The l l te ra ture falls broadly uruier two headings vFz - The Vsdw and classical l i terature , The Vedas erpoae the

anclent civil ization wUle they co rny r i tuals also, The - - class ical l i t e ra ture comti tutes the Rmayana, the Mcoh&bhgrata,

the pure& and the I t lh~s i i s . The vedic Literature Ls a pro-

mimnt lamimark i n the history of I adian civllieation. The

next landmark i s 1tihkb plus the collection of l i terature

from the purg-. Veda8 utood the t e s t of t h e -to preserve

the civil isat ion. Later poets took an active role as the

le8dm-s of the moveaent. The Itihbiis ani the P U F & ~ S repre-

sent the l i te rary record of a national movem8nt when the

civilizations began t o decline again, Thus, according to the

historians, these movements had their beginning around 400 B.',

It is indeed d i f f icu l t t o say exactly when the came

in to exlateace as they are considered t o be next only t o the

vedas i n antiquity, p u r v s form a vost b r u r h of l i t e ra ture

claimlag superiority, 'They are classified a8 Major and Minor

vorb depending upon the i r age and importance, Such of those

p u r b h as have commanded highest respect from the people were

zmmd a8 ~ a h B p u r h b and the other purws which were l e s s i n

importance got the prefix upa. . The ~ah'a~~~w can thus be c1arslfl.d into several

1. Bncfclopsedic l i k e Matrya, VGu and ci.nrda

2. Thme dealing vith t-hm l i k e Pad*, Skanda & Bhavlaya.

3. sec tar ian such aa VSyu and ~ r ~ a r d h .

The ~ Z y u , ~rahihd8, natsya arri V i s a are the oldest amongst 8 .

the extant P U . ~ . Host of the ~ahs~ur~ti irs were coaposed i n

the perlod from 5th Century A 0. or 6th Century A.D. t o 9th cen-

tury A,D. The upapurUf+s began t o be compiled from about the

7th or 8th Century A 0 . and t h e i r number aul t ip l ied till 13th

century A.D. or even l a t e r . This much is ce r t a in tha t the

~ u r i i $ i a influenced the Hindu society before Chris t and t h e i r

influence continued i n full force till the 17th or 18th century

AJ) . Wilson opinea that the are works of d i f ferent

ages compiled under d i f f e ren t circumstances. Perhaps this could

be one of the reasons 90 separate Upapwk+ from ~&S~urcafl-is.

Visnu . . Dharmottara is the only upapuri;na; not having the

prefix Upa attached t o it. Its nature decides i t s date.

The author discusses all the points and hence i t is encyclo-

paedic i n nature. Astrology, Astronomy, Cosmology, Cosmogony

etC a re a l l given importance. Hence it can be of l a t e r date.

According t o ~riyab-a-kshah, it i s defini te ly ea r l i e r than

Alberuni and ~Gradi~; pur"@q . Karadrya purEina i s a Vaipnava

work consisting of two par ts , of which the f i r s t i n ~ o r p o r a t e s

the en t i r e ~ r h a n n i i r d y a which was composed by the V a i ~ p v a S

around the nriddle of 9th century A.D. The renainirlg chapters

of t h e f i rs t p a r t are comparatively l a t e additions and sane

of them contain detailed information about the contents of

eight-n p r inc ipU The second pa r t i s U s o attached

t o the f i r s t pa r t , ye t it maintaim i t s or ig ina l i ty anS. it 1s

believed t~ b c-d i n t h e ginning oi 10th century A.D.

But there IS a difference of opinion. Kale placer

N s r a y 8 P u r C ~ between 500 - 600 A.D. Durgmhankm h t r Y

i n his i )u r&p~ivecuu contradicts t h i s view and arr ives at

a s t i l l l a t e r date 1.e. the 12th century A.D. I f thls date

i s accepted, Vianudhamottara ~ u r @ a cannot be Msigned an I

e a d i e r date,

Adhuta sigara a l so refers t o Visnuiharmottrra e e ~ur&a,

According t o P.V,Kane the dates of 'Adbhuta Sagarat and

ICaturvarga C i n t a m a t a re 1168 A,D, and 1260 A.D . respec-

t ive ly . Therefore, Visndharmottara t I ~ u r h should b e e a r l i e r

t o 1168 A,D, as a reference t o it i s made,

3.C Jazra places Alberuni during 1030 A,D , Visnudhrrmo- , . t t a r a ~ w h a i s e a r l i e r thah 1030 A.D.

