A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t3.59

v2.c19.s6.t3.59

The presentation of love scenes is one of the indispensable elements of an ornate court poem. The poet fulfils this requirement by describing the blandishments of the beautiful women, by which they seek to tempt the prince (IV, 24-53); and in the highly-coloured description of the night scene in the harem, which is the cause of the prince's flight from the palace,¹ the poet reveals his knowledge of the science of love. But a court poet must also be versed in the doctrines of Nītiśāstra, state-craft. Such doctrines are recited to the prince by the family priest (IV, 62-82), in order to distract him from his thoughts. Lastly, an ornate poem is not complete without a description of battle scenes. Our poet fulfils this requirement also, in Canto XIII, in which he gives an animated description of the battle of Buddha with Māra and his hosts.