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Sudarshan Kumar Sharna
Kanāda and Vasistha and the names of Gautam, Patañjali, Bihaspati Kautilya and Väisyāyam were alien to him being neither his predecessor nor contempoiaries
At least Sukra does not evince any acquaintance with Kautilya and bis Arthasastra ou Vatsyayana and his Kamasutra though he had full coguisance of the theory of Nyāya-Vatseșika through the psychic activity of Sankhya and Yoga and had the knowledge of the Science of Polity through the rājadharina sections of Mahabharata and had the fust hand knowledge of the Kamaśāstra, through lis study of Vedas, Vedāngas. Kalpa Sūtras. His expert knowledge of the Prosody in IV 3.45-46. that of Ganita-Jyotisa in IV 3.44.7 Samkhya and Vedānta in IV 48-49 Purānam Pancalaksanam in IV. 3 52-53 and that of Smrtis in Varnādidharmasmranam yatra vedāvirodhakam,
Kirttanam cārtliastāsrānām smộtih sä сa prakirttitā. in 1V 3.53-54 (pp 228-29)
All these make it amply manifest that Sukra belonged to the preka utilyan epoch. His allusion to Nänaka'94 a coin referred 10 by Sūdraka in his Mrcchakatika (1.23 p 30 M.R. KALE) "eşā nāņaka mostka makastka" etc and Kayasthao 7 also referred to by Sūdraka (pp 182 and 308 M. R. Kale) also confirms the same view that lie was a little carlier than Sūdraka and Canakya who has been referred to by the latter.. Brhatkathā alluding to 'Agneyāstra' in X.4.194 and "Dināra" in X.4.214,222.228 equally confirms it.
To conclude this dissertation it becomes pertinent to remark that Kaviputra' or 'Kavi' having a Putra Kaviputra" in contemporaneity of Bhasa and Saumilla the three having a kinship through birth or in the form of pation and protege as such within the span of a Century referred lo by Kalidasa within the prologue of his play Malavikāgnimitram could be Sūdraka the famous author of Mrcchakatika and Sukräcārya the famous author of Sukraniti meant as such punningly hy Kalidasa.
Footnotes
1. Paper read at the All India Oriental Conference 33rd Session Calcutta
held from Oct 24-26,1986. 2. Lecture Senior Scale in Sanskrit Govt Rajindra College Bathinda
(Pb) 151001. 3. Kale. M.R, Revised by Dave. Prof. Jayanand, A.R. Sheth & Co;
published by Mahendra A. Sheth, Princess Street, Bombay-2, 1960, p.4,