1 There i s a c o m e n t u y on Vianu e a Sahasra N h ~ v h i c h mentions

the Visnudharmottara I . P W ~ and which is a t t r ibuted t o the f i r s t

dankariichiisya who l ived i n 820 A 9, t l i s n u ~ e r m o t t a % a PWW CM I

b8 placed before him. But the authorship of ~ a n l r a r k h k ~ a l o

doubtful as there are-references about h i s belonging t o 12th . - #

century A.D. It i s believed that i t was t h i s ~ankarbhbya of

12th century vho propounied the Advalta Philosophy.

I n V i r ~ o t t a r a ~ur'ip. there i r a separate chapter I I

on 'Pait-ihaha ~ i d d h ~ r r * wbich i s believed t o be an extract 1

from 'Brahlassputa ~iddlfianta' m i t t e n by Brahmagupta who exlsted

during 628 A.D. Hence the compilation of the Visnudharmo- . . t t a r a puriina m u s t be l a t e r than 6th century A.D.

Dr . Buhler supports t h i s viev. But S r i Dixi t i n h i s

Marathi book lBhiratciya ~ ~ o t i $ i S i s t r a ~ dogs not conf im t o this

opinion. According t o him, the Brahmaaputa Sidda6tha i s en-

t i r e l y different from the ~ i d d h h t a discussed i n the Visnu-

dharmottara pure- elther i n aetrorornical content or mathe-

matical content. If this view i s accepted, the Vi~nudhar~o- - , . t t a r a ~urZna cannot be placed between 6th century A.D. and

10th century A.D.

Kane quotes a sloka which he says i s an extract from I

' ~ a r k s a r a S m r t i ~ belonging t o 500 A.D . He therefore f ixes the

date of t h e Visnudharmottara . . P W * ~ a l i t t l e before 500 AD.

But this cannot be t o t a l l y accepted as correct . The date of

a par t icu la r book cannot be fixed on the arguments based on

unproved borrowings. *They can never be f ina l . Further i t can

be argued t h a t Parda*sq t i and the Visnudharmottara I ~ u r h ~

mfght have borrowed from the conrmon source. -

1. Sudhikar Dvivedi i n h i s commentary on 'Brahmasphuta ~iddhranta s t a t e s -

The Vismxharmottara ~ u r - v deals i n detai l wi th ~ a t ~ a ,

~ i t a and Karla, l ike other works on rhetorics. A comparison

reveals that there i s considerable s i a i l a r l t y between vhat

has been aaid i n other works urf relevant contents of the

Vi?mdhareottara ~ u r @ a .

The ~ef1nition.s are almost the same. The only differ-

ence l i e s i n the number of AlamkS~G. I f ~h&aha recognisea

39, Dandin gives 35 ard the Visnudharmottara ~ur-qa recognlses I .

only 18 Alamkaras. The t rad i t ion amongst the Alamk&r0is i s

to increase the number of Alamkaras or t o decrease the number

of prahellkaa . If this i s accepted, then Visnudhannottarr Purana i s

definitely ear l ie r than 6th century P.D. i .e. before Bhhaha

or Dandin. Kane places Bhaaaha ard Dandin between 600 A.D.

- 7sOA.D. ( shamaha 10oA.D. - 75OA.D. Dandin 660 - 680 A.D .)

Therefore the Visnudharmottara ~ u r k n a i s ear l ier than

600 A.D. but not l a t e r than 750 A 9 . But S,K.De places ~ h ~ a h a

between the last quarter of the 7th century A.D. and the w. Quarter of the 8 t h century A.D. and Da&n i n the f i r s t half

of b e 8th century A.D. It i s m t possible t o accept the

point tha t Vismrdharmottpa . . Pur-pa is ea r l l e r than Bhhaha or

Dandin as ce r t a in definit ions are practically the same i n the

Vi?+amottara pursna since the Visnudharmottara . . p u r g e i s a

mere eoslpllation, i t must, have borroved the ideas from Bhamaha

or Dandln the stalwarts of AlamkGa l i terature . Just t o show

originali ty and to impove upon Bharata who recognised only

four, number of Alaakaraa wrst have been reduced. Visnudhar~lo-

ttara p w b a as can be wen i s l a t e r than ~ h b i h a or Dandin.

