A History of Sanskrit Literature: Classical Period, Vol. I c4.13

c4.13

But definite dates of the poets in the history of Indian literature are difficult to be got. The Aihole inscription of 634 A.D. mentions the names of Kālidāsa and Bhāravi and we know that Bāṇa flourished in the 7th century A.D. They are the two fixed landmarks in the early chronology of Sanskrit poets. The testimony of Bāṇa as well as the other references that we find of the existence of many poets at the time prove fairly conclusively that the 4th and 5th centuries may be regarded as a very prominent period of literary production. This gets further confirmation from the evidence of inscriptions which are written in a fine literary style. Already from the evidence of Bhāmaha we know that many writers on *alaṃkāra* had flourished before him and that he had drawn on them in the composition of his work. The panegyric of Samudragupta by Hariṣeṇa (about 350 A.D.) may be taken as a typical case.