A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c43.s29.t3.4

v3.c43.s29.t3.4

(1) Āḍhamalla's commentary, called Pradīpikā in its introductory verses and Śārṅgadharadīpikā in the colophons, is the oldest one. In the introduction the author traces his descent in saying that he is of Śrīvāstavya lineage, ¹¹⁴⁷ that his grandfather was called Cakrapāṇi ¹¹⁴⁸ and his father Bhāvasimha. ¹¹⁴⁹ He adds that both were physicians and that Bhāvasimha, who was an expert in Suśruta, earned great fame and was honoured by the king. Āḍhamalla lived in Hastīkāntapurī, ¹¹⁵⁰ situated on the banks of the Carmaṇvatī, ¹¹⁵¹ during the reign of Jaitrasimha. ¹¹⁵² The introductory verses also indicate that Āḍhamalla, who refers to himself as knowing only a restricted number of treatises (nibandha), based his commentary on the words of his teacher. ¹¹⁵³ Āḍhamalla's devotion to Kṛṣṇa can be inferred from the concluding verses. One of these concluding verses presents a lacuna, which is especially unfortunate because it may either refer to another work by the same author, a pañjikā in 11,000 verses, or contain information on the date of completion of Āḍhamalla’s commentary.