The lover l i m i t of t h e k t can be decided by f ix ing up the

da te of Natya ~ 6 t r a wliich accordin(; t o 8.K.De i s pushed

wyond 4th century A.D. 1

We have seen already t h a t from the 4th century A.D.

onwards t h e Hindus began t o f e e l the need f o r not only popu-

l a r i s i n g the study of d i f f e r e n t branches of Sanskr i t learning

as aga ins t the h e r e t i c r e l i g i o u s l i k e Buddhism and Jainislp

but a l s o t o increase t h e importance of t h e p u r x ~ s as reposi-

t o r i e s of knowledge s o that these might f ind favour with highly

educated people also.

A reading of the purslaas ind ica te s t h a t most oL' them

have similarities, Matspa f o r example i s a mixture of var ious

chapters taken a t d i f f e r e n t times from various sources e spec ia l ly

vzyu an3. Visnudharmottara ~ ~ 5 9 . A comparison between VSyu

and Matsya from which the l a t t e r took important chapters l i k e

~ a m d a , Manvantara and vad i inuca r i t a , shows that the borrowin&s

must have been made i n the las t quar te rs of the 3rd century A.D.

or the 1st qua r t e r of the 4 th century A.L. T h i s is t h e period

of t h e f i r s t composition. I t i s only a f t e r this we f i n d t h e

chapters being incorporated a t var ious intervals. This throws

much l i g h t on t h e d a t e of Viqnudhammottara ~ur-ap. A t l e a s t

ha l f a century is needed f o r t h e compilation. Then i n t h a t c u e

the lower l i m i t of Visnudharmottara P U . ~ can be f ixed t o be

Prof. Batu l lana th Sharma and Baladeva Upadhyaya place Bhamha between Q0 - 600 A.D. taking i n t o account a l l these Visnudharmottara purana can be placed before 650 A .D. shows t h e upper limit. This lower l i m i t can be decided

' by t h e Natya S a s t r a of Bharata. S.K.De f i x e s t h e d a t e as bth or 5th century A . D . Keith places him before 3rd century A.D. But Kane places him l a t e r than 3rd century A.D. Vigpudharmottara purLrp cannot be placed e a r l i e r than 3rd century A.D.just by t h e s i m i l a r i t y of t h e sub jec t matter It i s not poss ib le t o decide the age of a t e x t ,

4th century taking Into conrideratlon tha t the borrowings

must b e been lnads a8 early 8a 1-t qumtor of the 3rd century

A D . or I m t quarter of the bth cont~ry A,D,

There are various point8 t o prove that Visnudhannottara . .. Pur* i s of a l a t e r origin,

1. Visnudharmottara ~ur~aps elaborates how to understand ' *

the princples of ' c i t r a l from 'Ci tra Siitra'. The only C i t r c l ,

S'itra found i n the Vispudharmottara Pur-ii i s studied by ~ % l a t I

the courtesan as Damodara Gupta haa It. I T h i s evidently shows

t h a t Vig+dharmottara PUT-BM i s l a t e r than 8th century A.D . Further ~zmodara Gupta the C h i s f Ulniater of King ~ u k t s ~ x d a

~ a l i t & l i t ~ a of Kashdr of the Krrkota dynaaty was h i g h l y l e a r n d .

He had prtronlaed several l i t e r a k u n s like ~wmlavardha- who

<longed t o 9th century A D .

This C i t r a Siitra of Vlqnudharaottara Pur-Zi must be of I

~ b o d a r a Gupta. The technical terms u8ed i n the Vis*udharmo-

ttara i n the C i t r a Siitra i8 found t o belong t o a poem of

early age wri t ten i n a regional language in a very casual way,

This I n course of t i m e became pa r t and parcel of cul tura l life

and existence.

The Visnudharmottara purPurapg aa can be seen has drawn from

various sources. It ha; been influenced t o a very great extent

by Bharatats s t y a k s t r a ( ~Jbha~2ibhiskik& of Vararuci confirms 1-

rases as eight fo ld and shows its proximity t o ~ a t ~ a S a s t r a ) .

1 Bharata v i b ~ k h i l a Dattlla vrkahzyurveda c i t r a siitregu

(There is no t e x t other than ~utti&rniita -12 I C i t r a Sutra ' e a r l i e r to 8th century A,D,, - Therefore t h i a

portion i s def in i t e ly added la*-*

~riyary~usena on the other hard confirms i n herself the basic

r e ~ u i s i t - @ a Uke beauty of f o m , the b l o a of the daM of

youth etc Uong with her acco~plishments i n the art of dancing,

Her watery over fourfold tAbhinaya@ t h ~ r t y two varie&ties

of hand -ants etcO1 i s qulte interesting. Here the

'RW.drqt i@ and @ . ~ t h g y l drstyl are t w e n to be eighteen but 1 .

they are of least help i n finding out the i r relative position

and age.

