A History of Sanskrit Literature c23.s1.19

c23.s1.19

Another fact of importance in the development of Sanskrit literary taste was the fondness for the composition of poetry *ex tempore* or at least on a given theme with the least possible delay. This device might easily lead to undue regard for a complete and ready command of conventions enabling the poet to turn out verses with the greatest possible speed. The praise bestowed on the quick-writing poet Çīghrakavi² to us must seem exaggerated, but the existence of the feeling is clearly attested. Less reprehensible as an essay in poetic skill was the practice of Samasyāpūraṇa,³ when a poet constructed a stanza usually on a single line given to him. Tradition ascribes proficiency in this amusement even to Kālidāsa.