Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

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. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

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 species; as well as the ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

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 ''trans ...

and art-critic from

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

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 (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

philosopher and literary exponent

Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (Devanāgarī अभिनवगुप्तः; c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianR ...

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

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. 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 Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahabharata, Mah� ...

''), 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 ''Bṛhatkathā'' (बृहत्कथा) (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no long ...

's lost ''

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

'' — "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 ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

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

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

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

Brihatkatha ''Bṛhatkathā'' (बृहत्कथा) (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no long ...

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.II, part 1 (1894), pp. 13-18.

Devotional works

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

Historical Work

* ''Nrpavali''

Notes

References

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