99. 96 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

96 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

abode of excellent svabhavokti verses and gunas (वणाहीनापि या जाता जात्युत्कर्षगुखास्पदम् ।।), another poetess or work called मनोवती. Then verse 22 describes the author as a descendant of दामोदर, then four verses follow which are not clear; the last glorifies सरस्वती and the tribe of great poets. Then begins the story in prose. In the capital city named काश्ी there was king सिंहविप्णु to whom an आर्या was recited by a गन्धव. The family of दएडी migrated from आनन्दपुर to अचलपुर in नासिक्यभूमि (modern Ellich- pur in Berar ?). The ancestor called दामोदरस्वामिन् (of the कौशिकगोत्र) following the advice of the great poet भारवि (who was a महाशव) formed friendship with prince विष्शुवर्धन.1 दामोदर met दुर्विनीत of the गाङ्रेय dynasty who was well-known for his wanderings. The आर्या that the गन्धर्व addressed to (पल्लव) सिंह- विष्ु was दामोदर's.2 सिंहविष्णु invited दामोदर to his court, got him

1 The passage as corrected by Dr. Raghavan from 'the Trivandrum mss.'and as communicated to me in a letter is'nta महाप्रभावं गवां प्रभवं प्रदीप्रभासं भारवि रविमिवेन्दुः अनुरुव्य दर्श इव पुएयकमषि विष्णु वर्षनाल्ये राजसूनौ प्रणयमन्वबध्नात्।' The printed text (of Mr. Kavi) is mutilated but the part पुएय ... बझ्ात् (p.6) is there. Vide I. H. Q. vol. III. pp. 169-171 for a similarly corrected pa- ssage by Mr. Harihar Sastri. The passage now appears on p. 10 of the T. S. S. ed. 2 The आर्या as given in the अवन्तिसुन्दरीकथासार (I. 16) is : दनुजपतिहृदय-भूधरविभेदविज्ञातशक्तिनखकुलिशम्। जगदुदयह्ेतुविष्णरवतु वपुर्नारसिंहं व: ॥. This applies both to नृसिंहावतार and to सिंहविष्यु, the Pallava king. This raises an important question, viz. whether this दामोदर, the ancestor of Dandin, is the same as the poet दामोदर many of whose verses are quoted in the anthologies. Vide सुभाषितावलि of वल्लभदेव No. 2528 (ascribed to कपिलदामोदर) and कवीन्द्रवचनसमुच्चय pp. 43-46. It is not possible to give a de- finite answer to this question in the present state of our know- ledge. It is suggested in a paper in the Bulletin of the D. C. Research Institute, Poona, (vol. I. pp. 421-424) that one of the Introductory verses of the Vāsavadattā contains a veiled allu- sion to Damodara as the Guru of Subandhu. The Introduetory verse 6 of the अवन्तिसुन्दरीकथा mentions सुबन्धु but it is extremely doubtful whether he is the author of the extant prose romance called वासवदत्ता. He may be the महाकवि सुबन्धु, author of a play called वासवदत्तानृत्यधारा (धार) mentioned by भ. भा. Dr. A. N.