Rama Panivasa's Kamsavaho (A Prakrit Poem in Classical Style)

Kamsavaho of Rama Panivada, though listed by OPPERT and mentioned by AUFRECHT at the close of the last century, did not attract the -attention of Prakrit scholars till a Ms. of it from the Madras Oriental Library was lately described in the Triennial Catalogue of Mss., Volume VI-Part I. Sanskrit, Madras 1935.

Rama Panivada is a genuine poet with a confident grip over his expression ; he has inherited the spirit of classical Sanskrit authors whose models he closely follows ; though he belongs to the closing period of Prakrit literature, his work can be creditably ranked with the mediaeval Prakrit poems ; and his language is a fine specimen of literary Prakrit handled after closely studying the Sutras of Prakrit grammars.

The detailed results of my study of the two Mss. that were accessible to me I have presented here. The constitution of the text was attended with many difficulties, but I have faithfully handled the material and never trespassed its limits. This limited material almost forced me to offer some emendations which are marked with asterisks in the text ; and my suggestions on the Chaya are put in the foot-notes within square brackets. The inclusion of the Chaya and the addition of the English Translation and the critical and explanatory Notes, I hope, would go a long way to facilitate the understanding of the text. The Introduction is occupied with a critical study of the various aspects of Kamsavaho after describing the Ms. material and the method of text-constitution. The details about Rama Panivada are critically set forth ; and the source and model, the Prakrit dialect and the style of Kamsavaho are thoroughly scrutinised. With all modesty the Introduction aims at enlightening the readers on the position of Kamsavaho in the realm of Prakrit literature in particular and Indian literature in general.

The Syndicate of the University of Bombay have been pleased to select me as the Springer Research Scholar to conduct research in Prakrit literature, and here I record my sense of gratitude to the Syndicate for enabling me to make my study about Rama Panivada and his Kamsavaho so exhaustive.

I offer my thanks to various scholars who helped me in the preparation of this edition. Pt. K. SAMBASHIVA SHASTRI, Trivandrum, kindly made the Travancore Ms. accessible to me ; Prof. M. R. BALAKRISHNA WARRIER, M.A., Trivandrum, favoured me with a valuable summary of his Malayalam articles about Rama Panivada and his activities ; Rao Saheb Mahakavi Ullur S. PARAMESVARA AIYAR, M.A., B.L., and Mr. C. K. NARAYANA KURUP, Trivandrum, kindly sent to me some notes about Rama panivada and his compositions ; my friend Dr. V. RAGHA-VAN, M.A., Ph.D., Madras, helped me with important references about our author's works ; and my friend Prof. M. V. PATWARDHAN, M.A., Sangli, spared his valuable time and made important suggestions in the Translation and Notes : to all these scholars I offer my sincere thanks. My thanks are also due to my pupil and friend Mr. J. N. DANI, B.A., B.T., Kolhapur, who helped me in arranging the Glossary.

I record my sense of gratitude to the Prime Minister, Kolhapur Government, Kolhapur, for the help given towards the publication of this book.

I feel much obliged to Pt. NATHURAM PREMI, Bombay, for his valuable assistance in the publication of this book. I should also note with satisfaction the kind cooperation that I received from the New Bharat Press and the Karnatak Press which have ably discharged their responsibility.

I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the University of Bombay for the substantial financial help it has granted towards the cost of the publication of this book.

This edition princeps of Kamsavaho is based on the following Ms. material :

M-This is a Devanagari transcript on bluish ledger paper, 8i X 13" in size, and belongs to the Rajaram College Library, Kolhapur (R. No. 19201). It is a recent copy made from a Ms. in the Government Oriental Mss. Library, Madras. In the Triennial Catalogue (Madras 1935), Vol. VI, Part I, Sanskrit,. the Madras Ms. (R. No. 5190) is thus described : ' Paper. 10 X 9 inches. Foll. 38. Lines 20 in a page. Devanagari. Good. Transcribed in 1925-26 from a Ms. of M. R. Ry. Krsna Variyar, Nelinattur Variyam, Shoranore, Malabar District.' It is complete in four Sargas and contains both text and Chaya. I have personally seen this Ms. Though written in Devanagari characters, the double consonants are represented by nolli, i.e., a fat zero the following consonant of which is to be pronounced as a double consonant. I learn from the Curator that the original of it was a palm-leaf Ms. My conjecture is that it might have been written either in Malayalam or Grantha characters. I tried to put myself in communication with the owner of the Ms., but I was not successful. All my readings are taken from the transcript (in the Rajaram College Library) which contains both the Prakrit Text and the Sanskrit Chaya. There are certain lacunae in the text, and the Ms. bristles with scribal errors here and there. On the whole the Sk. Chaya is better preserved.

T-Three other Mss. of Kamsavaho with Sk. Chaya are known from Travancore. Two of them belong to the Palace Library of His Highness the Maharaja of Travancore, but they are incomplete. The third, which contains the text and the Chaya of all the four cantos, belongs to a private library in Travancore. It is a palm-leaf Ms. written in Malayalam script. I have seen it personally in the Exhibition of Mss. arranged at the time of the All-India Oriental Conference, Trivandrum, 1937. Its description was given thus : ' No. 2533, Substance : Palm-leaf, Size : 9" X 1i", Leaves : 57 with 8 lines per page and 20 words per line, Script : Malayalam, No. of Granths 600, Owner : the same as that of No. 2533A (i.e., Vasudeva Sarma Avl. of Vattapalli Mattom, 6ucindram). Through the kindness of the Curator, Govt. Oriental Mss. Library, Trivandrum, I have received a Devanagari transcript, containing text and Chaya, which I have designated as T in this Edition. This is now presented by me to the Rajaram College Library, and its R. No. is 24619. There is another Devanagari transcript of the palm-leaf Ms. in the Oriental Library, Trivandrum, and through the kindness of Pt. K. SAMBASHIVA SHASTRI I had noted down the readings from it during my short stay at Trivandrum; but as these readings substantially agree with those of T, I have not recorded them separately.

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