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V. M. Kulka'ni
and Prakrit. The only Prakrit work of his that we know is the Vişamabana-lilā (now lost). We have only a few gāthas quoted from this work by Anandavardhana himself in his Dhvanyaloka and by 'Abhinavagupta in his commentary on it called Locana. In one gåtha (!?) the poet says : "Merits become merits when they are appreciated by the cultured critics. Lotuses become lotuses when they are favoured by the rays of the sun." From a reference in Dhvanyaloka we come to kaow that the work coatained speeches of the god of love and his companions like Spring, Youth, wind from the Malaya mountain, and others. (18)
In another gatha Anandavardhana says : "There is no limit to them and they never look like repetitions; (They stand for) the sportive graces of the beloveds and the meanings of the words of good poets."(19) In still another gåtha the poet says:
"The heart of the Asuras was solely intent on seizing the kausiubha jewel which was churned out of the ocean along with the goddess Lakşmi. But the god of love set it on the bimba-like red lower-lips of their beloveds."(20)
From the contents of these gathās and from the title itself : “The Sports of Cupid" it is reasonable to infer that the work must have dealt with the subject of love.
(2) Praise of Prakrit Poetry
Håla, the renowned poet and compiler whose literary fame rests on Gatha saptasati in Prakrit, thus sings the glory of Prakrit Poetry :
"Those who do not know how to recite and hear (appreciate) Prakrit poetry which is (like) nectar (itself) - how do they not feel abashed (embarrassed) while they carry on discussion or talk about the nature of love ?''(21)
Here Hāla draws our attention to two salient features of Prakrit Poetry - its sweetness and its eroticism.
In his anthology called Vajjālaggam Jayavallabha includes the following two gathās which are in praise of Prakrit Poetry :
"The utterances of fair women) full of indistinctly uttered letters. their charming and playful smiles and side-long oblique glances shot through half-closed and half-opened eyes -- these to be sure cannot be understood without acquaintance with the gathas.(22) And,
While Prakrit poetry, charming, full of sweet (pleasing) sounds (diction), loved by young ladies and characterised by the sentiment of love is available, who can possibly bear to read Sanskrit Poetry ?(23)
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