Manmohan Ghosh ascribes 100 B .C , as the date of tN8[tya

d t t r a l which i s confirmed by t h e dance s c ~ p t u r e t s of ~ h l v h u t

and AmrZvati.

2. Vianudharmottara d ~uriina says @jvcalbki'akulur( which is

quite sigrdficant and throws light on the l a t e r sculpture where in ,

i t is only a banner tha t distinguishes,

3. siirya wearing t ~ d ~ c ~ a v e s a l the mention of ~ ~ o w t a c h e s

i s significant, It i s anearly vedic description and points t o

the ear ly hshana type that has the moustaches. The attendants

Dada and Pingala are a l s o shown i n tud;icya vegat as given I n

V i q t@Wmot ta ra puriina. This i s reiterated i n the Brhats-ita

of v u h ~ i r a an early Gupta t ex t , on the reverse of a copper

coin of Huvishka is shown riding an elephaat ard on the obrerse

there is represented ~ 3 y a Whom t he legend i n greek s tyles a8

Hioro cormspondlng t o Sanskrit Mlhira. This i s the central

Asian ul~cyarrr?a fo r 6iirya, the dress of the kwhana. Thls form

i s known t o the author of Visnudharmottara , . P d q a .

4. Visrnrdhaxmottara ~ur-ka draws a line of demarcation

i n depicting Skanda by mentioning faur ?ariat ies such as ~um&rr,

Skanda, ~ i s h a a and Guha. These vcrrlaties of Kumara were knmn

since the days of PatanJall who w n t i o m iadividually Skanda and

Vish%ka as separate dei t ies .

The VisnudharrPottara Pur'aaa considera s i x faced (6), single

faced form of the deity occurring on early coins ( Kartlkeya).

5 . In a vi l lage called Konimotu of Guntur D i s t r i c t

the Vaist?avaite t r ad i t ion of representing Sankarshqa V t u d e v a

e t c is found i n t h e early P a l l a v a scripture8 i n p r s k r t characters.

~t i s c a w i n the l a t e s t $a,*- a ty ie bveioped d ~ i n g the

time of IkahCLv~hs and contlmed by tbe Pallava8 whose te r r i tory

extenfed upto t h i s , Text of Vi?p\adh.slPottars Pure* gives the

a t t i ibutes caps Bgna dharah kbyah. The lack of knowledge of

Narasiaha i n early pure 200 morphic form i n the Vianudharaottara

~ u r s n a and tha t however knows vararaha i n both t h e r i a k thromorphic

and zoomorphic forms suggests a s l ight ly l a t e r date.

6. The Visnudharmottara P W ~ F describes Brahma as benign b .

i n his four faces seated i n the porture of ~admkana on lotus

four a n e d , on a f l e e t of swans, carrying water pot and rosary.

B G ~ also describes BrahBa i n h i s ~ a r b a c a r i t a . This f o m of

Brahma does not appear i n a l a t e r sculpture. It i s an e u l y

concept and perhaps i t was fresh i n the mind of the author.

7. Visnudharmottara . . p u r h describes Indra vith an eye

placed horizontaJly on the forehead, This is Kushana feature

which was i n vogue fo r a very long time i n Nepal. But t h i s

vanished after ear ly 3 - 4 century of t h e Chr l s t i aa Era.

43 7- 4

This c laar ly show t h a t the reference t o t r i p l e eyed nature

8. The descr ipt ion of AirZvata w i t h G t w k a representing 5 some connotation is quite s ignif icant i n as much as it repre-

sea t s the 4 royal provess.

m l d a s a expresses t he same i n ~ a g h w d a when he says ( 10.86) /

Ismagaja iva dan ta ih t . The s to ry of Nara Narayana i s a lso found

i n V i ? F a r m o t t a r a ~ur:?a. 6

9. One of the e a r l i e s t forms of Visnu i n Vaikuntha can

be seen i n a museum Furvolkes Kende i n Ber l in dated b-5 century

AD. The crown i s on the model of ea r ly Indian turban Hauli Mad.

