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Gaudavaho
''Gaudavaho'' ("Slaying of the Gauda king") is an 8th-century Prakrit-language epic poem by Vakpati-raja. It narrates the exploits of the poet's patron, king Yashovarman, who ruled in northern India. The poem deifies the king as an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and credits him with several military achievements, including slaying of the Gauda king. A little over 1200 verses of the text are known from several manuscripts. According to some scholars such as Georg Bühler, the surviving text is only a prelude to the larger poem that Vakpati intended to write, but possibly never finished. Authorship Gaudavaho was composed by Vakpati-raja (Prakrit: "Bappai-rāa"), a court poet of king Yashovarman. He wrote in the first half of the 8th century. He states that he was known as ''Kavi-raja'' (Prakrit: "Kairāa", "king of poets"), an epithet possibly awarded to him by his patron Yashovarman. Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' suggests that both Vakpati and Bhavabhuti were court poets of Lalita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yashovarman
Yashovarman (IAST: Yaśovarman) was a medieval Indian ruler of Kannauj, who founded the Varman dynasty of Kannauj. There are few sources that provide information of his life, although he was indubitably a powerful man. Life Yashovarman was king of Kannauj in the early part of the eighth century. The city (then known as Kanyakubja) had previously been ruled by Harsha, who died without an heir and thus created a power vacuum. This lasted for around a century before Yashovarman emerged as its ruler. Alexander Cunningham, an archaeologist of the British Raj period, speculated on possible rulers of Kannauj during the period between Harsha and Yashovarman but there is little evidence to support his claims. Little is known of Yashovarman or his family, with most information being derived from the ''Gaudavaho'' (''Slaying of the king of Gauda''), a Prakrit-language poem written by Vakpati. Yashovarman was a supporter of culture and Vakpati was among his courtiers: the extent to whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and the later Pali. ''Prākṛta'' literally means "natural", as opposed to ''saṃskṛta'', which literally means "constructed" or "refined". Prakrits were considered the regional spoken (informal) languages of people, and Sanskrit was considered the standardized (formal) language used for literary, official and religious purposes across Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent. Literary registers of Prakrits were also used contemporaneously (predominantly by śramaṇa traditions) alongside Classical Sanskrit of higher social classes. Etymology The dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), and other modern authors however, interpret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharashtri Prakrit
Maharashtri or Maharashtri Prakrit ('), is a Prakrit language of ancient as well as medieval India and the ancestor of Marathi and Konkani. Maharashtri Prakrit was commonly spoken until 875 CEV.Rajwade, ''Maharashtrache prachin rajyakarte''The Linguist List Dr.Kolarkar, ''Marathyancha Itihaas'' and was the official language of the . Works like ''Karpūramañjarī'' and (150 BCE) were written in it. |
Āma
Āma was a medieval Indian king who ruled Kannauj and surrounding areas during the 8th and the 9th centuries. According to the Jain chronicles, he was the son and successor of Yashovarman. Jain account The Jain chronicle ''Bappabhatti-Suri-Charita'' states Yashovarman's chief queen Suyasha gave birth to Āma during her exile at Ramasainya. Also called Yashodevi, the queen was exiled because of a conspiracy by another queen. Āma was brought up by the Jain monk Siddhasena at Modherakapura, but he and his mother were later restored to their royal positions. As a prince, Āma was a spendthrift, so Yashovarman asked him to be frugal. This annoyed Āma, who returned to Modherakapura. According to the ''Prabandha Kosha'', when Yashovarman fell ill towards the end of his life, he recalled Āma to Kannauj and appointed him as the new king. The '' Prabhavaka Charita'' and ''Prabandha Kosha'' suggest that Āma ascended the throne during 749-753 CE (807-811 VS). According to ''Prabha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka." However, the earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Settled life, which involves the transition from foraging to farming and pastoralism, began in South Asia around 7000 BCE. At the site of Mehrgarh presence can be documented of the domestication of wheat and barley, rapidly followed by that of goats, sheep, and cattle. By 4500 BCE, settled life had spread more widely, and began to gradually evolve into the Indus Valley civilisation, an early civilisation of the Old World, which was contemporaneous with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. This civilisation flourished between 2500 BCE and 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jain Literature
Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas,'' which are written in Ardhamagadhi, a Prakrit ( Middle-Indo Aryan) language. Various commentaries were written on these canonical texts by later Jain monks. Later works were also written in other languages, like Sanskrit and Maharashtri Prakrit. Jain literature is primarily divided between the canons of the ''Digambara'' and ''Śvētāmbara'' orders. These two main sects of Jainism do not always agree on which texts should be considered authoritative. More recent Jain literature has also been written in other languages, like Marathi, Tamil, Rajasthani, Dhundari, Marwari, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and more recently in English. Beliefs The Jain tradition believes that their religion is eternal, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Critical Edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in dates from the earliest writing in cuneiform, impressed on clay, for example, to multiple unpublished versions of a 21st-century author's work. Historically, scribes who were paid to copy documents may have been literate, but many were simply copyists, mimicking the shapes of letters without necessarily understanding what they meant. This means that unintentional alterations were common when copying manuscripts by hand. Intentional alterations may have been made as well, for example, the censoring of printed work for political, religious or cultural reasons. The objective of the textual critic's work is to provide a better understanding of the creation and historical transmission of the text and its variants. This understanding may lead to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a royal palace and several ornate Jain temples. Many of the houses and temples of both the fort and of the town below are built of finely sculptured sandstone. The town lies in the heart of the Thar Desert (the Great Indian Desert) and has a population, including the residents of the fort, of about 78,000. It is the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer District. Jaisalmer was once the capital of Jaisalmer State. Origin of name Jaisalmer was founded by Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD. ''Jaisalmer'' means ''the Hill Fort of Jaisal''. Jaisalmer is sometimes called the "Golden City of India" because the yellow sandstone used throughout the architecture of both the fort and the town below, imbues both with a certain golden-yellow light. Geography ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metre (poetry)
In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study and the actual use of metres and forms of versification are both known as prosody. (Within linguistics, " prosody" is used in a more general sense that includes not only poetic metre but also the rhythmic aspects of prose, whether formal or informal, that vary from language to language, and sometimes between poetic traditions.) Characteristics An assortment of features can be identified when classifying poetry and its metre. Qualitative versus quantitative metre The metre of most poetry of the Western world and elsewhere is based on patterns of syllables of particular types. The familiar type of metre in English-language poetry is called qualitative metre, with stressed syllables comin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gatha (India)
''Gāthā'' is a Sanskrit term for 'song' or 'verse', especially referring to any poetic metre which is used in legends, and is not part of the Vedas but peculiar to either Epic Sanskrit or to Prakrit. The word is originally derived from the Sanskrit/Prakrit root ''gai'', which means 'to speak, sing, recite or extol', cognate to the Avestan term ''gatha''. The stanzas of the Prakrit dialects of Ardhamagadhi, Sauraseni and Pāli are known as ''gathas'' as opposed to ''shlokas'' and sutras of Sanskrit and ''dohas'' of '' Apabhramsha''. Most of the Jain and Buddhist texts written in Prakrit are composed of ''gathas'' (or verses/stanzas). Thus, ''gatha'' can mean any Prakrit and Pali verses in general,Amaresh Datta (1988) ''Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 2'' Chennai: Sahitya Academy p. 1374 or specifically the arya meter of Sanskrit; versified portions of Pāli Canon ''( Tipitaka)'' of Theravāda Buddhism are also specifically called ''gathas''. In contemporary Buddhist pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arya Metre
''Āryā meter'' is a meter used in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Marathi verses. A verse in metre is in four metrical lines called ''pāda''s. Unlike the majority of meters employed in classical Sanskrit, the meter is based on the number of s (morae) per . A short syllable counts for one , and a long syllable (that is, one containing a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants) counts for two s. It is believed that meter was taken from the gatha meter of Prakrit. metre is common in Jain Prakrit texts and hence considered as favourite metre of early authors of Jainism. The earlier form of the metre is called old , which occurs in a some very early Prakrit and Pàli texts. Āryā The basic verse has 12, 18, 12 and 15 s in the first, second, third, and fourth ''pāda''s respectively. An example is the following from Kālidāsa's play ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam'' (c. 400 CE): : : : : : : : – u u , – – , u u – : u – u , – – , u – u , – – , – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prabandha Kosha
''Prabandha-Kosha'' (IAST: Prabandhakośa) is an Indian Sanskrit-language collection of ''prabandha''s (legendary biographical narratives). It was compiled by the Jain scholar Rajashekhara Suri in 1349 CE. It describes the lives of 24 people, including 10 Jain scholars, 4 Sanskrit poets, 7 kings and 3 Jain householders. It is also known as ''Chaturvinshati Prabandha''. The content of the collection is based on the information that Rajashekhara obtained from his teacher Tilakasuri. He composed the work at Delhi, under the patronage of Madanasimha, whose father had been honoured by Shri Mahamad Shahi (probably Muhammad Tughluq). Only the 7th ''prabandha'' in the collection (the one about Mallavadi-Suri) is written completely in verse form; the rest of the ''prabandha''s use colloquial Sanskrit prose. Content The ''Prabandha-Kosha'' contains 24 ''prabandha''s (anecdotes), with 4,300 shlokas (verses), on the following persons: Suris (Jain scholars) # Bhadrabahu and Varaha # Ary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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