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Not Bookish Scholarship

Mirza didn’t think of himself as an erudite scholar in polity. He was not too interested in the science of politics nor just theory. What he wanted was peace and contentment of the common people. He left the bookish knowledge to others.

ಕಲ್ಹಣ

“ರಾಜತರಂಗಿಣಿ”ಯ ಕರ್ತನಾಗಿ ಈ ಮಹಾಕವಿಯು ಸಮಾರ್ಜಿಸಿದ ಯಶಸ್ಸು ನಿರುಪಮಾನ. ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದಲ್ಲಿ ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಬಲವುಳ್ಳ ಕೃತಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಲಿ, ಚರಿತ್ರಪ್ರಧಾನವಾದ ಕಾವ್ಯಗಳಿಗಾಗಲಿ ಕೊರತೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಂತಿದ್ದರೂ ಕಲ್ಪನಾಂಶಕ್ಕಿಂತ ವಾಸ್ತವಾಂಶವನ್ನೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಉಳ್ಳ ರಾಜತರಂಗಿಣಿಯು ಕಾವ್ಯಾರ್ಹತೆಯನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿದುದು ಮಹತ್ತ್ವದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಇದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದದ್ದು ಕಲ್ಹಣನ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವಘನತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನವಸ್ವಭಾವಪರಿಜ್ಞಾನಗಳಿಂದ. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಇವನ ಕೃತಿಯ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಮಾತುಗಳು ಕಾವ್ಯಮೀಮಾಂಸೆಗೆ ಮುಖ್ಯವೆನಿಸಿವೆ:

ಶ್ಲಾಘ್ಯಃ ಸ ಏವ ಗುಣವಾನ್ ರಾಗದ್ವೇಷಬಹಿಷ್ಕೃತಾ |

Then Hariśikhā said “Yes, this is indeed so. Virtuous women don’t even think of any man other than their beloved husband!” and began to narrate this story-

The Story of Guṇavarā and Rūpaśikhā

The prosperous kingdom of Vardhamānapura was ruled by the mighty King Vīrabhuja. He had hundreds of wives. Among them all, Guṇavarā was his dearest, whom he loved more than his own life. Vīrabhuja had everything, but there was still a big void in his life - he had no children.

Dharma is a word not used just by the vaidikas but also employed reverently by the Buddhists and Jains. The vaidikas have employed this term in different śāstras and as part of different terminologies. Śrī Śaṅkara gives the following meaning:

jagataḥ sthiti-kāraṇam। prāṇināṃ sākṣād-abhyudaya-niḥśreyasa hetuḥ yaḥ sa dharmaḥ...
Śāṅkara-gītā-bhāṣya upodghāta

The system and set of acts that bestows

(i) Welfare upon beings in the world now and