This i n fact giws a l o t of impetus t o l a t e r representations of

similar ~ ~ a t u v y h a s 1 var ie ty of Visnu wlth Narasimha Var'eha

faces on e i ther side and the Kapila a a p c t a t t h e back as i n

the famous Vaikuntha sculpture from Kashmir.

There i s a tex tua l reference of Narasimha i n the Vipnu-

dharoottara pur51p .7

This brings t o t h e mind the metal images of Chtsllwa School

of 8th century representing the e a r l i e r Cupta t rad i t ions blend-

ing with t he Kashmiri, ~zilndharan and ~ r a t ~ i i r a elements.

This Mtrl of 'blend$ng i s obvious i n medieval sculpture.

Vlsnudharmottara . ( purana on the other hand helps t o understand

( 3.82.8) the early forms of d e i t i e s including the k i v a t s a symbol

i s a ra re feature.

as - Description of vssUa mentions both the Zoaaorghic aab the

theriaathro powrphic form 3.79.10 . The two 0Xmples belong

t o a very early gupta period*

These are c l a e t o the metal image of t h e authors of Visnu- * ,

&armottara Pru;B3a inspir ing the sculpture (o r perhaps inspinad

by the images).

10. I n these there are two demons shaking the s t a l k of the

lo t - on which Buddha is seated. This Is the l a t e k t a v h a n a

and Viikztaka t r ad i t ion . This brahmanlcal motif i s borrowed by

the Buddhists l i k e Kabandha from the Rhiyapa introduced i n the

hosts of mara at ta&king Buddha which are found i n several

Buddhist monuments of Ajantha, g l l o r a etc.

I n the same manner Hadhu and Kaitabha shaking the s t a l k s ' of

the lo tus topped by Brahma does not occur i n any of the early

sheshaskfi panels. Vismdharmottara p u r e mentions both the * I

demons tugging with s t a l k of Brahma's lo tus (3.81.7).

I n Bhitargaon these are represented where i n most of the

panels are e i the r mutilated mend recognition or l o s t completely*

11. I n Visnudharmottara p u r z y we f ind a description of I

Garuda ? , This belongs t o an ear ly date. During the Gupta

regime 1.e. at the time of Chandragupta the 11. This i s t h e *

form of Garuda i n Gupta s e a l s ard i n the copper coins of

During Kushana period Garuda i s reprorented completely as

a bird except f o r t h e hman ears w i t h 'kundala' decoration. T h i s

r r b d a special fea ture of the first two centuries of Christim Bra.

12. A p ~ a w e of diva i n dancing form c u e d ~ a r t e i r l r a

i s S O W dtwing Gupta period during 4 - 5th century &..Dm

This i a fourd i n Viaydharmottara ~ur-ka (j.jl+. 22-23).

This proves t h a t v i s ~ d h a r m o t t a r a Pur- had it8 f i r s t beginning

during b - 5th century A.D.

I 1). he t r ad i t i on of vi?? as t~.tdiryit watching 6 i va

dancing is quite old and is connected with NatarZija c u l t i n

South India and is founl i n HurUs of Kerala.

1 This term Nrttesvara perhaps has i t s or igin i n Visnudhar- . t

mottars ~urBr+ It bdlngs together recumbent Visnu and dancing . I I Siva, the one aa the creator of the Angadharas and the others

of rhythmic q t t a w i t h an emphasis on laya and m a .

14. The s a d d i v a aspect of Lord diira can be found i n t he

V1s';ruBhamottara ~ u r h a . This indicate s the monofiithic three

faced 6iva i n the cen t r a l c e l l at Blephanta and i n o m of the

~GkStaka Caws a t Bllora. The calm, quie t , t ranquil and serene

face is cal led the sadyo35ta the face t o t h e r i gh t i s t e r r i b l e ,

visage Aghora, to the l e f t there i s sweet, charming ~ b d e v a

and a t the back there is Tatpurusha. These represent respectively

iivit , Bha i~ava , umz and ~asdi . he f i f t h , too sacred t o allow

cognisable of Wte 'nature of e ther i s inv is ib le . - It i s i n t h l s way the lCaturmukhalingat has i t s significance

as a a d d i v a , B a a mentions i t as tcaturmukhao car& cara gurum

bhGaventall1 Tryambalsam' i n the context of ~ a h a s w e t a ~ s worship I

of Siva. Viqnudharmottua p W G a mentiom the a t t r i bu t e s of each

hand, bow sad arrow f o r the cen t ra l one, fruit and club f o r Aghora

Mirror and l i l l y f o r v0&nadeva. This can be found i n the monu-

mental f igure of a cen t r a l c e l l of the elephants caws.

