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PREFACE
(thirteen
Siddharāja and Kumārapāla that Cambay had reached this height of fame as a flourishing trade centre. Soon after the death of Kumärapāla, the royal sway of Anahillapura vas weakened and the political chaos consequent upon this brought down the decline of Cambay. When, through the shrewdness and skill of Vastupāla, Viradhavala took in his hands the administration of Cambay, it was almost in the state of a deserted city. It was during the reigns of Siddharāja and Kumārapāla that the north-western boundary of the kingdom of Gujarat had reached right up to the banks of the Indus and hence it was natural that the merchants from that frontier would run their business firms in Cambay which then occupied the position of being the foremost port of the kingdom of Gujarat. From all these I infer that the Samdesarāsaka must have been composed during the reign of Siddharāja or Kumārapāla i. e, in the latter half of the 12th century or at the latest, the first half of the 13th century of the Vikrama era.
From the point of view of language also, the above suggested date appears to fit well. The particular form of language in which the poem is written gives us an impression that it must have been living and understandable by all at that time. The poet's aim was to make his work charming and attractive to the average man of his times and he can succeed in his aim then and then only, when he composes the poem in easy language and a plain style. The poet Abdala Rahamāna being an inhabitant of some place in the western part of India and different from the Hindus in religion and culture, cannot possibly have acquaintance with the language that he employs in the Rāsaka right from his birth. His mother-tongue or his language of common day-to-day intercourse must have been different. So he must have mastered this language from some seat of Hindu culture (perhaps it was Multan). From his statement we understand that he was well-versed in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramśa. That he had acquired proficiency in Prakrit is directly evidenced by the present Rāsaka. For, he has given in the Rāsaka some fine Prakrit Gāthīs also and in introducing himself, he tells, in explicit words, of the notable reputation he has acquired in the field of Prakrit poetry and Prakrit songs (see stanza 4 in the text). For one possessing such a sound knowledge of
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