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NAYAKUMĀRACARIU
of Nágak. (VII, 14), of the bunyan tree (VIII. 9), of the submission of the warriors and marriage of the maidens (VIII, 16), and of the water jars used for the coronation of Nāgak. (IX, 2.). The poet's play upon the word vārana (II, 5, 3-4) and on baddha (VII, 9) and the series of similes describing Nāgakumāra's liking for Laxmimati (IX, 2) together with the above mentioned examples of yamaka and slesa exercise the mind as well as entertain it, by exhibiting all the elegance and ornamentation of artificial poetry. In fact the whole work is teeming with sweet alliterations, appropriate and striking paronomasia and delightful fancies. These the poet has well succeeded in combining with swift and easy narrative. The story is meant to illustrate the fruit of a religious fast but it has been told in the grand manner of a kávya. The poet has rightly invoked the goddess Speech 'moving in the mansion of a mahākāvya, resplendent with her double ornaments, taking soft, sportive padas with multifold blandishments and feelings, giving delight by commendable sense, combining all arts and sciences and exalted characterstics, moving by the broad-metre-road, bearing the ten qualities, sprinkled over with the nine sentiments and beautified with the three vigrahas.' By mentioning the ten prāṇas the poet has revealed his acquaintence with the works of Bhāmaha and Dandi. In the body of the work, besides the above invokation, the poet, by means of some stray similes, has told us what he considered to be the essentials of good poetry. A great poet would compose a sentimental kāvya in Mātrā metre (V, 2, 4; VI, 9, 5) a good kavya requires a choice of brilliant forms and phrases (VI, 9, 8), a good poet pays attention to the style of language (IX, 2, 4), a poet graces himself by means of a story well told (IX, 3, 2) and shorn of ornamentation is the story of a quack-poet (III, 11, 12). He also tells us that a drama becomes exalted when it combines various sentiments (VI, 9, 6). His somewhat humorous reference to grammarians as fond of derivation of words has already been mentioned. In another simile he mentions the Kātantra grammar (VI, 9, 7).
The conclution to which we are led by these references is that the poet's statement that he knew nothing of the works of prominent writers of yore is a mere modesty as also his statement in the present work that he was unable to describe things being a dull poet (VI,911), and that his titles of Mahakai Vaesaridevi-nikea and kavva-pisalla stand amply justified.
7. Picture of palace and public life.
Palace and Polygamy :--The theme of the present story is the life of a prince and as such it gives us a great insight into the life at palace and incidentally also in public. Kings lived in palaces and seven storied buildings were known to the poet. The canon of measurements of such buildings formed part of a prince's education (III, 1,9). An important part of the palace was the harem (antahpur) which was portioned out in many residences for the queens, of which there were generally more than one. Jayandhara married Prthvidevi even when he had his first wife Visālanetrā who was perfect in every way, and a grown up
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