A History of Sanskrit Literature c14.s6.3

c14.s6.3

The influence of the epic combines with that of poetics to produce the second mark of Kalhaṇa’s chronicle, its didactic tendency. Poetics requires that each poem should have a dominant sentiment, and that of the *Rājataraṅgiṇī* is resignation;² it is definitely so asserted, and based on the impression produced on the mind by the sudden appearance of human beings who last for a moment alone. It is reinforced by insistence on the tales of kings who by renunciation or otherwise come to a pathetic end, and Books I–III and VII are deliberately brought to a close with the occurrence of such episodes. Stress is ever laid on the impermanence of power and riches, the transient character of all earthly fame and glory, and the retribution which reaches doers of evil in this or a future life; the deeds of kings and ministers are reviewed and censured or commended by the rules of the Dharmaçāstra or Nītiçāstra, but always with a distinct moral bias. In this we certainly see the influence of the *Mahābhārata* in its vast didactic portions and its general tendency to inculcate morality, but we cannot say whether it was original in Kalhaṇa or had already been noted in the works of one or more of his predecessors.