69. 66 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

66 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

Further, his reference to Sākyācārya Rāhula (m. by A. B.) on N. S. 22. 26-31, p. 164 of G.O.S. vol. III) and to Śauddhodani on whose Kārikās Keśavamiśra composed his Alankāraśekhara (No. 37 below) are very slender reeds for building the theory of his paper. Rāhula is quoted in the three volumes of A. B. only 3 times and there is no reason to suppose that he is much earlier than the 10th century while Kesavamiśra is a late writer of 16th century and the Kārikās ascribed to Sauddhodani have been shown below to have been composed after 11th century. The science of Sanskrit Poetics had been solidly based without Buddhist help before these two writers flourished. 6. The विष्णुधर्मोत्तरपुराण. Itis a matter for some surprise that, though the yfagrru has come in for treatment at the hands of seve- ral scholars, this gTIu, which contains very valuable material on Dramaturgy and Poetics in its third section (khanda) has not been thoroughly studied by any scholar so far. Even Dr. Raghavan who has bestowed great labour and thought on the studies of numerous topics of नाट्यशारत्र and काव्यालक्कार refers to अलक्कारs in this yTr in one or two places (e.g. on p. 97 of his paper on 'the History of Svabhāvoktī', and in 'Some concepts of Alankāraśāstra, p. 97 he refers to वार्ता as mentioned in the विष्शुधर्मोत्तर)1. For reasons of space I cannot deal at great length with this work. The Purāna contains about 1000 verses on topics of नाट्यशास and काव्यालक्कार, be- sides four chapters in prose, viz. 18, 19, 32, 36 on गीत, आतोध, मुद्रा- हस्तS, प्रत्यङ्गविभाग respectively. It may be noted that the knowledge imparted here on painting, image-making, dramaturgy and Poetics is calledfarua2. The following account is based on a ms. of the grr in the Bhau Daji collection of the B.B.R.A.S. and the Venk.

1. Mr. Kavi on p. XX. of his Introduction to vol. II of the अभिनवभारती refers to विष्णुधर्मोत्तर on वृत्तिs (भारती &c.) 2. It is noteworthy that in the कुट्टनीमत, the technical चित्रसूत्र begins with III. 35 of विष्युधर्मोत्तर and चित्रसूत्र is mentioned as one of the subjects studied along with भरत, विशाखिल and दन्तिल by the accomplished courtesan. दामोदरगुप्त probably refers to some ancient work on painting or he may have this yrru in view. Verse 123 of कुट्टनीमत is: भरत-विशाखिल-दन्तिल-वृक्षायुर्वेद-चित्रसूत्रेषु। पत्रच्छेद- विधाने भ्रमकमषि पुस्तसूदशास्त्रेषु ॥. From the nature of the विष्युधर्मोत्तर, which is an encyclopaedia, it follows that it had some work on चित्रसूत्र before it.