15. Manu considers 'Dharmal @vrso1hI i3hagavh dharmah 9 . udayanr a l s o describes i t aa '~-%vam catusP-Zdam* .

Viqnudharmottara Pw=a conridera t h i s as i n anthro-

morphic form four-faced, four-armed and with four legs,

Here 1Jriha' i s replaced by 'Satyal making up Yajn8,

Satya, Tapas ard Dxna - the four faces of Dhama,

the four f e e t fo l lo r ing ~ a n u . ~

A r a r e representat ion of Dhama can be found i n a museum

a t Lucknow dated 9-10th centur ies A,D. Undoubtedly, the

significance of the four legs and Dhar- and t h e anthropo-

morphic iconography given i n t h e t e x t must have inspired the

sculpture ani we can i n f e r t h a t there i s an e a r l i e r Cupta

t rad i t ion .

Dr.Bloch discovered at Basarab a t e r r aco ta s e a l with legend

i n Bra&. 'Dharrno rakgat i raks i tah l a l i n e from the MatiibhHrata

chosen by a high digni tary as h i s i d e a l i n the Cupta Period. This

concept and the t e x t belonged t o an ear ly date.

16. There 1s a sculpture depict ing dankara and V&udeva

flanking Bksnamsa belonging t o a very ear ly period. This i s a t

period of t r a n s i t i o n from Kushana t o Gupta. Visnudharmottara . Purgqa has an e laborate-descr ipt ion of t he group. A descr ip t ion

of i t i s found i n Brhat Sanhi ta alsolo

10 Astau vz tatra kartavya grahah k e t u v i r a r ~ i t ~ /

. s a y a h d ~ a h Kujah ~&uhu - 3.85 52.53

o a y , K e t u i s omittad, From the Gupta period upto the 7th or

8th century Ketu was out of sight.

18. Virndharmottara Purana h.s imludad c r r t a ln pwtionr

of 'Citra S i t r a t i n the 'Citra Laksanat of the Buddhisttext a i c h * .

as an a r t text was obscure. Om can mark a striking resemblance here,

From the internal eviderrce of Visnudharmottara PurTna an early date . * i s clearly established, The f ac t that 'Citra Laksanat ia wn- tioned by Bhatt0tpaJ.a the commentator of Brhat SaaJita, establishes

the lower l imi ts of the date for t h i s t ex t tha t has been dovetailed

i n the Buddhist text. 3 . , % ,

4 ' "C As it it4 a non-Buddhist t a t incorporated in-vlth

the @in text of the Buddhist t ex t and as it draws i ts m8tter from

the ' c i t r a siitral of t h e Visnudharmottara s t pur'ii, th i s text must

have been V t e a popular old text on painting so as t o give r i se

t o another text , This becomes clear from a close survey of the

t ex t of 'Citra laksana '. 1 9

Bhattotpalals date i s 966 A.D, and theref ore the t ex t Visnu- 4 I

dharmottka ~ u r h a is slightly ea r l i e r t o 1 t .

When we come t o the Alamkgra portion we f i nd the author

greatly iaiebted t o ~ h g ~ a h a , Dandilu and inrnda Vardhana. while

defining a ~ah'ikBvya the author follows the formertin other

aspwts of ~ 2 ~ a such as fChandovirahitmt the r u a a s p c t e tc

find him a c l m e follower of irrsndrvmbana.

The rost s i ~ n i f i c a n t point t o be noted ham i s tha t

i-a Vudaana for t h e f i r s t time recogased not o a y nim

rUU but a l s o gave ;kt. the s t a t u s of rma. He c lear ly said

that 6%- l a the predominant ren t i rn t i n the Manabhirat..

m his attltrvfe i s c a p l e t e l j accepted by the author of Vi9p.1- C

dhamottara purzy~. lrnandavardhana i n the history of Alamkara-

i ~ s t r a i s not only an exponent of Dhv-i theory but a l so an

ilankarilkwho discussed the s t a tus of rasa t o santa vhich

had been t o t a l l y ignored by most of t h e Alankarikas incluiing

Bharatha the f a the r of *lank&a d ~ s ~ 8 a .

