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

XIV INTRODUCTION. II. His Works. Rājaśekhara himself informs us in his prelude to the Bāla- rāmāyaṇa that he composed six works. While replying to his critics who alleged that his drama was abnormally lengthy, he incidentally requests his readers to peruse the six works already composed by him in case there was any virtue in them.¹ From this statement it would appear that Rājaśekhara composed six works already before his Bālarāmāyaṇa was taken up in hand. Prof. Sten Konow² believes that the Karpūramañjarī was his first composition on the ground that it was staged at the request of his wife Avantisundarī, which is rather unusual since all others were performed at the request of his patron kings. This is further strengthened by the fact that it was composed at a time when he had attained the position of a Kavirāja or a prince among poets.³ The Viddhaśālabhañjikā and the Bālarāmāyaṇa must have been composed afterwards when the author gained greater re- putation and maturity. The Bālabhārata probably was his last work, since it is found to be incomplete in two acts instead of the usual five or more, and since the Bharatavākya showing the com- pletion of the drama is absent. To these four works, we have to add two more, namely, the present work Kāvyamīmāṁsā and the Haravilāsakāvya, the existence of which is borne out through quotations made in later works.⁴ According to his own admission, the Kāvyamīmāṁsā was projected by Rājaśekhara in 18 lengthy Adhikaraṇas each con- taining several Adhyāyas; but unfortunately, the whole of this work is not found except the first, the Kavirahasya. It will be

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1 ब्रूते यः कोऽपि दोषं महदिति सुमतिर्बालरामायणेऽस्मिन् प्रष्टव्योऽसौ पटीयानिह भणितिगुणो विद्यते वा नवेति । यद्यस्ति स्वस्ति तुभ्यं भव पठनरुचिर्विद्धि नः षट् प्रबन्धान् नैवं चेद्दीर्घमास्तां नटवटुवदने जर्जरा काव्यकन्था ॥ Bālarāmāyaṇa 1. 12. 2 Karpūramañjarī, Harvard Oriental Series edi, p. 184. 3 Ibid. 1–9. 4 Hemacandra's Kāvyānuśāsana pp. 334–335; Ujjvaladatta II. 28.