Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c13.s1.38

c13.s1.38

It will be observed that the stream of Sanskrit literature continued to flow long after the Hindus had lost their political independence in the North. In fact the practice of writing in Sanskrit has never disappeared in India. But from the thirteenth century onwards in the North, Sanskrit writers display little interest in politics. The utter decadence of the *Kali* age is now an axiom with them. Their pessimistic fatalism now surpasses all precedent. They leave government pretty much to take care of itself. The same characteristic is shared by the Sanskrit commentaries on literary works which arose in abundance during the middle ages. Malli Nâtha (14th century), the prince of Sanskrit literary commentators, comments on political passages in an entirely literary fashion. He often quotes Kâmandaka and sometimes refers to other writers but there is nothing refreshing in his remarks. Dinakara Miśra, who lived in the same century, is no better. Nor, if we can judge missing works by quotations in others, do their predecessors Dakṣiṇâvarta and Nâtha who lived about the 13th century seem to have been more enlightening.