Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c30.1

v1.c30.1

A great deal of uncertainty exists with regard to the exact date of Mammaṭa whose name¹, as well as the title rājānaka, indicates that he was probably a Kashmirian. The story relied upon by Hall² and Weber³ that Mammaṭa was the maternal uncle of the author of Naiṣadha may be relegated to the region of fantastic fables which often gather round celebrated names. The lower limit of Mammaṭa’s date, however, may be fixed with reference to two commentaries on the *Kāvya-prakāśa*, of which the date can be ascertained. The commentary of Māṇikyacandra is expressly dated in *saṃvat* 1216 = 1160 A.D. The exact date of Ruyyaka’s commentary is not known, but we know from other sources that Ruyyaka flourished in the second and third quarters of the 12th century¹. Mammaṭa, therefore, cannot be placed later the beginning of the 12th century.