A History of Sanskrit Literature c22.s2.3

c22.s2.3

The oldest extant is probably the *Damayantīkathā*³ or *Nalacampū* of Trivikrama Bhaṭṭa, whom we know as the author of the Nausari inscription of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa king Indra III in a.d. 915, and who is also mentioned as author of the *Madālasācampū*. The tale runs that his father Devāditya, a court Paṇḍit, was absent from his post when a rival came forward to challenge him, with the result that the son aided by Sarasvatī composed the *Nalacampū*, which was left unfinished because his father returned and rendered his son’s action needless. The story is elaborated with the usual defects of long sentences, consisting of epithets heaped on epithets in long compounds, with double meanings, alliterations and jingles complete. The author mentions Bāṇa, and himself is referred to in the *Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa*. His verses are no more than mediocre; there is the usual combination of simile with a double meaning in his critique of poets given in anthologies: