2023-02-23 18:48:17 by ambuda-bot
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I
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
LIFE OF MAYŪRA
With the exception of the passage in the Harşacarita, noted
above, and referring to the snake-doctor Mayuraka,' I have not
succeeded in unearthing any other allusions to Mayūra by his
contemporaries. The next earliest mention of him is that by
Rajasekhara, about 900 A.D., and the latest falls in the seven-
teenth century, though perhaps some undated commentators, whose
remarks I shall cite, may be even later. It is thus clear that our
knowledge of the poet's life comes only at second hand, through
writers who have referred to or quoted him; for that reason due
allowance must be made for inaccuracies of statement. Judg-
ment must also be exercised in separating fiction from fact in the
various anecdotes that form the basis of his biography.
EARLY LIFE AND OCCUPATION
Of the birth-place of Mayūra nothing has been recorded, and
of his early life we know only that he was a jängulika, 'snake-
doctor.' His first real appearance, therefore, on the stage of
history is as a full-fledged poet, entering the lists at a public
recital, and winning for himself, by the charm of his verses, the
favor and patronage of his sovereign, the reigning emperor
Harşa.¹
MAYURA IS SUMMONED TO THE COURT OF HARSA
The story of Mayüra's first step toward fame, along with cer-
tain other biographical details, is given by Madhusudana in his
Bhavabodhini, which is a commentary on the Süryaśataka of
Mayūra. Bühler fixes the date of Madhusudana in the year
1654 A.D., and gives the extract from his Bhavabodhini as
follows:-
atha vidvadvṛndavinodaya frimadvyddhavadanad viditaḥ śrisuryafata-
kaprādurbhāvaprasangas tävat procyate । sa yathā । mālavarājasyojjayinīrā-
1 Harşa reigned 606-647 A.D.; cf. Ettinghausen, Harşa Vardhana, p.
10-15; Vincent A. Smith, Early History of India, p. 337-352, 3d ed., Ox-
ford, 1914.
2 G. Bühler, On the Authorship of the Ratnavah, in IA, vol. 2 (1873),
P. 127-128.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
LIFE OF MAYŪRA
With the exception of the passage in the Harşacarita, noted
above, and referring to the snake-doctor Mayuraka,' I have not
succeeded in unearthing any other allusions to Mayūra by his
contemporaries. The next earliest mention of him is that by
Rajasekhara, about 900 A.D., and the latest falls in the seven-
teenth century, though perhaps some undated commentators, whose
remarks I shall cite, may be even later. It is thus clear that our
knowledge of the poet's life comes only at second hand, through
writers who have referred to or quoted him; for that reason due
allowance must be made for inaccuracies of statement. Judg-
ment must also be exercised in separating fiction from fact in the
various anecdotes that form the basis of his biography.
EARLY LIFE AND OCCUPATION
Of the birth-place of Mayūra nothing has been recorded, and
of his early life we know only that he was a jängulika, 'snake-
doctor.' His first real appearance, therefore, on the stage of
history is as a full-fledged poet, entering the lists at a public
recital, and winning for himself, by the charm of his verses, the
favor and patronage of his sovereign, the reigning emperor
Harşa.¹
MAYURA IS SUMMONED TO THE COURT OF HARSA
The story of Mayüra's first step toward fame, along with cer-
tain other biographical details, is given by Madhusudana in his
Bhavabodhini, which is a commentary on the Süryaśataka of
Mayūra. Bühler fixes the date of Madhusudana in the year
1654 A.D., and gives the extract from his Bhavabodhini as
follows:-
atha vidvadvṛndavinodaya frimadvyddhavadanad viditaḥ śrisuryafata-
kaprādurbhāvaprasangas tävat procyate । sa yathā । mālavarājasyojjayinīrā-
1 Harşa reigned 606-647 A.D.; cf. Ettinghausen, Harşa Vardhana, p.
10-15; Vincent A. Smith, Early History of India, p. 337-352, 3d ed., Ox-
ford, 1914.
2 G. Bühler, On the Authorship of the Ratnavah, in IA, vol. 2 (1873),
P. 127-128.