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JAINISM AND KARNATAKA CULTURE
merit, which nothing but the bitterness of theological hatred would have excluded so long from the list of the classics of India.” 79 For an elaborate notice of this work, however, we must refer to Peterson's Report from which the above citation is made. We can find room here only for a few important illustrations. In the words of the poet himself,
कांजलिपुटैः पातुं चेतः सूक्तामृते यदि । श्रूयतां सोमदेवस्य नव्याः काव्योक्तियुक्तयः॥ लोकवित्वे कवित्वे वा यदि चातुर्यचंचवः ।
सोमदेवकवेः सूक्तिः समभ्यस्यन्तु साधवः ॥ विद्याविनोदवनवासितकृच्छुकेन पुस्तव्यलेखिविलसाल्लिपिरच्छुकेन ।
श्रीसोमदेवरचितस्य यशोधरस्य सल्लोकमाम्यगुणरलमहीधरस्य ॥ 80 The date and place of composition are thus stated at the end of the work:
शकनृपकालातीतसंवत्सरशतेष्वष्टस्वकाशात्यधिकेषु गतेचंकतः ८८१ सिद्धार्थसंव. सरांतर्गतचैत्रमासमदनत्रयोदश्यां पांयसिंहलोचचेरमप्रभृतीन महीपतीन् प्रसाध्य मेल्याटी प्रवर्धमानराज्यप्रभावे श्रीकृष्णराजदेवे सति तत्पादपयोपजीविनः समाधि गतपंचमहाशब्दमहासामंताधिपत्तेचालुक्यकुलजन्मनः सामंतचूडामणेः श्रीमदरिफ्रेसरिणः प्रथमपुत्रस्य श्रीमद्रागराज प्रवर्धमानवसुंधरायां गंगाधरायां विनिर्यापितमिदं काव्यामिति ॥
इति सफलताकिलोकचूडामणेः श्रीमन्नेमिदेवभगवतः शिष्येण सोनवचगव. पथविद्याधरचक्रवर्तिशिखंडमंडनी भवञ्चरणकमलेन श्रीसोमदेवमरिणा विरचिते यशोधरमहाराजचरिते यशस्तिलकापरनाम्नि महाकाव्ये धर्मामृतवर्षमहोत्सवो नामा. ष्टम आवासः॥८॥81 It is clear from this that the work was written in Saka 881 at the court of Arikësari's son, a Cālukya feaudatory of Kțşņa III, Rāșțrakūta. Nemideva is given as the name of Somadeva's guru. In the words of Peterson, as already noted, " It represents a lively picture of India at a time when the Buddhist, Jaina, and Brāhmanical religions were still engaged in a contest that drew towards it the attention, and well nigh absorbed the
79 Peterson, op. cit. IV, p. 33. 80 Cf. Sri Aliak Pannālal Digambara Jaina Saraswati Bhavana Second
Report, pp. 84-5. al Tbid., p. 86.
