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 14 - Political data
40 (of 48)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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683 166
choose to launch a night-attack (yāminī-yuddha) in spe-
cial circumstances probably as it afforded the advantage
taking the enemy by surprise.
Dhanapāla has referred to the following aspects of
actual fighting in action: Thus the rival forces (i) sh-
outed at, or abused, each other; (ii) uttered loud war-cries;
(iii) pelted stones; (iv) flourished trumpets very shrilly;
(v) sprinkled boiling oil from the spouts of the firing
machine; (vi) Soldiers, protected under huge shields, cra-
wled Anear the foot of the castle-wall and tried to dig
out a passage inside; (vii) soldiers on the castle-wall
hotly shouted at them%3B (viii) the shielded soldiers en-
treated their commanders to allow them to enter into the
dug out portions of the castle-wall; (ix) the mounts of
the elephants were subjected to fire by throwing lighted
bunches of grass on to them; (x) arrows with red-hot blades
were shot; (xi) the doors of the gates were subjected to
heavy blows of axes; (xii) volleys of stones were directed
in the direction of the sounds of the axe-blows; and (xiii)
the village people gathered at a safe distant spot to wit-
167 ness the fighting. There are references to the use of
168 hail-stones as bullets to be fired probably from the
166. TM(N), p.63(16).
167. ibid.,p.83(7-15).
करकोपल प्रकरणात
[karakopala prakaraṇāta
] 168. ibid., p.16(1)--- 4241434424151... 1
