Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c16.1

v1.c16.1

The upper limit to Vāmana's date is given by his own quotation (IV.3.6 *vrtti*) from the *Uttara-rāma-carita* (i 38) of Bhavabhūti, who is known to have flourished under the patronage of Yaśovarman, king of Kanauj, in the first quarter of the 8th century¹. The lower limit is given by Rājaśekhara's quotation (p. 14) from Vāmana I.2.1-3, and his reference to the Vāmanīyas, which indicates that by the end of the 9th century Vāmana had a respectable number of followers going by his name. We learn also from Abhinavagupta (*Locana*, p. 37) that Vāmana was probably known, in the middle of the 9th century, to Ānandavardhana who, however, never directly cites Vāmana but seems to refer, in a manner not to be mistaken, to the latter's *rīti*-theory in his *vrtti* on iii 52. Like Bhāmaha, Daṇḍin and Udbhaṭa, Vāmana probably lived before the *dhvani*-theory, under Ānandavardhana, came into prominence; and Pratīhārendurāja, who professes a great reverence for Vāmana's views, expressly states (p. 81), while discussing *alaṃkāra-dhvani*, that in such cases Vāmana has employed the term *vakrókti* (IV.3.8)¹. We will not be wrong, therefore, if we fix the lower limit of Vāmana's date at the middle of the 9th century².