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

mature production as a Kavirāja. Here either in the first or the last canto, but most probably in the first, may be found apprecia- tory verses about poets (Viśeshakavipraśaṁsā) quoted in Jahlaṇa's Sūktimuktāvalī. Generally the poet's family-history and praise of old poets are given in Ākhyāyikās and Kathās such as the Harsha- charitra, the Tilakamañjarī and the Udayasundarī; but references to old poets are also made in the Mahākāvyas. Maṅkhaka in his Śrīkaṇṭhacharita refers to old and contemporary poets and Some- śvara in the first canto of his Kīrtikaumudī eulogizes old poets. This practice of eulogizing the old poets in the beginning of a poem is also found in Prākṛita poems of the 12th century e. g. in the Śāntināthacharita of Devachandra, Guru of the great Hema- chandra. Some say that Rājaśekhara wrote a work named Kavi- vimarśa, wherein are to be found the appreciatory verses attributed to him in the Sūktimuktāvalī; but it does not seem probable that Rājaśekhara, should ever have written any such work when he had composed such a large work as the Kāvyamīmāṁsā with 18 Adhi- karaṇas. It was conjectured that the appreciatory verses may occur in the Kāvyamīmāṁsā; but these verses do not occur in the first Adhikaraṇa, nor is there possibility of their being found in other Adhikaraṇas, as the first Adhikaraṇa alone, judging from the contents of the whole work, seems to contain such matter. Besides the Haravilāsa, Rājaśekhara composed a work, named Bhuvanakośa, on the world's geography. At the end of the 17th chapter of the Kāvyamīmāṁsā he refers the reader to this work¹ for detailed in- formation about the world's geography. Ujjvaladatta quotes a line from Rājaśekhara about synonyms² of Śiva. This may be found either in the Haravilāsa or in some unknown lexicon of Rājaśekhara. It will thus appear that Rājaśekhara was an extensive writer and might have written more works than those hitherto known. The present work only the first part of the Kāvya- mīmāṁsā. From the first chapter Śāstrasaṁgraha, we understand 1 इत्थं देशविभागो मुद्रामात्रेण सूत्रितः सुधियाम् । यस्तु जिगीषत्यधिकं पश्यतु मद्भूवनकोशमसौ । p. 98. 2 चण्डीकान्तो भगोली च लेलिहानो वृषध्वजः । ( ii-76 ) 5