कल्पान्तरे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Vidyāpati

In the first edition of the History of Dharmasāstra, Vidyāpati was not dealt with in the body of the text, but some information about him and his works was given in the list of authors on pp. 739–40. It is thought advisable that a separate section be de voted to Vidyapati in this revised edition, Dr. Umesh Mishra published in Hindi1235 a life of Vidyapati; he gives the pedigree which shows that he was fourth in descent from Dhireśvara, uncle of Candeśvara. That work deals at some length with the lineage of Vidyāpati, gives a brief account of the kings of Mithila, the times of Vidyāpati, his works his padas, (songs) his learning and similar matters. There is difference of opinion about the date of his birth among scholars but there appears to be agreement about the date of his death viz. 1448 A. D. His birth place was Bisapi, a village in Madhubani ( lit. forest of honey) on the eastern side of north Bihar. The ‘Love Songs of Vidyāpati’, translated into English from Maithili by Mr. Deben Bhattacharya and edited with an Introduction, Notes and comments by W. G. Archer, were published in London in 1963 by George Allen and Unwin (Ltd.). It was preceded by the publication of the Songs of Vidyāpati rendered into English by Shri Subhadra Jha in 1954, published by Messrs Motilal Banarsidas (of Benares ).

This edition of 1954 contains an introduction of 193 pages, Maithili text of 212 songs with an English rendering on the opposite page of the song and mentions the rāgas in which they are to be recited. Vidyapati is famous for his songs; he is also credited with the authorship of twelve works in Sanskrit (vide note below). 1236

1235

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Dr. Mishra sets out the contents of the grant on pp. 2–3. The grant is dated in La, Sari, 293. Dr. Mishra refers to Intro ductory verses 7-12. The names of his twelve works are :– THÁFHIT (or - वाक्यावली), दानवाक्यावली, वर्षकृत्य (or वर्षक्रिया), विभागसार, भूपरिक्रमण (or FFHT), gotat, format, Fiīśeni, afa gatht, 44191FT वली, दुर्गाभक्तितरङ्गिणी, व्याडीभक्तितरङ्गिणी. रघुनन्दन, in his मलमासतत्त्व (vol I. p. 823 ), refers to arrest as faangfarenhet aantareata. The Nirnayasindhu (Nir. ed. of 1915 ) with Marathi trans.

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Vidyāpati

In the edition by Shri Subhadra Jha the Introduction on p. 18 sets out a pedigree of the poet Vidyāpati viz. his father was Gana pati, whose father was Jayadatta, son of Dhireśvara. Most of the dates referring to Vidyāpati are in the Laksmanasena era. No one knows for certain when this era was started. Dr. Rajendralal Mitra held that the La-sam. (i, e. Laksmanasena era) starts from 1106 A. D. Kielhorn held that the La-Sam. started in 1119-20 of the Christian era. Several scholars regard the Bisapi plate as spurious. Further, several scholers say that the La-Sam. started from the date of the birth of Lakṣmaṇasena, The Sena kings are called Brahma-khatriyas. For the Inscriptions of Sena Kings, vide E. I. Vol. 20 Appendix Nos. 1682-1693 and “Indian Culture’ vol. IV pp. 22 ff. Shri. G. C. Basu (of Dacca University) in New Indian Antiquary’ (Vol. VII pp. 49–57) mentions a hitherto unknown work of Vidyāpati viz. Vyādjbhaktitarangini (lit, a river of devotion to the serpent goddess Manasā). It is a Tāptrika work. The Ms, refers to the Durgābhaktitarangini as his own work.

