338. 340 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

340 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

Subandhu in his वासवदत्ता alludes in various places to topics of Poetics. He boasts of his skill in weaving a web of puns on each syllable (प्रत्यक्षर-श्लेषमयप्रवन्धविन्यासवै दग्ध्यनिधिर्निबन्धम्.), speaks of वक्रोकि, of the soul of poctry, of the composition of an ex- cellent poet in which the expletives and fe do not occur and which is divided into long sections and contains Vaktra metre ('अग्रहेयापि काव्यजीवशेन' pp. 113-114 of Hall's ed., 'सत्कविकाव्यबन्ध इवानवबद्धतुहिनिपातः' p. 134, 'दीर्घोच्छ वासरचना कुलं सुश्लेषवक्त्रघटनापट सत्कवि- वचनमिव' p.184). He speaks of शृङ्धलाबन्ध, उत्प्रेक्षा and आक्षेप (p.136) and on p. 41 we have a मालादीपक 'यस्य समरभुवि भुजदण्डेन कोदएडं कोदएडेन शरा ... आसादितम्' and यमक on p. 53 and pp. 203-14. In the Intro. to Harsacarita by the present author (pp. 11-12, 1918 A. D.) it was held that Subandhu was probably earlier than Bana. He still sticks to that view. In P. O. vol. XI pp. 29ff. it is shown that जिनभद्र in विशेषावश्यकभाष्य refers to वासवदत्ता and तरङगवती and that according to an ancient ms. that work of जिनभद् was finished at Valabhi in s aka 531 (609A.D.) when king Sīlāditya was reigning. It is most probable that faaua is referr- ing to the वासवदत्ता of सुबन्धु. If so, सुबन्धु cannot be later than the last quarter of the 6th century A. D. aTu speiks of such puzzles as अक्षर च्युतक, मात्राच्युतक, बिन्दुमती, प्रहेलिका &c .; he knew the diffc- rence made between कथा and आख्यायिका (उच्छवासान्तेप्यखिन्नास्ते येषा वक्त्रे सरस्वती। कथमार्यायिकाकारा०, हर्पचरित Intro. verse 10)1, he speaks of श्लेष, उत्प्रेक्षा, उपमा, दीपक, जाति (हरन्ति कं नोज्ज्वलदीपकोपमैः & c.in कादम्बरी) and श्लेषप्रायमुदीच्येपु ... उत्प्रेता दाक्िसात्येषु गौडेष्वरक्रडम्बरः।। in the हषचरित), he extols a prince as the source or fountain of the ambrosial rasas of kavyas ('आगमः काव्यामृतरसानाम्' कादम्बरी 1st para). Thus by 600 A. D., we find that numerous figures

1. Vide p. 107 above for Bana's words saying that the कादम्बरी was a कथा and हर्षचरित was an आख्यायिका. It is strange that Dr. De (in H. S. P. vol. I. p. 67) remarks 'Bāņa designates his Harsacarita as a Kathā and his Kādambarī as Ākhyayika.' There is either a slip of the pen here or Dr. De has altogether forgotten the last Intro. verse of the कादम्बरी 'द्विजेन ... थिया निबद्धेयमतिदयी कथा' and Bana's son's words 'याते दिवं पितरि तद्वचसैव सार्ध विच्छेदमाप भुवि यस्तु कथाप्रबन्धः । and verse 6 'चिप्ता कथानुघटनाय मयापि वाखी. The 19th Intro. verse to the हर्षचरित is 'तथापि नृपतेर्भक्त्या ... करोम्याखयायिकाम्भोधौ जिह्वाप्लवनचापलम् ।।'. Nothing could be clearer than this.