Harisena, also called Harishena or Hirisena, was a 4th-century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

poet,

panegyrist A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

, and government minister. He was an important figure in the court of

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by sev ...

emperor,

Samudragupta Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', (c. 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of the dynasty. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the ...

. His most famous poem, written , describes the bravery of Samudragupta and is inscribed on the Allahabad Pillar. At least one of his known inscriptions was written as a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of gr ...

. Harisena was an early writer of Kāvya poetry;

Arthur Berriedale Keith Arthur Berriedale Keith (5 April 1879 – 6 October 1944) was a Scottish constitutional lawyer, scholar of Sanskrit and Indologist. He became Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and Lecturer on the Constitution of the Brit ...

says of it, "Harisena's poem bears expressly the title Kavya, though it consists both of prose and verse. Its structure is similar to the delineation of kings adopted in the prose romances of Subandhu and Bana". Other works attributed to either this author (or others by the same name) includes ''Apabramsa Dharmapariksa'', ''Karpuraprakara'' (''Suktavall''), the medical treatise ''Jagatsundari-Yogamaladhikara'', ''Yasodharacanta'', ''Astahnikakatha'' and ''Brhatkathakosa''. He was also the chief minister of Samudragupta's empire. Harishena had a great interest in playing the lute with his friend Samudragupta. Harishena had also played an important role in the marriage of Samudragupta with

Dattadevi Dattadevi was the wife and chief consort of the Gupta emperor Samudragupta. She was the mother of Samudragupta's successor, Chandragupta II, She was most probably married to Samudragupta Samudragupta (Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', ...

References

Indian male poets Sanskrit poets 4th century in India 4th-century Indian poets 340s {{India-poet-stub