History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c11.s3: Mahēndravarman I as an Author

History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c11.s3

Language: English

Mahēndravarman I as an Author

c11.s3.1

In the previous paragraphs it was mentioned that the Pallava court in the days of Simhavishnu was a centre of Sanskrit culture. The occurrence of the name of the work⁵ *Mattavilāsa-Prahasana* in the Māmanḍūr inscription indicates that there was in existence at the time, a work bearing that name. No one knew of this work until the Oriental MSS. Department of the Travancore State discovered this work some years ago. It has now been published as one of the Travancore Sanskrit Series by Mahamahopadyaya Pandit T. Ganapati Sastri. This work is of great value in enabling us to know the nature of religious and secular life led by people during the days of Mahendravarman I, in the first quarter of the seventh century.

c11.s3.2

⁵ The work was probably modelled on another early *Prahasana Bhagavadajjukam* recently published and which is attributed to Bodhayana. The name of this prahasana also occurs in the Māmanḍūr inscription of Mahēndravarman I in the line preceding the one where *Mattavilāsa* is mentioned. (See *I.H.Q.*, vol. i, p. 263, Note 3.)

c11.s3.3

The Contents of this Work.—The work describes the drunken revelry of a Kāpālika with a female-companion, his falling out with a hypocritical Śākyabikhshu, believing him to have stolen his Kapāla (alms-bowl) which had been carried away by a dog, his having recourse to a degenerate Pāśupata for the settlement of the dispute and finally the recovery of the Kapāla from a mad man. We have already seen that the titles *Mattavilāsa*, *Avanibhājana*, *Śatrumalla* and *Guṇabhara* were borne by Mahendravarman I and occur in various inscriptions. Of these the title *Śatrumalla* is mentioned in the concluding lines of the play; and that of *Avanibhājana* is referred to in the fourth *pāda* of the *maṅgala śloka* . . . and *Guṇabhara* and *Mattavilāsa* are also found in the words of *Naṭī* in the *sthāpana*. The virtues of the king are eulogized in the opening portion of this work.¹

c11.s3.4

¹ प्रज्ञादानदयानुभावधृतयः कान्तिः कलाकौशलं सत्यं शौर्यसमायता विनय इत्येवम्प्रकारागुणाः । अप्राप्तस्थितयः समेत्य शरणं याता यमेकं कलौ कल्पान्ते जगदादिमादिपुरुषं सर्गप्रभेदा इव ॥ *Mattavilāsa*, p. 3. T. Sans. Ser., No. LV.

c11.s3.5

Light thrown on Contemporary Life by the Work.—This little play is full of interest to the student of religious history as it affords valuable material regarding the extinct Kāpālika faith, and the vices of the Śākyabikhshus and the views regarding the teachings of the Buddha held by the followers of other religions, such as the Kāpālikas. ‘From the *Mattavilāsa-Prahasana* it becomes clear that to a Kāpālika, the Kapāla is as essential as is a sacred thread to a Brāhmaṇa. If he loses it he should provide himself with another in a stated time. He should cover his body with ashes and make himself hideous, and drink liquor from skull of a human being. . . . One of his articles of faith is that the effect always resembles, to a certain extent, the cause; therefore, from the practice of austerities in this life one cannot obtain bliss in another life since austerities and bliss are of opposite nature. The Kāpālikas carried in addition to the Kapāla, a cow's horn both for blowing during their worship and drinking from. The people of this faith associated freely with women-Kāpālikas. . . . The opinions held by the particular Kāpālika, Bhaṭya-Soma of our play, regarding the Śākyabhikshus are that the Śākyabhikshus indulged freely in animal food and fattened themselves pecuniarily by being the managers of several vihāras, and led a comfortable life, against all the rules of their order: they covered themselves only to conceal their foibles. Their teacher Buddha, did nothing more than steal his doctrines from the Vedānta and the Mahābhārata of the Brahmans, and compiled therefrom his doctrines.¹ The mention of Buddhas, Bikshus, Kāpālikas and Pāśupatas, in his burlesque by Mahēndravarman I as among the inhabitants of Kāñchīpuram bear out the surmise that Buddhism flourished there till at least the seventh century A.D., and that the statement of Hiuen-Tsang regarding the existence in Kāñchīpura of a large number of vihāras² finds support in this work of Mahēndravarman.

c11.s3.6

¹ M.C.C. Mag., vol. 34, p. 413.

c11.s3.7

² Beal's Rec., vol. ii, p. 229.

c11.s3.8

The reign of Mahēndravarman I synchronized with the period of decay of Buddhist and Jain religions at Kāñchīpuram and the Tamil land. The Śaiva saints Appar, and Tirugñāna-Sambandar were actually engaged in propagating the Śaiva faith. According to the testimony of these saints, as represented in their references to the Śākyas, we have to infer that the Buddhists and Jains of this period were in a degenerate position then. They are mentioned in the same strain also in several verses in the Vaishṇava work Nalāyiraprabhandam.³

c11.s3.9

³ புலையறமாகின்ற புத்தர்சமணமெல்லாம் கலையறக்கற்றமாந்தர் காண்பரோ, கேட்பரோதாம். Tirumālai, v. 7. வெள்ளியார் போதியார் என்றிவர் ஓதுகின்ற கள்ளநூல். P. T. vol. ix, p. 7, v. 8. அறியாச்மணரய்த்தர் பவுத்தர் சிறியார் சிவப்பட்டர். Nān. Tiru, v. 6.

c11.s3.10

The reign of Mahēndravarman I is believed to have been the period of the Vaishṇava saint Tirumaliśai and therefore also that of the first three Āḷvārs by certain scholars. Mr. M. Srinivasa Aiyangar¹ in his *Tamil Studies* expresses the view that the Guṇabhara mentioned in the *Nānmugan-Tiruvandādi* is a reference to Mahēndravarman I, and concludes, on this basis alone, that he was his contemporary. But a careful examination of the context and meaning of this stanza² shows that the Guṇabhara of the Āḷvār cannot be interpreted as alluding to any mortal man.

Linked texts (3)

நாலாயிர திவ்விய பிரபந்தம் — Poykai Āḻvār & Pūtattāḻvār, Tamil
Mattavilāsaprahasana — Mahendravarman I, Sanskrit
Mahābhārata — Vyāsa, Sanskrit