A History of Sanskrit Literature c19.s4.1

c19.s4.1

The work of Kṣemendra¹ was probably produced in his youth like the Mañjarīs of the *Mahābhārata* and the *Rāmāyaṇa* which he composed, perhaps in accordance with his own doctrine that the would-be poet ought to undertake exercises of this kind. The character of these abridgements is well known; they are dry and sober, reproducing faithfully, though with much omission and curtailment often to obscurity, their originals, but depriving them of all life and attraction. Kṣemendra has, moreover, in lieu of seeking to write interesting summaries, thought it enough to relieve the barrenness of his versions by interpolating elegant descriptions at intervals, a procedure not to be commended, as it merely adds to the bulk of the works without serving any useful purpose. But his accuracy, which we can test for the epics, is assured, and therefore we may *a priori* assume that his account of the contents of the *Bṛhatkathā* of Kashmir accords with reality.