavishyati Il.
• As a further proof of this, it may be mortioned that the Oambay MS. of the Padmananda-Kavya was written in the Vikrama year 1297.
