Achala-simha (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Acala-siṃha) was a Sanskrit-language poet from India, who lived in the 12th century or earlier. His verses appear in several anthologies of Sanskrit poems.

Biography

Achalasimha, sometimes called Achala (

: Acala), has been quoted in ''Subhashita-ratna-kosha'' of the 12th century anthologist scholar

Vidyakara Vidyakara (c. 1050–1130) was a Buddhist scholar and poetry anthologist, noted for the Sanskrit poetry compilation ''Subhashitaratnakosha'' ( IAST: ''Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa''), which has been considered the "most celebrated" anthology of Sans ...

. Therefore, he must have lived in the 12th century or earlier. He may be same as the Buddhist author Achalasimha who wrote a tantric text, but this cannot be said with certainty. Achalasimha appears to have been a well-known poet of his time. A verse in ''

Sharngadhara-paddhati ''Sharngadhara-paddhati'' (IAST: ''Śārṅgadharapaddhati'', "Sharngadhara's Guidebook") is an anthology of Sanskrit-language short poems (subhashita) from India. It was compiled by Sharngadhara in 1363. The text is of interest as containing an ...

'' mentions him alongside other well-known poets, including Amara, Abhinanda and

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

; and dismisses other poets as imitators. He is among the ten most frequently quoted poets in Vidyakara's ''Subhashita-ratna-kosha''.

Example verses

One of Achalasimha's verses, about a pearl and addressed to a young woman, is included in

's ''Subhashita-ratna-kosha'' and Bhoja's ''Shringara-Prakasha''. It goes like this (translated by A. K. Warder): Another verse, about an angry woman, and attributed to Achalasimha by at least four anthologists (including Vidyakara, Shridhara-dasa, Jalhana and Sharangadhara), is as follows (translated by A. K. Warder):

References

Bibliography

* * {{authority control Sanskrit poets Indian male poets Medieval Indian poets