Indian Antiquary Vol 53

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

Page 12

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(JANUARY, 1024
of Appayya-Dikshita (1553-1626) of Adaiyyappalam, whose genealogy is traced in the prasthavand of the drama in the following manner :
Appayya- Dikshita (1654–1626)
Other sons.
Nilakanthadh varin (last son) 26
author of Nalacharitam
1)
(2)
(More than 7 other sons).
(3) SimhamappAdh varin
(Chinnappayya ?) author of Umparinayam Bhavanisan kara-Makhin
(eldest son) Vêņkat&svara-Makhin, author of Ushaharanam
Venkatasubrahmanyadhvarin .
Vajaranyésvara-Vajapêyayajin author of Vasulakshmi kalyanam.
brother and disciple of author. The plot of this drama, though similar in all essential particulars to that of the model drama noticed above, has been amplified in some details ; but it is also unfortunately dovoid of any specific ' historical interest, except that the marriage of the princess of Sindh with Ramavarman is stated to have been a diplomatic alliance, calculated to raise him to the status of a Sarvabhauma through the augmented friendship of the Hanaraja 27 (the Hon'ble East India Company ?). There is no reference at all to the attempted invasion of Travancore by Haidar 'Ali (A.D. 1769), or to the anxious political outlook of the country with the incubus of an impending foreign invasion looming to the north of the Travancore Lines, or even to the MahArdja's grand pilgrimage to Ramdevaram, which was undertaken in A.D. 178418 just a year previous to the date of compilation of the drama. Instead, the author has given the usual conventional setting to the whole plot, which makes it difficult to discover whether, if at all, any allegorical significance has to be read between the lines. With the exception of king Ramavarman, the hero, all the other important characters of the drama are given fictitious names coined from the same Sanskrit word vasu,' as can be seen from the appended list.
BuddhisAgara-Travancore minister, Vasusêne Commander, Vasumati-the consort of the Travancore Maharaja, Vasuman--the consort's brother and frontier-captain, Vasuvarman-Chêra prinoe, Vagunidhi-Sindhurâja, Vasurasi-his son, and Vasulakshmi the Sindhu princess. The story of this drama is briefly as follows
The minister Buddhis&gara; who has seen the portrait of Vasulakshmi, the Sindhu princess, is anxious that the king of Travancore should marry her, so that the latter's political
38 This name is incorrectly mentioned as Srikantha in the sloka, but it ought to be Nilakantha: compare also अस्य कवेः पूर्विकाः श्रीमदप्पय्याध्वरितनुच्छन्नस्य भगवतचन्द्रमालरंचभूताः नीलकण्ठमखिचिन्नप्पय्बावरिबेटेश्वरमखिप्रभाकरदीक्षितप्रभृतयः षडर्शनीवल्लभाऽपि नळ चरितोमापरिणयोषाहरणहरिश्चन्द्रानन्दप्रभृतिभिरपरिमितेefterf r a, otr. The genealogy of Nilakantha, the author of Naļavila so as given on page 121 of Vol. XI of the Mythic Society's Journal requires rovision.
"परीक्ष्य लक्षणज्ञाता देवज्ञानांमुखास्वयं ।
निवेषीविवादुस्तां सार्वभौमत्वलम्भिकाम् ॥ 38 Travancore State Manual, VoL I, Pago 384.