Essay name: Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala (study)
Author:
Shri N. M. Kansara
Affiliation: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda / Department of Sanskrit Pali and Prakrit
This is an English study of the Tilakamanjari of Dhanapala, a Sanskrit poem written in the 11th century. Technically, the Tilaka-manjari is classified as a Gadyakavya (“prose-romance�). The author, Dhanapala was a court poet to the Paramara king Munja, who ruled the Kingdom of Malwa in ancient west-central India.
Chapter 4 - Predecessors of Dhanapala
17 (of 26)
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102
his famous above-named Prakrit epic which helped him in
getting his freedom back. Then he happened to meet Ba-
ppabhaá¹á¹isÅ«ri and settled as a court-poet of Maág King
AmarÄja by whose loose morals, however, he was soon
dejected and consequently went to Mathura and took to
Jainism. PrabhÄcandra seems to suggest that this VÄkpa-
48 tirÄja was a brave man born in the ParamÄra family. Who
was this VÄkpatirÄja mentioned by DhanapÄla ? He is the
one commonly believed to have been a court-pundit of
YasovarmÄ who was killed by King LalitÄditya of Kashmir
in V.Sa�.797 (i.e.741 A.D.). He is said to have been a
contemporary of Acarya Bappabhaá¹á¹isÅ«ri who is said to
have been born in V.Sam.800 (i.e.744 A.D.). The incident
of Yasovarman's attack on Dharma and capturing of VÄkpa-
tirÄja must have occured during the late age of both
Bappabhaá¹á¹isuri and Ä€marÄja. Thus VÄkpatirÄja was in the
beginning a court-pundit of Dharma and subsequently that
of YasovarmÄ. Muni KalyÄṇavijaya doubts the identity of
Dhrma with DharmapÄla and of YasovarmÄ with the MukhÄri
YasovarmÄ both of whom were long dead before this Yaso-
varmÄ who was a contemporary of AmarÄja. From the clue
48. PRC.11.394: परमारमहावंà¤� संà¤à¥‚तः कà¥à¤·à¤¤à¥à¤°à¤¿à¤¯à¤¾à¤—à¥à¤°à¤£à¥€à¤� à¥� तसà¥à¤¯ वाकà¥à¤ªà¤µà¤¿à¤°à¤¾à¤œà¥‹à¤½à¤¸à¥à¤¤à¤¿
विदà¥à¤µà¤¾à¤¨à¥à¤¨à¤¿à¤°à¥‚पमपà¥à¤°à¤à¤� à¥� ३९à¥� à¥�
[paramÄramahÄvaṃśa saṃbhÅ«taá¸� ká¹£atriyÄgraṇīḥ | tasya vÄkpavirÄjo'sti
vidvÄnnirÅ«pamaprabhaá¸� || 394 ||
] 5 49.ibid.11.739.
49
