पवनदूतम् /9
This page has not been fully proofread.
.
INTRODUCTION.
The place of Pavanadūta in Sanskrit
Dūtakavya literature.
The Pavanadulam is a beautiful and short poem composed
in imitation of the celebrated Dutakavya the Meghadūta of
Kālidāsa. After the prince of Indian poets had produced
this masterpiece many were the imitations that grew up
in course of time round this brilliant prototype. Mono-
mohan Chakravarti gave a list of these imitations in the
introduction to his edition of the Pavanaduta. He could give
there the names of only sixteen such poems I have, however,
been able to collect information of not less than thirty-five
of them. But unfortunately for us no definite date can
be assigned to most of them. However, from the few
dates that are known for certain it seems that we have in
the Pavanaduta the earliest available specimen of the
imitation of Kalidōsa's poem. And there seems to be no
doubt that this is the earliest of Dūtakavyas found in
Bengal.
•
But unlike most other similar poems which had their origin
in Bengal this has to its credit the fact that it does not deal
with the hackneyed story of the love of Radha and Krisna
but takes up an historical person as its hero. This last fact is
also one of the rare characteristics of Dūtakāvya literature
as a whole."
1. The point has been dealt wlth, in details, in my forthcoming paper on
Origin and development of Dutakavya literature in Sanskrit.
INTRODUCTION.
The place of Pavanadūta in Sanskrit
Dūtakavya literature.
The Pavanadulam is a beautiful and short poem composed
in imitation of the celebrated Dutakavya the Meghadūta of
Kālidāsa. After the prince of Indian poets had produced
this masterpiece many were the imitations that grew up
in course of time round this brilliant prototype. Mono-
mohan Chakravarti gave a list of these imitations in the
introduction to his edition of the Pavanaduta. He could give
there the names of only sixteen such poems I have, however,
been able to collect information of not less than thirty-five
of them. But unfortunately for us no definite date can
be assigned to most of them. However, from the few
dates that are known for certain it seems that we have in
the Pavanaduta the earliest available specimen of the
imitation of Kalidōsa's poem. And there seems to be no
doubt that this is the earliest of Dūtakavyas found in
Bengal.
•
But unlike most other similar poems which had their origin
in Bengal this has to its credit the fact that it does not deal
with the hackneyed story of the love of Radha and Krisna
but takes up an historical person as its hero. This last fact is
also one of the rare characteristics of Dūtakāvya literature
as a whole."
1. The point has been dealt wlth, in details, in my forthcoming paper on
Origin and development of Dutakavya literature in Sanskrit.