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GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Krīḍācandra. Kālidāsa, who is present, vouches for Krīdācan-
dra's ability and reputation as a poet, and Kriḍācandra there-
upon proceeds to justify Kālidāsa's opinion of him by reciting
several stanzas whose purpose is to praise Bhoja and cause the
royal purse-strings to loosen. One of these stanzas runs:-
jñayate jätu nama 'pi na rājñaḥ kavitām vina
kaves tadvyatirekena na kirtiḥ sphurati kşitdu ¹
'The name even of a king is not ever known without poetry;
Without that, the fame of a poet on earth is not manifest.'
On hearing this, Mayūra adds as his quota to the conversation
the following śloka in praise of poets:--
te vandyas te mahātmānas teşām loke sthiram yaśaḥ
yair nibaddhani kavyani ye ca kavye prakirtitaḥ ²
'Those by whom poems are composed, and who are celebrated in the realm
of poetry,
Are to be respected, are great-souled, and in the world their fame is
lasting.'
After Vararuci has likewise uttered a stanza in praise of poets
and poetry, Bhoja expresses his delight by presenting to Kriḍā-
candra a quintet of villages and twenty elephants.
The banishment of Kalidāsa. Some of the pandits, jealous
of Kālidāsa's prestige, and of his influence with the king, seek to
bring about his undoing. They conspire, with the help of a
female slave, the royal betel-bearer, to discredit the famous poet
in the eyes of his royal patron. This slave makes the king be-
lieve that Kalidasa has been having a liaison with the queen.
Kālidāsa is banished, but his reputation is cleared soon after by
the queen, who, to prove her innocence, undergoes the ordeal of
fire. The king would recall Kālidāsa, but cannot discover his
whereabouts. As a matter of fact the poet is still living in
Bhoja's capital, in concealment, in the house of a courtezan.
1 Parab's 2d edition, p. 23, stanza 120.
2 Parab's 2d edition, p. 23, stanza 121. This śloka is quoted, though
without mention of the name of the author, in Vallabhadeva's Subhaşi-
tavali, stanza 146 of Peterson's edition. See also Ludwig Oster, Die
Rezensionen des Bhojaprabandha, p. 22, Darmstadt, 1911.
See Parab's 2d edition, p. 25-32.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Krīḍācandra. Kālidāsa, who is present, vouches for Krīdācan-
dra's ability and reputation as a poet, and Kriḍācandra there-
upon proceeds to justify Kālidāsa's opinion of him by reciting
several stanzas whose purpose is to praise Bhoja and cause the
royal purse-strings to loosen. One of these stanzas runs:-
jñayate jätu nama 'pi na rājñaḥ kavitām vina
kaves tadvyatirekena na kirtiḥ sphurati kşitdu ¹
'The name even of a king is not ever known without poetry;
Without that, the fame of a poet on earth is not manifest.'
On hearing this, Mayūra adds as his quota to the conversation
the following śloka in praise of poets:--
te vandyas te mahātmānas teşām loke sthiram yaśaḥ
yair nibaddhani kavyani ye ca kavye prakirtitaḥ ²
'Those by whom poems are composed, and who are celebrated in the realm
of poetry,
Are to be respected, are great-souled, and in the world their fame is
lasting.'
After Vararuci has likewise uttered a stanza in praise of poets
and poetry, Bhoja expresses his delight by presenting to Kriḍā-
candra a quintet of villages and twenty elephants.
The banishment of Kalidāsa. Some of the pandits, jealous
of Kālidāsa's prestige, and of his influence with the king, seek to
bring about his undoing. They conspire, with the help of a
female slave, the royal betel-bearer, to discredit the famous poet
in the eyes of his royal patron. This slave makes the king be-
lieve that Kalidasa has been having a liaison with the queen.
Kālidāsa is banished, but his reputation is cleared soon after by
the queen, who, to prove her innocence, undergoes the ordeal of
fire. The king would recall Kālidāsa, but cannot discover his
whereabouts. As a matter of fact the poet is still living in
Bhoja's capital, in concealment, in the house of a courtezan.
1 Parab's 2d edition, p. 23, stanza 120.
2 Parab's 2d edition, p. 23, stanza 121. This śloka is quoted, though
without mention of the name of the author, in Vallabhadeva's Subhaşi-
tavali, stanza 146 of Peterson's edition. See also Ludwig Oster, Die
Rezensionen des Bhojaprabandha, p. 22, Darmstadt, 1911.
See Parab's 2d edition, p. 25-32.