A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.s2.71

c16.s2.71

Of many other poems mention may be made of the *Mahimnaḥstava*² which is a eulogy of Çiva but which has been treated also as intended to glorify Viṣṇu, ascribed to Puṣpadanta—which may, of course, not be a true name—because the work seems to be known to the *Nyāyamañjarī* of Jayanta Bhaṭṭa, and therefore must not be later than the ninth century. As curious developments—probably late—of religious fervour may be noted the *Caṇḍīkucapañcāçikā*,¹ fifty stanzas on the breasts of Caṇḍī, by a certain Lakṣmaṇa Ācārya, and the *Bhikṣāṭanakāvya*² by Çivadāsa or Utprekṣāvallabha, which describes the feelings of Apsarases when Çiva in the garb of an ascetic comes to seek alms in Indra's heaven. The author with amazing taste takes this means of displaying his intimate acquaintance with the rules of the *Kāmasūtra* as to the deportment of women in love.