Indian Antiquary Vol 47

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

Page 102

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(APRIL, 1918
17. Saiva-sastra-jivatu, and
18. Akhilavêda-sâgara-sâ myåtrika. Of these a very large number of the birudas qualify Arunagiri or Sônådrinatha than glorify his son; the son born of the merits of such a great man as Arunagirisa who bore almost all the foregoing birudas, was Rajanathakavi, the author of the saļuvabhyudayam. But in the Achyutaräyábhyudayam not even the name of the father of the poet is given ; one thing, however, is certain, namely, that the author of the Achyutarayabhyudayam and the Bhagavata Champu are identical, as will be observed from the introductory verses in both, extracts of which are given in the appendix; the authors of these two poems were the contemporaries of Achyutadêvaraya. The verse beginning with dhammilla-saiváladhara is found, without the least change, in both poems. From the facts detailed above some feel'inclined to dissociate the two Rajanathas, the authors of the Saluvábhyudayam and of the Achyutarayabhyudayam and treat them as two different persons; there is also apparently some ground for their doing so, because, the one deals with the history of a king who lived at least 25 years earlier than the king whose exploits are recorded in the second poem. It might also be stated that it cannot be that the title-less Râjanåtha (the grandfather of the highly-soundingtitled Râjanatha, whose father's name even is not mentioned), was the author of the kávya dealing with a later king and his grandson, the composer of the kdvya dealing with the history of the earlier king. One gets out of this difficulty, if one admits that the author of the Saluvâbhrudayam, the Achyutarayabhyudayam and the Bhagavata-champu was one and the same person, Rajanatha, the son of Arunagiri. If this conclusion is admitted, as it must be, the genealogy of the poets of Mullandram could be shown as related to that of the sásana writors of the Vijayanagara kings thus :Kasyapag ôtra
Götamagotra Abhirama
Kaviprabhu, the opponent (Dindimaprabhu)
of Någan pakavi
SabhApati
Abhiramanayika
married to Rajanathadelika
Ganaparya
Svayambhu-married to Suster
Kåmåkshi or
Kamakoti
Bonagiri or Arunagirinathe (possesso: several birudas)
Kamaya Krishnakayi Ramakavi Rájanatha Ramakavi Rajanathakavi
kavi (author of the (author of the Salu
Subhadrd- vabhyudayam, the Dhanafijaya ) Achyutaršydbhyuda
yam and the Bhaga
vata.champu). Sốmantha
The identification of the cásana writers of the kings of Vijayanagara with the poets of Mullandram is based upon the following considerations: (i) The poets of Mullandram and the sâsana writers of the Vijayanagara kings bear the
same names. (ii) They both have written the eulogies of the kings of Vijayanagara. (ii) They both were the protégés of the Vijayanagara kings and possibly because, (iv) as the poets, according to the Vivêkapatramálå were the followers of the Srikanthagama
and bore the high-sounding title Aghôrasivacharyas, were able to induce the family guru of the Vijayanagara kings, Kriyâsakti Pandita to exert his influence with the kings to procure for them the hereditary position (mirdsi) of the bdsana writers of the kings.