318. 320 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETIOS

320 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETIOS

Sastri contends, it becomes very difficult to explain several matters. We shall see later on that Jagannatha's literary activity lies between 1620-1665 A. D. He heaps personal abuse on Appayya, which can be explained more satisfactorily on the hypothesis of the two being contemporaries for some years, Appayya being much older than Jagannatha. This cannot be explained away by saying that Jagannatha hated all Dravidas. Besides नीलकएउदीक्षित wrote his नीलकगठविजयचम्पू in गतकलि 4738 i. e. 1637 A. D. Tradition says that when he was 12 years old he was blessed by the aged Appayya who was the elder brother of Accan, the grand-father of नीलकएठ. That makes the usually accepted dates of Appayya more probable. Besides, there is an Inscription of Venkata I dated saka 1523 i. e. 1601-2 A. D. (E. I. vol. IV. pp. 269-271). Chinna Bomma was prince of Velur (or Vellore) and his son Lingama Nāyaka was a contemporary of Venkata I. Vide E. I. vol. IV. p. 269 at p. 271. Therefore, it follows that Appayya first enjo- yed the patronage of Chinna Bomma and then of Venkata. I am not prepared to place implicit reliance on the inscription referred to by Mr. Sastri and would still stick to the generally accepted dates of 1554-1626 A. D. It is possible that Appayya may have been born a little earlier than 1554 A. D. But it is difficult to hold that he was born in 1520 A. D. and died in 1593 A. D. as Mr. Mahalinga Sastri, a descendant of Appayya himself, contends on the strength of the single inscription mentioned above. For an account of scqza's life, family, pedigree and works, vide Sanskrit Intro. to यादवाभ्युदय vol. II pp. XV ff. According to the remarks in चित्रमीमांसा (K.M. ed. p. 63) वसःस्थलाचार्य was his ancestor (सन्देहालक्कारध्वनिर्यथा श्रस्मत्कुल- कूटस्थ-वत्ःस्थलाचार्यकृते वरदराजवसन्तोत्सवे कांचित्कान्चनगौराङीं ... वक्षःस्थलम- वैकत ।). According to some, आचार्य (or आच्चान्) दीक्षित, grand- father of अप्पय्य was called वक्षःस्थलाचारय. Acc. to another account वक्ष:स्थल was the great-grand-father of भप्पन्य. Accan had from his 2nd wife several sons of whom TT was the eldest. His sons were भप्पय्य and आच्चान्. The यात्राप्रबन्ध of समरपुञ्वदीच्षित (II. 86) states that the author learnt under Appayya and that रङराजाध्वरि was patronized by king चिन्नोम (II. 95). Vide Sanskrit Intro. to asaregra pp. XXIII-XXVII for 54 works attributed to अप्पय्य; and Introduction to अप्पय्यदीक्षित's शिवाद्वतनिर्यय edited and translated by Prof. S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri