काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

Introduction to the Third Edition. A. Rājaśekhara—the Author. I. His Time. Many details are given by the author himself regarding the place and period in which he flourished, and in fact, in this respect, he is more prolific than any other Sanskrit dramatist of ancient times. Rājaśekhara wrote not less than four dramas and from these we can gather that he was a teacher of the king Nirbhaya- Mahendrapāla, and was patronized by his son Mahīpāla who ruled over the country of Madhyadeśa with its capital at Kanauj. From the Asni inscription dated Vikrama Saṁ. 974=A. D, 917–918 and the Siyodoni inscription (E. I. Vol. I. p. 171) we can ascertain that the two kings Mahendrapāla and his son Mahīpāla of Kanauj belonged to what is known as the Gurjara Pratīhāra dynasty. From historical and archaeological evidences, it has been possible to assign the period 890–908 A. D. to Mahendrapāla, and 910–940 A. D. to his son Mahīpāla with certainty. It is thus probable that Rājaśekhara belonged to the courts of these two kings, but the major part of his life was spent in the court of Mahendrapāla who is said to be his disciple in all his plays. Mahīpāla (A. D. 910–940) seems to have maintained Rājaśekhara only in the earlier part of his reign, since the Bālabhārata the only drama to be performed in his presence remains incomplete, and appears to be the last composition of the author. It is thus not unrea- sonable to assign a period of 880–920 A. D. to Rājaśekhara, the present author. His connections with Āryakṣemīśvara, the author of the drama Caṇḍakauśika, may be found interesting in this connection. It was supposed that Kṣemīśvara belonged to the court of King Mahīpāla (A. D. 974–1026) of the Pāla dynasty of Bengal.¹ But from the evidences recorded below, it will be found that he belonged to the court of king Mahīpāla of the Gurjara Pratīhāra 1 Kṣemīś'vara speaks of one Mahīpāla as his patron king in the prelude to the Caṇḍakauśika. This king did not belong to the Pāla dynasty as is sometimes supposed. See R. D. Banerji: Pālas of Bengal, p. 73 and Pāla