Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

polymath-

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

, philosopher,

historian 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 st ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

and art-critic from Kashmir in India.

Biography

Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida. Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated

Shaiva Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

philosopher and literary exponent

Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianRe-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, ...

". Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava. He studied and wrote about both

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the ''Avadana Kalpalata'' and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa (; ''Slave of

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

''), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his . Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts. His literary career extended from at least 1037 (his earliest dated work, ''Brihatkathāmanjari'', a verse summary of the lost ''"Northwestern" Bṛhatkathā''; itself a recension of

Gunadhya Guṇāḍhya is the Sanskrit name of the sixth-century Indian author of the '' Bṛhatkathā'', a large collection of tales attested by Daṇḍin, the author of the ''Kavyadarsha'', Subandhu, the author of ''Vasavadatta'', and Bāṇabhaṭ� ...

's lost ''

Bṛhatkathā ''Bṛhatkathā'' (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the '' ...

'' — "Great Story") to 1066 (his latest dated work, ''Daśavataracharita'', "an account of the ten incarnations of the god ").

Extant works

Around eighteen of Kshemendra's works are still extant while fourteen more are known only through references in other literature. In addition to the genres listed below, he also composed plays, descriptive poems, a satirical novel, a history, and possibly a commentary on the Kāma Sūtra.

Abridgements

*''Ramāyaṇamanjari'' — Verse abridgement of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

Sanskrit
*''Bhāratamanjari'' — Verse abridgement of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

Sanskrit
*''Brihatkathāmanjari'' — Verse abridgement of the

Brihatkatha ''Bṛhatkathā'' (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the ''Ka ...

Sanskrit

Poetics

*''Auchitya Vichāra Charchā'' *''Kavikanthābharaṇa'' *''Suvrittatilaka''

Satires

*''Kalāvilasā'' — "A Dalliance with Deceptions" *''

Samaya Mātrikā The Samaya Mātrikā ( en: ''The Courtesan's Keeper'') is a satire written by the 11th-century Kashmiri poet Kshemendra. Originally written in Sanskrit, the work has since been translated into English by A. N. D. Haksar. Description History ...

'' — "The Courtesan's Keeper"
Sanskrit
*''Narmamālā'' — "A Garland of Mirth" *''Deśopadeśa'' — "Advice from the Countryside"

Didactic works

*''Nitikalpataru'' *''Darpadalana'' *''Chaturvargasaṃgraha'' *'' Chārucharya'' *''Sevyasevakopadeśa'' *''Lokaprakāśa'' *''Stūpāvadāna'' — See Saratchandra Das (ed.), 'Stupavadana', Journal and Text of the Buddhist Society of India, vol.11, pt.1, p. 15.

Devotional works

*''Avadānakalpalatā'' — Former lives and good deeds of Buddha
English
*''Daśavataracharita'' — Ten incarnations of Vishnu
Sanskrit

Historical Work

* ''Nrpavali''

Notes

References

* * Kashmiri people Kashmiri writers Sanskrit poets Kashmiri poets 11th-century writers Year of birth uncertain Year of death missing {{india-poet-stub