Kshemendra
Kshemendra (IAST: Kṣemendra; c. 990 – c. 1070 CE) was an 11th-century Sanskrit poet from Kashmir in India.
Biography
Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family.[1] His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida.[2] Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary exponent Abhinavagupta".[1] Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava.[2] He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and Buddhism.[3] His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the Avadana Kalpalata and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa (IAST: Vyāsadāsa; Slave of Vyasa), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his Bhāratamañjari.[2]
Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts.[2] His literary career extended from at least 1037 (his earliest dated work, Brihatkathāmanjari, a verse summary of the lost "Northwestern" Bṛhatkathā; itself a recension of Gunadhya's lost Bṛhatkathā — "Great Story") to 1066 (his latest dated work, Daśavataracharita, "an account of the ten incarnations of the god Viṣnu").[4]
Extant works
Around eighteen of Kshemendra's works are still extant while fourteen more are known only through references in other literature.[2] In addition to the genres listed below, he also composed plays, descriptive poems, a satirical novel, a history, and possibly a commentary on the Kāma Sūtra.[5]
Abridgements
- Ramāyaṇamanjari — Verse abridgement of the Ramayana (Sanskrit)
- Bhāratamanjari — Verse abridgement of the Mahabharata (Sanskrit)
- Brihatkathāmanjari — Verse abridgement of the Brihatkatha (Sanskrit)
Poetics
- Auchitya Vichāra Charchā
- Kavikanthābharaṇa
- Suvrittatilaka
Satires
- Kalāvilasā — "A Dalliance with Deceptions"
- Samaya Mātrikā — "The Courtesan's Keeper" (Sanskrit)
- Narmamālā — "A Garland of Mirth"
- Deśopadeśa — "Advice from the Countryside"
Didactic works
- Nitikalpataru
- Darpadalana
- Chaturvargasaṃgraha
- Chārucharya
- Sevyasevakopadeśa
- Lokaprakāśa
- Stūpavādana — See Saratchandra Das (ed.), 'Stupavadana', Journal and Text of the Buddhist Society of India, vol.11, pt.1, p. 15.
Devotional works
- Avadānakalpalatā — Former lives and good deeds of Buddha (English)
- Daśavataracharita — Ten incarnations of Vishnu (Sanskrit)
Notes
- 1 2 Haksar 2011, p. xv.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Warder 1992, p. 365.
- ↑ Haksar 2011, pp. xv–xvi.
- ↑ Haksar 2011, pp. xvii–xviii.
- ↑ Haksar 2011, pp. xvii, 153-154.
References
- Kshemendra (2011). Three Satires: From Ancient Kashmir. Translated by Haksar, A. N. D. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780143063230.
- Warder, Anthony Kennedy (1992). Indian Kāvya Literature: The art of storytelling. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 9788120806153.