Essay name: Purana Bulletin
Author:
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies
The "Purana Bulletin" is an academic journal published in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. They represent Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit and cover a wide range of subjects.
Purana, Volume 6, Part 2 (1964)
13 (of 234)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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July, 1964] व्यासाष्टक स्तोत्रम� [vyāsāṣṭaka stotram ] 263 It may also be noted here that Kṣemendra uses the epithet
Vyasa-dāsa' as his alias in the last colophon of the Bhārata-
ѲñᲹ:-
समाप्तेय� महाभारतमञ्जरी कृति� कवेर्व्यासदासापरनाम्नः प्रकाशेन्द्र सूनो�
क्षेमेन्द्रस्य �
[samāpteya� mahābhāratamañjarī kṛti� kavervyāsadāsāparanāmna� prakāśendra sūno�
kṣemendrasya |
] Not only in the Bhārata-Mañjarī, but in almost all his
other works also, such as the Rāmāyaṇa-Mañjarī, Bṛhatkathā-
Mañjarī, Daśāvatāra-Carita etc., he has used the epithet 'Vyasa-
dāsa' for himself in the colophons of these works, which shows
his great reverence for the Sage.
A special sanctity and predilection seems to be attached
to the astakas. The Ṛgveda has been divided into Astakas (each
consisting of eight Adhyāyas); not only this, but the whole
Rgveda also consists of eight Aṣtakas. The Pāṇini-Sutras making
up the Aṣṭādhyāyī are also collectively called the Aṣṭaka (vide
Kāśikā on Panini 4. 2. 65). An Astaka-stotra is a stotra consisting
of eight stanzas. The Vyasastaka-stotra of Kṣemendra represents
the ancient tradition of the astaka-stotras which is at least as old
as 11th century A. D., when Kṣemendra flourished.
Astaka-stotras gained favour with the writers of Stotras.
There are astaka-stotras of various deities, e. g. the Gangastaka
which is said to be composed by Vālmīki, Narmadāsṭaka, Gaṇeśā-
staka, Süryāṣṭaka, Acyutasṭaka, Sivastaka, etc. Then, like the
Sahasra-nama-stotras and Sata-nama-stotras we have also Nāmāṣṭaka-
stotras, such as�'अच्युत� केशव� विष्णु हर� सत्य� जनार्दनम� � हंसं नारायण� चै�
एतन्नामाष्टक� शुभम� � [acyuta� keśava� viṣṇu hari satya� janārdanam | haṃsa� nārāyaṇa� caiva
etannāmāṣṭaka� śubham ||] ' (quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma from the
Brahma-Purāṇa, under the word astaka.).
Besides the Vyāsāsṭaka-stotra of Kṣemendra, two more
Vyāsāsṭaka-stotras are available, viz. one by Vādirāja, a famous
Kannada saint and poet of 16th century A. D. (cf. the Kannada
Periodical Tattva-vāda, III, 3, March 1963, pp. 17-20), and the
other Vyāsāṣṭaka-stotra by some Brahmānanda Svāmin, a compara-
tively modern Sādhu. This latter stotra contains a running
description of the exploits and works of Vyāsa. It is composed
