Indian Antiquary Vol 53

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

Page 14

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
Cutch, it also rapidly strengthened its influence and extended its sphere of activity further in the north. This appears to be a plausible interpretation of the story of Vasulakshmi-kalyanam, in the absence of other evidence to connote an actual marriage of the king with a Sindhu princess called Vasulakshmi. Her name, which means literally the Goddess of Wealth, may aptly do duty for a personification of the anticipated commercial prosperity of the State consequent on the new colonisation by the northern merchants, whose introduction into the country and the grant of special privileges to whom were, however, first viewed with disfavour and jealousy by the conservative 'natives of the soil', as personified in the legal consort Vasumatî (the Earth), until their prejudice was tided over by proper arguments adduced by the able minister; while Vasumân, the vêladurgapala (the portofficer ?), who was also convinced of the advantages that would accrue to the State by Vasulakshmi's marriage (increased commercial activity), heartily sided with the minister in his endeavours to win over Vasumati's consent.
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[ JANUARY, 1924
If the above significance was really intended by the author of the drama, he could have better achieved his purpose by a more direct treatment of the subject, which though it would have robbed him of opportunities for much sentimental rhapsody, would however have enhanced the value of his work with its quasi-historical associations. Or, if it was considered that a drama could not endure without the enlivening pigment of love, some manly historical theme connected with the great king's public life, touched up here and there with the poetic brush of imagination, could equally well have furnished the author with the necessary outlines for ardent colouring; but instead both the authors have pitched upon the marriage of a hypothetical Sindhu princess for their plots! All the same, the dramas under reference are good productions so far as their literary side is concerned, and the second author, true to his pedigree from the great Advaitin Appayya-Dikshita, has managed to give a philosophical twist to some of the mundane experiences of love.
I am indebted to Pandit V. Srinivasa Sastriar for bringing to my notice the existence of the two manuscripts in the Palace Library and for reading out the works from the ill written cadjan; he has also helped me with some references.
VASUBANDHU OR SUBANDHU.1
(A Glimpse into the Literary History of the Mauryan Age.) By A. RANGASWAMI SARASWATI, B.A.
THE relation of the life of the famous Buddhist philosopher Vasubandhu to the history of the Gupta Empire forms an important landmark in the literary history of India. Paramartha, a famous Buddhist author of the sixth century and the author of a biography of Vasubandhu, states that Vikramaditya of Ajodhya, who at first was a liberal patron of the Sankhya philosophy, was induced by the eloquence of the celebrated Vasubandhu to turn a favourable ear to the teachings of Buddhism and to patronise its professors with equal liberality. His queen and the prince Baladitya, who later on succeeded to the throne, both became disciples of Vasubandhu, and Balâditya after his accession continued his favours to the Buddhist sage. The famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hiuen Tsang also gives a variant form of the story, describing the king as Vikramaditya of Srâvasti. This information about the life of Vasubandhu is augmented from an unexpected source. The ancient work on Alankara, written in the form of aphorisms (sûtras) by Vâmana, who also composed a gloss upon it, cites a half-verse wherein Vasubandhu appears to be referred to. This was first
1 This paper was first prepared in the year 1921 and read before the Second Oriental Conference in January, 1922.