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Introduction
 
xvii
 
by the authoritative works like the Mahābhāṣya,
Kāśikā, Nyasa, Padamañjari, Kaiyaṭapradipa, Sabdakau-
stubha etc. He seems to have very high opinion about
Bhattoji to whom he refers with the terms as
Bhasyarahasyajña, (pp. 8, 24) and Bhasyamanthanakartr
(p. 29).
 
As is made clear by the title (S.K.U.), in the
opinion of our author the incorrect or incorrect-
looking usages of Poets are like thorns (i.e. kaṇṭaka)
on the path of the sahitya. He has tried to clear the
path of these thorns. Though majority of the uses
are collected from the Kavyas, there are some expres-
sions culled also from other sources such as the
Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, the Smrti texts, Devīmāhātmya
(This is discussed by Bhattoji and others too) some
Madhukośa, works on Vaidyaśāstra, Jyotiśśāstra and
Vayavyapurana (See the Index) etc. It is because of
this fact that he seems to have chosen the word
Sahitya etc. instead of Kavyakaṇṭakoddhāra. The word
sahitya was understood in the sense of literature in
general.
 
The Introductory verses show that the author
was capable of composing some good poetic pieces.
See particularly the verse 4 (mūrdhni sthitām etc.).
 
The role played by the present work
 
The author has accurate knowledge of the con-
tents and the context of the verses he has quoted.
He has a dependable knowledge of standard works
on grammar such as the Mahābhāṣya, the Kāśikā,
Nyasa, Padamañjari, Sabdakaustubha etc. His inter-
pretations and applications of grammatical rules are
reliable. He refers to some interesting views about
 
IV.