Book Title: Some less known verses of Siddhasena Divakara
Author(s): M A Dhaky
Publisher: Z_Deshbhushanji_Maharaj_Abhinandan_Granth_012045.pdf

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________________ भयमेकमने केभ्यः शत्रुभ्यो विधिवत्सदा । ददासि तच्च ते नास्ति राजन् चित्रमिदं महत् ।। These verses do not figure in Siddhasena's Gunavacana-dvātrimśika (Dva. 11) which evidently is addressed to a king. The style of the aforenoted verses apparently is pre-medieval. They do possess wit, strength, kick and dynamism not unlike those that characterise stanzas in some of Siddhasena's known dvātrimśikās. However, these verses are today not traceable in other known sources which otherwise show familiarity with one or the other of his works. Under the circumstances Siddhasena's authorship of the verses can genuinely be doubted. Indeed, there were in the past several pre-medieval Sanskrit poets possessing considerable skill and virtuosity. And the medieval prabandha, kathānaka and carita writers possessed strong propensity for picking up quotable quotes from various sources and different authors and, regardless of the period, style and provenance, used them depending on what the situation demanded! The case of the above-cited verses must, therefore, be kept open, even when one may grant the possibility of their being the product of Siddhasena Divākara. The Prabhāvaka-carita, at one other place, introduces four verses in the context of Siddhasena, which, judging by their style, cadence, content and colour can be unhesitatingly hailed as coming from the pen of none else but Divakara : प्रकाशितं ययकेन त्वया सम्यग्जगत्त्रयम् । समरपि नो नाथ परतीर्थाधिपैस्तथा । विद्योतयति वा लोकं यर्थकोऽपि निशाकरः । समुदगतः समग्रोऽपि किं तथा तारकागरणः ।। त्वद्वाक्यतोऽपि केषाञ्चिदबोध इप्ति मेऽद्भुतम् । भानोमरीचयः कस्य, नाम नालोकहेतवः ॥ न चाद्भुतमुलूकस्य, प्रकृत्या क्लिष्टचेतसः । स्वच्छा मपि तमस्त्वेन भासन्ते भास्वत: कराः ।। However, the Prabhāvaka-carita is a work of a date late in the medieval period; for permitting an indubitable conclusion, a definite evidence for the indicated attribution from an earlier and a more reliable source is needed. For the first two verses the evidence comes from the Dharmopadešamālä-vivarana (S. 905/A.D. 859) of Jayasimha Sūri. The author quotes these verses as of Siddhasena Divakara's by an unambiguous qualificatory statement to the effect : 1. For detailed discussion, see Charlotte Krause, "Siddhasena Divākara and Vikrmāditya," Vikrama Volume, Ujjain, 1948, pp. 213-280. Pt. Hiralal Jain wrote a paper in Hindi in which he places Siddhasena Divakara exclusively in Candragupta II's time instead of his predecessor Samudragupta as well as Candragupta II as was done by Krause : Cf. "A contemporary Ode to Chandragupta Vikramāditya", Madhya Bharati, No. 1, Jabal pur University, Jabalpur, 1962. 2. Perhaps the nature and content of these stanzas are such that the Jaina writers hardly had use of them in their commentatorial writings. 3. Jinavijaya Muni, p. 59. 4. Ed. Pt. L.B. Gandhi, Singhi Jaina Series, No. 28, Bombay, 1949. 59 प्राचार्यरत्न श्री वेशभूषण जी महाराज नमनाद प्राय Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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