He was a voluminous and versatile writer. A few words may be said here about some of the other works,

Vidyāpati’s name is as great in Bengal as in Mithilā and it is curious that in Bengal Vidyāpati is believed to have been a great Vaiṣṇava, while in Mithilā he was held to be a Śaiva. 1237 The poems of Vidyapati were edited and published by Khagendranath Mitra. Dr. Bimanbihari Majumdar has completely over-hauled

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(Continued from the previous page) lation, p. 172 relies upon Vidyapati as “ 373 ha fater T दरो मुख्यः कल्पः, तदभावे तु तिथिरेव ग्राह्या । तिथिः शरीरं देवस्य तिथौ नक्षत्र माश्रितम् । तस्मात्तिथिं प्रशंसन्ति नक्षत्रं न तिथिं विना” इति विद्यापति लिखित 1996 | The Nirṇayasindhu several times cites Durgā. bhaktitarangiṇi e. g. on pp. 167, 170, 179, 183. Dr. Jayakanta in his · History of Maithili Literature’ devoted pp. 130-196 of volume I to the age of Vidyāpati and pp. 196-224 of the same vol, to his contemporaries and on p. 140 it is stated that king Śivasimba and his queen Lakhimādevi liked him very much. Mahamahopadhyāya Dr. Umesa Miśra published in 1937 a work on Vidyapati Thākura, of wbich the third edition published by bim in 1959 has been relied upon in this section for information on some points,

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and re-arranged the work and has puplished it in Devanagari characters along with a very elaborate and informative introduc tion of 132 pages ( in 1953 ). There is great difference of opinion about what padas were the genuine works of Vidyāpati. In this latest edition the editor had to reject 203 padas, which had been wrongly ascribed to Vidyāpati by the editor Babu Nagendranatha Gupta (vide J. of G. J. R. Institute Vol. X. pp. 175-196 Review).

For Vidyāpati’s Purusapariksā, vide No. 1922 in Mitra’s Notices (vol. V pp. 244-46). The work was written under the orders of King Śivasimha , son of King Devasimha , of Mithila. It has four paricchedas and contains over forty stories about heroism, benevolence, dayā (kindness), theft, cowardice, a lazy man, a clever man &c. The Purusapariksā was rendered into English by Sir George A. Grierson and was published in 1935 by the Royal Asiatic Society, London. The translation contains 44 tales in all, most of them being arranged in groups e. g. there are at first four tales of heroic men and four tales about men of the opposite type. Grierson published a paper on ‘Vidyapati and his contemporaries’ in I. A. Vol. XIV (1885) pp. 182-196. On pp. 190-191 of that volume the original Sanskrit of the Bisapi plate and its translation into English are set out. It is dated in several eras, san 807, sainvat 1455 and sake 1321 (and L. Sam. 283, Śravaṇa suidi 7). The Ms. of the Bhagavata Purana copied by Vidyapati bears the date · La. Sam. 349’ says Dr. Jayakanta, while others read that date as La. Sam. 349 or 389 (vide History of Maithili Literature, vol. I. p. 185.

He may be held to have flourished between 1360-1448 A. D. and should be placed just about the times of Sulapāṇi. Vide Journal of Department of Letters for 1929, vol. 16, for an informing paper on him.

The Gangāvākyāvali of Queen Viśvasadevi was published at Calcutta in 1940 in a sumptuous edition by Dr. J. B. Chaudhuri Ph.D. (London) with an Introduction of 64 pages, text (in Sanskrit pp. 107–314), with numerous appendices such as No. I of pp. 1-96 on references, various readings and notes, No. II remarks on the quotations in the Gangavākyāvali (pp. 97-101 ), No. III (Description of the Mss. of the Gangāvākyāvali pp. 102-4),

Vidyāpati

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No. IV (Remarks on the authorship of the Gangāvākyāvali, pp. 105-108 ), No. V pp. 109–1:0, on the royal family of Mithila No. VI some well-known smārtas that have quoted the Gangāvā kyāvali (pp. 131-136 !, Index of verses and prose passages quoted in the work ( pp. 1-26 ) and names of the sources from which they are quoted. Index No. 5 on the maxims quoted (p. 54) No. VI list of works quoted by the authoress that are not extant or rare or fragmentary (p. 55); abbreviations (pp. 1-37), Biblio graphy (pp. 1-21 ), General Index (pp. 22-40 ), additions and corrections (pp. 41-43 ).

The two verses at the end of the work are quoted below.1238 They are clear on the point that the work was composed by the Queen and that all that Vidyāpati did was that he studied certain works and made her work look faultless by providing it with authorities from several nibandhas that he studied. It is clear that the work was that of the Queen and Vidyāpati only supplied some textual authorities in support of her propositions.

