Rudrata ( sa, रुद्रट, ) () was a
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
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People with the name
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poet and literary theorist, who wrote a work called the ''Kavyalankara'' in the first quarter of the ninth century.
Very little is known about Rudrata. From Namisadhu's commentary on the verses 12-14 of the fifth chapter of the ''Kavyalankara'', it is inferred that he was also known as Shatananda and his father's name was Bhamuka.
Kavyalankara
It is a notable work in the line of poeticians such as
Bhamaha Bhamaha ( sa, भामह, ) () was a Sanskrit poetician believed to be contemporaneous with Daṇḍin. He is noted for writing a work called ''Kavyalankara'' ( sa, काव्यालङ्कार, ) ("The ornaments of poetry"). For centuri ...
,
Dandin and
Anandavardhana
Ānandavardhana (c. 820–890 CE) was the author of ''Dhvanyāloka'', or ''A Light on Suggestion'' (''dhvani''), a work articulating the philosophy of "aesthetic suggestion" (''dhvani'', ''vyañjanā''). The philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 10 ...
. It is divided into 16 chapters and it comprises 734 verses, excluding 14 verses in the 12th chapter on eight types of ''
Nayika
The Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of ''nayika''s or heroines as classified by Bharata in his Sanskrit treatise on performing arts - '' Natya Shastra''. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (''avastha'') in rela ...
'', which are considered as the later interpolations. Most of the work was composed in the ''Arya'' metre with a few exceptions, particularly at the end of the chapters. The 13th chapter, comprising only 17 verses is the shortest one. The 7th and the 8th chapters, comprising 111 and 110 verses are the longest. The first chapter begins with the invocation of
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
and
Gauri.
It is also noted among
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
historians
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
for containing one of the earliest references to chess in India, and the earliest example of a
knight's tour
A knight's tour is a sequence of moves of a knight on a chessboard such that the knight visits every square exactly once. If the knight ends on a square that is one knight's move from the beginning square (so that it could tour the board again im ...
. In Sanskrit literary theory, it is notable for articulating the idea of ''auchitya'', or propriety of theme.
It represents, in a sense, the culmination of the ''alankara''-focused tradition in Sanskrit poetics.
Commentaries
Three known commentaries are written on the ''Kavyalankara''. The most significant commentary was written by Namisadhu, a
Svetambara Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
and pupil of Shalibhadra in 1125
Vikrama Samvat
Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...
(1068-69). Other two commentaries on this work were written by Vallabhadeva and Gopalabhatta. Gopalabhatta's commentary is titled ''Rasatarangini''.
Notes
References
* ''A History of Chess'', Murray
* Edwin Gerrow, ''Sanskrit poetics'' in History of Indian Literature
* S. K. De, ''History of Sanskrit Poetics''
*
P. V. Kane, ''History of Sanskrit Poetics''
External links
Kavalankara of Rudrata Sanskrit text
{{Authority control
Kashmiri people
Kashmiri writers
Sanskrit poetry
Chess in India
Poets from Jammu and Kashmir
Indian male poets
9th-century Indian poets