The ''Sandeśarāsaka'', also known by its Apabhraṃśa name Saṃneharāsaya, (,
Apabhraṃśa
Apabhraṃśa (, , Prakrit: ) is a term used by '' vaiyākaraṇāḥ'' (native grammarians) since Patañjali to refer to languages spoken in North India before the rise of the modern languages. In Indology, it is used as an umbrella term for ...
: संनेहरासय) is an
epic poem
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
written around 1000–1100 by Addahamāṇa (thought be the Apabhraṃśa form of the name Abdur Rahman) in
Apabhramsha. Its language is considered to be a version of Apabhramsha, the language that gave rise to modern
Northwestern Indo-Aryan
The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...
languages like
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabis, Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a ...
and
Sindhi.
The manuscripts of the book were discovered in Jain libraries by
Muni Jinavijaya. According to Muni Jinavijaya, the work was written before the conquest by
Ghori in 1192, when
Multan
Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...
was still a major Hindu pilgrimage center. The manuscripts include Sanskrit explanations by a Jain scholar in
Sammat
The Sammat (; ''sammāṭ'', ''samāṭr'', ''sammāṭh'') is the indigenous community of Sindhi people consisting of old local tribes, they are a large community in Sindhi Muslims. Hindu Sammats are also extant.
Sammat refers to Sindhis with ...
1465 (circa 1408–09
C.E.).
Theme
This epic poem is inspired by
Meghaduta of Kalidasa.
The author invoked God using an expression that combines Hindu and Muslim perspectives:
:माणुस्सदुव्वविज्जाहरेहिं णहमग्गि सूर ससि बिंबे।
:आएहिं जो णमिज्जइ तं णयरे णमह कत्तारं।
:''māṇussaduvvavijjāharehiṃ ṇahamaggi sūra sasi biṃbe.''
:''āehiṃ jo ṇamijjai taṃ ṇayare ṇamaha kattāraṃ.''
O citizens, salute the creator who is saluted by men, gods, vidyadharas, the sun and the moon.
Cultural influence
It is the only work by a Muslim in Apabhramsha, and it is a precursor of
Baba Farid
Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by ...
and books like
Padmavat
''Padmavat'' (or ''Padmawat'') is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Awadhi language, and originally in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works i ...
of Jayasi.
It is the first book that refers to a vernacular work based on Ramayana.
Two of the verses were quoted by Acharya
Hemachandra
Hemacandra was a 12th century () Śvetāmbara Jaina acharya, ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, wikt:grammarian, grammarian, Law, law theorist, historian, Lexicography, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and Prosody ...
(1088-1173).
Origin and development of Hindi/Urdu literature, Madan Gopal, 1996, Page 3
/ref>
See also
* Padmavat
''Padmavat'' (or ''Padmawat'') is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Awadhi language, and originally in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works i ...
References
{{Authority control
Indian poems
11th-century poems