Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 01

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 254

216
/ Jijāsā
The refined tastes of the urban elite are manifest from their cultivation of poetry, music, fine arts and various learned pastimes. Connecting these urban manifestations with the availability of surplus and urban leisure, Mumford observed that activities that sprang to life only on festal occasions in ruder communities became part of the daily existence of the city. 168 Contemporary Prākrit works reveal deep interest in poetics, story-telling, singing, playing on various musical instruments, dramatic performances, painting and various types of riddles on words and completion of unfinished verses. 169 The Jodhpur inscription of Bāuka, the Mandor Pratihāra ruler, 837 CE, refers to Bāuka's extraordinary knowledge of prosody, grammar, astronomy, various arts and poetry. 170 The Ghatiyālā Sanskrit inscriptions of Kakkuka, 861 CE, contain a verse written by him which testifies to his skill in versification and speak of his fondness for the lute, sweet music and the mälati flowers. 171 According to the Prabhāvakacarita, Nāgabhata II, the Imperial Pratihāra ruler, was a great patron of letters, distributing his favours equally to orthodox Hindu and Jaina scholars. 172
Among the Prākrit compositions the Samarāiccakahā and Dhurtākhyāna of Haribhadra along with the Kuvalayamālā of Uddyotana and among Sanskrit compositions the Siśupālavadha of Māgha are all works of high literary merit belonging to the period and reflective of an urban milieu. The Präkrita works represent some of the best Jaina narrative literature, beautifully composed by two of the most distinguished Svetāmbara Jaina preceptors. Written entirely in verse, the Dhūrtākyhāna is a satire unique in Indian literature, with an intellectual approach and a delightful mingling of fantasy and reality. The Kuvalavamälä, is an early example of the campū form, which is characterized by a natural blending of prose and verse both of which flow out spontaneously for the poetic effect of narration. Strings of similes and puns as well as various poetic metres embellish the work.173
A notable feature of these Prākrit works was that they targeted the urban masses as their audience. Consequently, the literary medium employed by them was not Sanskrit but Prākrit. This again in the Kuvalayamālā was interspersed with forms, vocabulary and expressions drawn from Apabhramsa and regional dialects, the narrative deftly mingling romantic situations and humorous episodes with a religious theme in order to cater to popular tastes and sentiments. 174
The Sanskrit epic poem Siśupālavadha possesses much luxuriance of expression and imagination, which led orthodox scholars to claim that Māgha combined in himself Kālidāsa's power in metaphorical expression, Dandin's grace and Bhāravi's depth of thought. 175
Urban centres possessed a distinctive form of administration. The Prākrit works reveal that the ruler worked in close co-operation with the town elders known as nagaramahallakas or nagaramahantakas and the pañcakula, both representatives of the popular element. He associated the former with the investigation of thefts and they accompanied the king's officer conducting a search at the suspect's house, evidently in a supervisory capacity. Preservation of local peace and order was an important concern of theirs. The Samarāiccakahā describes how an assembly of mahantakas effectively resolved a dispute between two śreşthiputras (sons of śresthins), by dispatching after due deliberation, four distinguished representatives to reprimand the offenders for their ill-placed vanity. Their wishes are said to have carried weight as commands.76 The Kuvalayamālā relates how at the occurrence of a sudden theft of thefts in the city, the nagaramahallakas called upon the ruler to remind him of his responsibilities and gained prompt audience and action. 177
The pancakula assisted the ruler in the administration of justice. In the Samarāiccakahā, judicial investigations regarding the looting of a king's treasury are conducted by a joint committee of the