Indian Antiquary Vol 53

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 11

JANUARY, 1924) RAMAVARMA-YASOBHUSHANAM AND VASUMATI-KALYANAM
This, in short, is a summary of the five-act drama purged of all the extraneous matter that had of necessity to be introduced to illustrate the several rules and definitions of dra. maturgy and the long drawn love-scenes diotated by the conventional canons of literary tradition. It is not known if there is any inner significance underlying the story of Vasulakshmi's parentage in far-off Sindhu, her shipwreck on the Travancore shores en route to Ceylon, and her marriage with Ramavarman to the discomfiture of the two other rivals in the field, the princes respectively of Sinhala and Pandya. In the present state of our ignorance about the royal household of king Ramavarman, we can only say that this love-episode is a mere creation of the poet's imagination and the combined result of an anxiety on his part to flatter his patron and to compose a work in the accepted style, in conformity with the orthodox literary rules. The names given by the author to the important dramatis personae are very misleading and, except the name of the king, there is none other answering, so far as we know, to those of contemporary historical personages. The minister bears the professionally significant name of Nitisagara, while the coast-captain is a Vasumadrája, his sister is a Vasumati, and the Sindhu princess is a Vasulakshmi, all these three being derived from the word Vasu (=wealth). The suggestion therefore offers itself whether the author wanted to glorify in allegory some of the king's and his uncle's conquests81 and annexations near by, though not in Sindh, or whether a merchantman laden with cargo from Sindh and bound for Ceylon, which was perhaps stranded on the Travancore shores owing to the inclemency of the weather, was overhauled as prize by the Travancore coasting garrison and sent as salvage to the king at his capital.22
There is again in the same Library an extremely ill-copied manuscript of another fiveact drama called by the same title of Vasulakshmi-kalyanam, which is stated to have been composed in the year Visvavasuo3, without any indication, however, of its equivalent in the Saka or the Kollam era ; but as Kollam 960 (A.D. 1785), the twenty-sixth year of reign of Ramavarman, was also the cyclio year Visvavasu, that year may be taken to be the date of composition of this drama. Its hero is the same illustrious king of Travancore24 and its author, who is different from Sadasive, the composer of the other drama inserted into the Yasóbhushanam, is a certain Venkatasubrahmanyadhvariņ26 of the famous family
11 Travancore State Manual, Vol. I, pp. 333 et seq. 92 There is (however, no) reference to such an incident in the Travancore State Manual.
3 The more names of the year are and TH are mentionod at the end, without any other tronomical details or the year in any of the eras, Kali, Baka or Kollam. ______ तवामुष्यायणस्यास्य प्रबन्धे विशिष्य पुण्यमहाराजरामवर्मकुलशेखरचरितानुबन्धे कुतो नमे भूयाना
TT: Fara! 36 s em ftregns() # l. Jarosu
तत्पुनेषु वशाधिकेष्वपि दृतीयस्सिामप्पावरी । तस्माचापि भवानीशकरमखी क्येष्टी गुणेरावभूत्
तस्यैकाऽजनि वेङ्कटेश्वरमखी बस्यायमूनुः कविः ॥ विवल्कुलगुर्वप्पय्यमखिनां वंशो महोन्नतो जीयात् ।
वेटसुब्रमण्याथ्वरिकविविटुन्मणिर्यतोादभूत् ॥ इत एवाधीतनिगमादिसर्ववियः दिगन्तविदितनिजवैखरीविभववित्रासिबविमतवादिगजकसरी वडारण्येश्वरवाजपेयवाजीत्यभिज्ञायते ।