214. KĀVYAMĪMĀNSĀ 213

KĀVYAMĪMĀNSĀ 213

mas. It is also clear from the कपरमब्जरी I. 5 and the reply in the next line that he was the guru of king Mahendrapāla1 and the very first sentence of the बालरामायण and a line before बालभारत I. 6 show that those dramas werestaged before an asse- mbly of learned men in the court of Mahendrapala at महोदय.' The Bālabhārata (I. 7) speaks of king Mahipāla and the following prose passage states that the king was the son of निर्भयनरेन्द्र and that he was sovereign of Aryavarta (India north of Narmada or Vindhya) and that Mahendrapala was a pupil of राजशेखर (बालभारत I.11). Hence it is clear that राजशेखर's family left महाराष्ट्र and that राजशेखर came to महोदय (i. e. modern Kanoj) and was the guru or Upadhyaya of the kings निर्मय (or महेन्द्रपाल) and his son महीपाल. राजशेखर knew many languages and was very fond of Prakrits. In the कपरमन्जरी he is spoken of as सर्वभाषाचतुर (one line before I. 7) and a verse of his is quoted by the attendant of the stage manager to the effect that any language may do for a kavya which consists in being a striking mode of speech, the meaning being the same and the (Prakrit) words being merely modifications (of Sanskrit). He is fond of repeating the same verse in two dramas : e. g. बालरामायल I. 18 (आपन्नार्तिहर:०) is the same as बालभारत I. 11 and बालरामायण I. 20 (प्रथयति०) is the same as बालभारत I. 14. The काव्यमीमांसा (p.94 तत्रापि महोदयं मूलमवधीकृत्येति यायावरीयः) lays down that directions of countries are to be measured from महोदय. In two verses his ancestor अकालजलद was praised, which are quoted in the सूक्तिमुक्तावलि.3 The verse said to have been written by शङ्करवर्मन्

लयः स यस्यशिष्यः ।'. 1. विद्धशाल० I. 6 also says 'रघुकुलतिलको महेन्द्रपालः सक्लकलानि-

2. महोदय is generally held to be कान्यकुब्ज (Kanoj). Vide E.I. vol. VII pp. 23, 30 and 43 where राष्ट्रकूट king इन्द्र III is said to have devastated महोदय or Kanoj; but in the Barah Copper-plate of भोजदेव (Gurjara Pratihara king) dated sarvat 893 (836 A.D.) महोदय seems to be spoken of as a स्कन्धावार (camp) and कान्यकुब्ज is separately mentioned in the same record (E. I. vol. 19 at p. 17). Vide J. R. A. S. for 1908 pp. 765- 793 for the history of Kanoj by Vincent Smith and Bilhari stone Inscription of Cedi rulers (E. I. vol. I. pp. 251-270). 3. अकालजलदेन्दोः सा हषा वदनचन्द्रिका। नित्यं कविचकोरैरयां पीयते न च हीयते।। त्रकालजलदक्रोकैश्षित्रमात्मकृतैरिव। जातः कादम्बरीरामो नाटके प्रवरः कविः ॥ सक्तिमु. p. 46, verses 83-84. In the 2nd verse it is