An exeellent edition of the Gangāvākyāvali of Queen Viśvā sadevi, Queen of Padmasimha ( along with the Dvārakāpattala by Binabai) was published as volumes III and IV (as part of the Contribution of Women to Sanskrit Literature ) by Dr. J. B. Chaudhuri in 1940 at Calcutta, with a Foreword by Dr. C, Otto Blagden and with five Appendices one of which contained some remarks on the autborship of the work (pp. 105-108 ) and on members of the royal family of Mithilā ( 15 in all) and some well-known Smārta writers who quoted the Gangāvākyāvali. Viśvāsadevi was the wife of Padmasimha, son of Śivasimha, king of Mithilā.1239 Padmasimha became the king of Mithilā on

1238 यावत्स्वर्गतरङ्गिणी हरजटाजूटान्तरालम्बते यावद्विश्वविकाशिविस्तृतकरः सूर्योयमु

ज्जृम्भते । यावन्मण्डलमैन्दवं वितनुते शम्भोः शिरोमण्डनं तावत्कल्पलतेयमस्तु सफला देव्याः सतां श्रेयसे ।। कियान्निबन्धमालोक्य श्रीविद्यापतिसूरिणा । गङ्गा

appast : SATTHETETT ii last the rerses of Ital#11761. 1239 Some writers say that Paduasiiba was the brother of Śiva

simha; but that is not correct. They were probably missed by the imperfect text of the extract in Mitra’s Notices vol. VI p. 3, where a verse refers to Śivasiriiha and then there is a mutilated passage. As printed there is a lacunea in the

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Śivasimha’s death and on the death of Padmasiṁha Viśvasadevi ascended the throne. The work has 29 chapters dealing with such matters as remembering the Ganges, uttering its name, pil grimage to it, hearing the eulogy of the Ganges, seeing it, bowing down to it, śrāddha to be performed on it, bathing in it, offering libations ( tarpana ), counting beads (japa ), gifts on it and offer ing pindas and residing on it; prāyascittas, voluntary or natural death (mṛtyu ), putting the bones of the dead in the waters, baths at the confluence of the Ganges and the Sea &c.

For the Vibhāgasāra’ of Vidyāpati, vide Mitra’s Notices Vol. VI pp. 67-8. It deals with the meaning of ‘Daya’, nature of partition, what is not liable to partition, disquisition on Stri dhana ( woman’s property ) and its partition among heirs, division of wealth concealed, but later found partition among those who are born of persons that had partitioned; description of the twelve kinds of sons and partition among them; heirs to person dying without male issue; partition of wealth among persons who had reunited after partition.

The Dānavākyāvali is described (on p. 352 of Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar’s Report on the search for Sanskrit Mss. for the year 1883–84) as composed by Dhiramati, queen of king Darpanārāyaṇa of Mithila, who was herself learned and who permitted the very clever Vidyāpati to render it faultless with authoritative texts. 1940

One of Vidyāpati’s works is Bhūparikramana of which a complete copy exists in the Mss. Library of the Sanskrit College of Calcutta. Some account of this work is given by Sri Dinesh Chandra Bhattacharya in J. G. J. R. I. Vol. VI at pp. 241-247. That work shows that Vidyāpati had sākta leanings. His work seems to have been called Dvaitanirṇaya (or Agamadvaitanirṇaya).

(Continued from the previous page) verse ‘51HTFUHHHHHEETTAFITTE + + + Teretanya HEHTĀ TEET 79: || It is quite possible that the mos, presented tbe words TETTEAST: (and were read by the editor as

ARIT +++) 1240 Verse 6 on p. 352 of the Report says- faṣista faentafa

मतिकृतिनं सप्रमाणामुदारा पुण्या लोकाद्यराजी विरचयतितरां दानवाक्यावली सा॥ and at the end there is a verse: - F ATT HETTE) sitaren

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Vyarahāranirṇaja of Varadaraja

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In the Journal of Bihar and Orissa Society vol. 28 pp. 406-430 for 1942 A. D., Bimanbehari Majumdar deals with the Bhanitas’ in Vidyāpati’s Padas.