A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.s3: 3. The Anthologies
A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.s3
- Language
- English
3. The Anthologies
c16.s3.1
Of both lyric and gnomic poets whose works are lost, we derive knowledge from the anthologies, which have yielded many of the citations of fine lines already made. Themselves often of comparatively late date, they preserve the work of much earlier poets, though unhappily in many cases of the authors mentioned we have no means of determining the period of their activity. Of these anthologies the oldest apparently is that edited by Dr. F. W. Thomas as the *Kavīndravacanasamuccaya*¹ from a Nepalese MS. of the twelfth century. Sections on the Buddha and Avalokiteçvara remind us of its provenance, but otherwise it contains the same material as the other texts, verses on a wide variety of subjects, love and other passions, the conduct of life, practical wisdom, and moral and political maxims. None of the poets who composed its 525 stanzas is later than 1000 A. D. Of the next century (1205) is the *Saduktikarṇāmṛta*,² or *Sūktikarṇāmṛta*, of Çrīdharadāsa, son of Vaṭudāsa, both servants of Lakṣmaṇasena of Bengal, an anthology including excerpts from 446 poets, largely of course of Bengal, including Gaṅgādhara and five others who can be placed in the period 1050–1150. Jalhaṇa, son of Lakṣmīdeva, and, like his father, minister of Kṛṣṇa who ascended the throne in 1247, wrote the *Subhāṣitamuktāvalī*,³ which has come down in a longer and a shorter recension. It is carefully arranged according to such subjects as riches, generosity, fate, sorrow, love, royal service, &c., and is especially valuable in its section on poets and poetry which gives us definite information on a number of authors.
c16.s3.2
¹ BI. 1912.
c16.s3.3
² BI. 1912 ff.; Aufrecht, ZDMG. xxxvi. 361 ff.
c16.s3.4
³ Bhandarkar, *Report, 1887-91*, pp. i-liv. According to *Madras Catal.*, xx. 8114 it was written for Jalha in 1257 by Vaidya Bhānu Paṇḍita.
c16.s3.5
One of the most famous anthologies is that of Çārṅgadhara, written in 1363 by the son of Dāmodara. It is arranged in 163 sections, and contains 4689 stanzas, including some by the author himself but of no distinction. With the aid of the *Çārṅgadhara-paddhati*⁴ Vallabhadeva perhaps in the fifteenth century put together the *Subhāṣitāvali*¹ in 101 sections, giving 3527 stanzas of over 350 poets; the name occurs of Vallabhadeva among the poets, but it is not clear whether he claims the verses as his own or merely cites an earlier work. Of the fifteenth century is Çrīvara’s *Subhāṣitāvalī*²; Çrīvara was son or pupil of Jonarāja, who was a commentator and also continued Kalhaṇa’s *Rājātaraṅgiṇī*, and he cites from more than 380 poets. As we have seen, Rūpagosvāmin’s *Padyāvalī*³ contains verses in honour of Kṛṣṇa, some of considerable merit, from a wide range of authors. Of other anthologies, small and great, many exist in manuscript or in editions.⁴
c16.s3.6
⁴ Ed. P. Peterson, BSS. 37, 1888; cf. Aufrecht, ZDMG. xxv. 455 ff.; xxvii. 1 ff.
c16.s3.7
¹ Ed. P. Peterson and Durgāprasāda, BSS. 1886; cf. IA. xv. 240 ff.; IS. xvi. 209 f.; xvii. 168 ff. Another work of 222 or so stanzas by Sumati is described in IOC. i. 1533 ff.
c16.s3.8
² Peterson, OC. VI, III. ii. 339.
c16.s3.9
³ IOC. i. 1534 ff. (*c.* 387 stanzas).
c16.s3.10
⁴ Sāyaṇa wrote a *Subhāṣitasudhānidhi* (*Madras Catal.*, xx. 8105 ff.); Vedāntadeçika a *Subhāṣitanīvi*, KM. viii. 151 ff.
Linked texts (8)
- Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit
- Saduktikarṇāmṛta — Śrīdharadāsa, Sanskrit
- Subhāṣitāvali — Vallabhadeva (anthologist), Sanskrit
- Padyāvalī — Rūpa Gosvāmin 1520, Sanskrit
- Śārṅgadharapaddhati — Śārṅgadhara, Sanskrit
- Subhāṣitasudhānidhi — Sāyaṇa, Sanskrit
- Kavīndravacanasamuccaya — Sanskrit
- Subhāṣitanīvi — Vedāntadeśika, Sanskrit