Indian Antiquary Vol 41

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 252

248
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
ENOVEMBER, 1912.
personage, as he bad attained proficiency in and wrote treatises on all the Sdstras. The most important of his works is an elaborate commentary on the Mahabhdshya:
दृष्ट्वा शेषषिशेषशेषविविधप्रख्यातिसख्यस्पृशं यं श्रीमानधिशिश्रिये स्वबमहो विष्णु पुराणः पुमान् । यस्पोक्ता किल शेषभाषितमहाभाष्याब्धिपोताविता व्याख्या का चिवचितोचितनया जागर्ति लोकत्रये॥ वस्यान्यानि निबंधनानि बशो न्यावे ऽथ वैशोषिके मीमांसाबुगले श्रुतिस्मृतिपये मार्कसिद्धांतयोः। नित्यं जैमिनिगौतमाविकणभुग्गगादिनामावली
वल्पयोयतया विशति विषां ओवे प्रविश्य स्फुटम् ।। Vishņu seems to have been a specialist in the science of Vydkarana :
फणिभाषितभाष्यस्य तवं [v.1. सारं] वेत्ति सरस्वती।
शेषो वा शेषविष्णुर्वा नान्योऽस्ति धरणीतले॥ This verse is quoted by Sasha Govinda in his commentary on Sarvasiddhanta-sangraha, At the same place it is said that some attribute the verse to Krishņa, reading 9560 in the place of शेषविष्णुा .
Vishņu, therefore, is the first member of the Sesha family as yet known. He was a great scholar and author, and we do not meet with any other member of it until we descend to Narasimha. This Narasimha was a great scholar, and composed the Govindarinava, as has been said above. He it was who gained for the family the title of Bhatta-bhatárakar even before he removed to Benares. It was conferred upon him by the pandits of the court of the king of Vidyanagara (now identified with Bijapur).
This Govind drņava was a dharmaídstra work. The author says it was composed at the request of Govindaobandra, of the Srivastaka family, king of Tindava, opposite to nodern Benares.
पुरहरपुरतः पुरतः घरसरितश्चीपतीरमन्तरिता। विविधारिभवैः [v.1. अभिभवैः] विभवैरभिरामा राजते नगरी ।। सुरसरिदुपकण्ठे नीलकण्ठो यहीयं त्रिभुवनकमनीयं वीक्ष्य रम्यत्वमव । भधृत सुकृतसारे ताण्डवं तेन नाम्ना
प्रमितिरिह पृथिव्यामास्ति ताण्डोत यस्य॥ There is, however, a difficulty as to the authorship of the Govindarnava. In the introduotory Verses, it isstatel that Narasimha was the author. But Krishpa, in his Sudrasharajiromani, claims Govindargava as his own larger work on law: भव अपरो विशेषो गोविंदार्णवे ऽस्मत्कृते बः । Mr. S. K. Belwalkar, late Assistant Professor of the Deccan College, Poona, says that "it the statement in Sadrachāratiromani is of any value, it can only mean (a) that Sesha Krishna, perhaps at the request of his father, completed the work left incomplete by Narasińha, whatever be the cause that prevented him from completing it himself, (b) Sesha Krishna may have written a running commentary on the work." In the Govindarnava, Narasimha's father is said to be one Ramachandra, and beyond this the work states nothing about him. We cannot therefore Bay how Ramachandra was related to Vishņu. He is spoken of as a great scholar in the following verses from Govindarnata:
तबाभूत्सकलकलाकलापकौतूहलावासः। श्रीरामचंद्रविबुधः परममहापुरुषलक्षणोपेतः॥
तकें कर्कशतां वहन तितरां माहे तयाखुबटो वेदांतेषु पटुः सयातिनिपुणः सांख्यपि विश्वातधीः।