Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c37.1

v1.c37.1

The Śvetāmbara Jainas, Arisimha and Amaracandra, are notable in Sanskrit Poetics for a work on the composition of verses called the *Kavitā-rahasya* or *Kāvya-kalpalatā*, and its commentary entitled *Kāvya-kalpalatā Kaviśikṣā-vṛtti*. This work was composed in part by Arisimha and completed by Amaracandra¹, who also wrote the commentary². Arisimha, described as the son of Lāvaṇyasiṃha or Lavaṇasiṃha wrote also a poem (called *Sukṛta-saṃkīrtana*) in honour of his patron Vastupāla (d. 1242 A.D.), the Jaina minister of the Dholkā Rāṇā Vīradhabala; and he also lived in the time of Vīradhabala's son Vīsaladeva³. Amaracandra appears to be a more prolific writer, being also the author of the *Jinēndra-carita* (otherwise called *Padmānanda-kāvya*¹, the *Bāla-bhārata*² and a grammar (?) called *Syādiśabda-samuccaya* (Aufrecht i 180). Rājaśekhara, the Jaina author of the *Prabandha-kośa*, also attributes a *Sūktāvali* and a *Kalā-kalāpa*. In the *vṛtti* to the *Kāvya-kalapalatā* itself, three other works by Amaracandra are cited, viz. the *Chando-ratnāvalī*, a work on Prosody (p. 7), the *Kāvya-kalapalatā-parimala*³, (pp. 22, 31, 80), probably an epitome or continuation of the same work, and an independent work on Poetics called *Alaṃkāra-prabodha* (p. 147).