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54
JASAHARACARIU
fore have to accept 959 A. D. as the year in which Puşpadanta commenced his Mahāpurāņa. Puşpadanta's patron Bharata lived to see the completion of this work, but may have perhaps lost his life in defence of the city in the year 972 A, D. Puşpadanta mentions or refers to, I think, this event in the last line of the following verse at the opening of the 50th chapter of his Uttarapurāna MS. of Kāranja:
'दीनानाथधनं सदाबहुजनं प्रोत्फुल्लवल्लीवनं मान्याखेटपुरं पुरंदरपुरीलीलाहरं सुन्दरम् । धारानाथनरेन्द्रकोपशिखिना दग्धं विदग्धप्रियं
क्वेदानी वसति करिष्यति पुनः श्रीपुष्पदन्तः कविः ।। As I have already remarked above, the Sanskrit verses in praise of the poet's patron are found only in some of the MSS. of his works, which shows that they were inserted by the poet at his leisure after some of the copies of his work had already gone out. It is not necessary to argue therefore that the plunder of Mányakheța must have taken place before the Mahāpurāņa was completed in 966 A. D. Shortly after this event, in 972 A, D., Puspadanta once more secured the patronage of Bharata's son Nanna, and resumed his poetic activity which gave to the world two more works, the Jasaharacariu and the Nāgakumāracariu.
In order to make clear the above arguments as to the date of Puşpadanta, I quote below a long extract from Rai Bahadur Hiralal's Introduction to his Catalogue, page xliv ff.
"As for the date of the author, we have the following verses towards the end of the Uttarapurāņa :पुप्फयंतकरणा धुयपंके
जइ अहिमाणमेरुणामंकें। कयउ कव्वु भत्तिइ परमत्थे *जिणपयपंकयमउलियहत्थें ।
कोहणसंबच्छर आसाढइ दहमइ दियहे चंदसइरूढइ । These verses convey that Puşpadanta completed the Purāņa on the 10th of the bright fortnight of Aşādha in Krodhana samvatsara. Apparently there is no mention of the year in the verses, and hence we have to look for other data in the work to determine the year. Puşpadanta tells us that he was the protege of Bharata, the minister of king Subhatungarāya of Mānyakheta. The same king at other places in the work has been referred to as Vallabharaya. On both these names we have in the manuscripts a marginal explanatory note Krsnarāja,” which proves that the note-maker thought Subhatuugarāya and Vallabharāya to be only different names of "Krsnarāja". History tells us that there have been three kings bearing the name of Krsnarāja in the Rastrakūta dynasty of the South. In the time of Krsnarāja I, the Rāştrakūta capital was not at Mãnyakheta but near Nasik. Amoghavarşa I whose reign began in 815 A. D., established Manyak heça as a capital town and Kșsparāja II and III sat on the throne there. Krsna II reigned from about 722 to 788 and for Krsna III we have epigraphical and literary records of years ranging from Saka 861 to 881 ( A. D. 939 to 959). In order to decide as to which of these two kings has been referred to by Puşpadanta, we should examine some other data
). The Kolhapur MS, of the Uttarapurāna does not give this verse at all.
2. The Kolhapur MS. of the Uttara purāņa confirms this reading in the text as against another reading given below from the Poona MS.
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