A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c19.s1.23

c19.s1.23

The achievements of Kumāra Kampana, the second son of Bukka I of Vijayanagar, are celebrated in a beautiful poem by his wife Gaṅgādevī—*Madhurāvijayam* (‘Conquest of Madura’). One of Vidyāraṇya’s pupils was Vāmana Bhaṭṭa Bāṇa, patronized by the Reddi king Pedda Komati Vēma of Kondavidu (1398-1415), whom he celebrated in a prose romance of considerable length, the *Vemabhūpāla-carita*. The author’s aim was to rival Bāṇa as a prose writer, and he achieved a notable measure of success in his endeavour. His other works were *Nalābhyudaya*, *Raghunātha-carita-kāvya*, and two plays, *Pārvati-pariṇaya* and *Kanakalekhā Kalyāṇa*. The Reddi ruler Pedda Komati himself passes as the author of commentaries on *Amaruśataka*, a centum of erotic verses, and *Saptaśatī-sāra*—a selection of 100 verses from Hāla’s Prākṛit anthology; two independent works on poetics and music, *Sāhitya-cintāmaṇi* and *Saṅgīta-cintāmaṇi* are also attributed to him. Like him, his predecessor Kumāragiri was also author and patron; he wrote a work on *nātya* (dance) called *Vasantarājīya*, after one of his titles. His brother-in-law (and minister) Kāṭayavema wrote well-known commentaries on the plays of Kālidāsa.