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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 17 - Bana and Dhanapala—A study in contrast

Page:

16 (of 22)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


Download the PDF file of the original publication


Copyright (license):

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)


Warning! Page nr. 16 has not been proofread.

1034
fashioned on those of Subandhu's VK, and there are numerous
parallel's in thought, arrangement and general treatment bet-
29 ween the Kad. and the VK. Inspite of all these, none of
the veterans have called Bāna an imitator of Subandhu!
As has been aptly put by Dr. J.M.Shukla, it was a re-
gular practice of Indian poets to lift an idea or an expre-
ssion from an earlier writer, dress it in a different garb
and try to demonstrate his superiority in skill.30 If, them,
Dhanapāla utilizes all these devices for his purpose in a
appropriate places and proper occasions in the scheme of his
quite independently well-knit plot-structure, how can one
possibly brand him as an "imitator", and get away with it
without being unreasonable or irrationally careless ?
From the forty-four parallel passages cited by Prof.
31.
Amaranath Pandey, it may be proved that Dhanapāla had kept
before his mind's eye the style of Bāṇa, with a view to im-
ms prove upon, and try to surpass, it while sailing safe
of his worthy predecessor's flaws of too much fondness for
incessant prose, too long descriptions comprising too long
compounds, and too much proneness to pun. B When such a
sensitive Sanskrit veteran rhetorician like Anandavardhana
32 would not brand such a tendency as "imitation", what locus
standi do the modern critics of Dhanapala have to rush in
to denegrate such a first-class Sanskrit poet and a versatile
29.VK(S),Introduction,p.45./30.ibid.,p.46./31.BAP,pp.63-71.
32. DHL, IV, 16: य�पि तदपि रम्य� यंत्� लोकस्य किञ्चित्, स्फुरत� स्फुरितमिद
मिती�
बुद्धिरभ्युज्ज� होते � अनुगतमपि पूर्वच्छायया वस्त� सत� के तादृकू�, सुकव�-
रूपनिबध्नन्निद्यता�
लोपयति �
[pi tadapi ramya� yaṃtra lokasya kiñcit, sphurati sphuritamida
īⲹ
buddhirabhyujjā hote | anugatamapi pūrvacchāyayā vastu sataha ke tādṛkū�, sukavi-
ū貹ԾԲԲԾⲹ�
lopayati ||
]

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