243. ABHINAVAGUPTA 243

ABHINAVAGUPTA 243

quite wrong to assume that Abhinavagupta's literary activity must have extended over 35 or 40 years i. e. from about 980 A. D. to about 1020 A. D. If we suppose that his first works (among which the anes is one) must have been written when he was about or over 30 years of age, Abhinavagupta was probably born about 950 A. D. These dates receive strong corroboration from several considerations. afr. wrote his commentary on परात्रिशिका for his pupil कर्ष, son of a minister of qRaT who died in 948 A. D. This son must have been old enough to understand the doctrines of Tantra. So he must have been 25 or 30 years old at the time of his request and ifauf was born about 960 to the former minister of यशस्कर the परात्रिशिकाविवरण might have been composed about 980 A.D. वेमेन्द्र mentions at the end of his बहरकथामअरी and भारतमजरी that he learnt Sahitya from Abhinavagupta.1 We know that वेमेन्द्र wrote his समयमातृका in 1050 A. D. and his दशावतारचरित in 1066 A. D. He was also a voluminous writer. So his literary activity would have to be placed between 1030- 1070 A. D. It appears, therefore, that aaex came in contact with भभिनव० towards the close of the latter's life. 22 The दशरूप (or दशरूपक) of धनञ्जय. This work with the commentary called अवलोक by धनिक has been published several times, i. e. by F. E. Hall (B. I. Series) in 1865, by Haas (New York, 1912) with transliterated text, notes and a valuable Introduction and by the Nir. Press. Here references are made to Nir. Press, 4th edition (1941). As Dr. Hall remarked and Dr. Rāghavan in his 'Srngāraprakāsa part I pp. 188-190 says, there is a good deal of variance in the mss. of the Dasarūpa

1. श्रुत्वाभिनवगुप्ताख्यात्साहित्यं बोधवारियेः। माचा्यरोखर मयेविधाविर्- तिकारियः॥ बृहत्कथाम०, उपसंहार verse 37, भारतमजरी concluding verse 8 (here the halves are transposed). 2. The समयमातका (concluding verses 2 and 4) states that it was composed in the 25th year of Laukika era in the reign of king Ananta, while the दशावतारचरित (verse 5 at end) says that it was composed in the 41st year of the Laukika era in the reign of king कलश of काश्मीर. भनन्त ruled from 1028 to 1063 A. D., when be abdicated in favour of his son wert who

1089 A. D. was a king (for some, years only in name) from 1063 to