This i t s e l f i s enough t o prove that the t e x t i s of a

l a t e r o r i g i . ~ . But the vice versa can also be t rue. I f Ananla-

vardhana has borrowed the ideas f rcm the t ex t of Vig~udha~no-

t tma he can not be the f i r s t person t o recognise h n t a

as a rasa besides increasing the number t o nine, More over

the author of Visnudhamottara Purgna v has discussed 'Citra-

kivyal i n d e t a i l . He has a l s o distinguished c l t r a from c i t r a -

su t ra which feature makes one t o ho13 as a c lea r indication

t o i t s l a t e r origion%.

Anandavardhana i s the f i r s t rhe tor ic ian t o discuss

ci trek&rya at length: When the author of ViswdharmottWa

words of handavardhana . " This is supposed by cltralaksona

of Vismdharmottara . . p u r h a and answers exactly the Mahgpurka

Laks ana . .

11.

. . . . . nore than t h i s we

f i a d the pra ise of art of painting a8 given i n t h e V isav3harro- . . ttara ~ u r - ~ repeated i n the Citralaksana,

12 Viqpudharmottara pur--a s a y s t h a t just aa mount sumru

is predoainant- among mountains, G a n r d a acaongst the birds,

ruler among men and s o painting among arts. '3

T h i s Is repeated verbatim i n cltralaksana.

A 1 1 these c lear ly indicatek t h a t V i ~ n u d h a r m o t t ~ a ~ u r h n a . . i s a l a t e r or igiq I. The very nature of t h e tex t ~ c e - r t a i n a

this . Hardly there i s any branch which i s omitted from

being covered i n the t ex t ,

Parg i te r t r i e s t o construct his tory from the e a r l i e s t

times t o t he ahgrata War which he holds t o have taken place

about 950 8.C. H e holds tha t there were tvo t rad i t ions - (1) T h e Kshatriya and the other ( 2 ) Brahmans. H e points out

the u t t e r lack of h i s t o r i c a l sense among the Brahmaraas. Be

i s of the opini3n t h a t Purznas represent Kshatriya t r ad i t ion

and he even recog,nlses three races - ( 1) Manavaa ; ( 2 ) Ailao

and ( 3 ) Saudyumnas which represent respectively the Dravidian, 8

the Aryan and the H d a . Re i s of the opinion tha t ~ u r s p a s

are nothing but s m i i . t i s a t i o n s of works i n Pra ic r t , of dynasties

of Kaliage. NOW, coming t o t h e age of the ah*ata war he

ar r ives at 950 B .C.

Most of the ~ a h < ~ u r 8 n a s r e re composed i n t h e period from

5th or 6th century Aa, t o t h e 9th century A.D. T h i s he says, . represents the 4th stage i n the evolution of purzna Litera-

ture. The upapIir-m t . began t o be compiled from about the 7th

12. Tiaauihamottara Purana 3.43.39 13, Cltralaksana P-73

*- or 8th century A S . their amber lnem8aed. Thoro i r ample

proof t o rhov the I n f ' l w e of' Pur-* on t he H i D d w befon

and after Chris t till 17th or 18th century A.D . ~ t d r the 9th century A.D. no mah"spur-&pa came in to

oxirtence but al l the additional r a t t e r8 -re inaerted i n

several pur-, the worrt example of which i s Bhavisyat wherein

we can f ind the s to r i e s of lid- and Bve, of Pri thviraj , Joichandra,

T a l r u r , Akbar and s o on.

Colebroke relying on t he t raditiona t hat Bopadeva, the

grammarian was the author of the BhGavatha puriiina and -signs

it t o about 13th century AD.

Vam Kennedy gives an equally rodern date t o a l l t h e PUT--.

Wil8on is of the opinion t ha t thoy rrre work8 of different age8

compiled under d i f ferent circumstances. He taker in to conai-

deration the religious matter i n the PUT-? amacldng of the

present popular forms of H i r d u i s m which in h i s opinion took rhrpe

not ea r l i e r than 8 th or 9th century A.D. Thus, he assigns a

very nodern date. According t o him the Vieflu P W * ~ may Is

assigned to about 1045 A .D. B U ~ this i s an extr- view and

cannot be accepted as Alberunl writing i n 1030 A.D. g i r e s a

l i s t of eighteen pur-w. ' -

Buhler co l l ec t s many ear ly quotations from and references

t o the pursnas and points out tha t the account of the future

kings i n the V g y u , Visnu, Matsya and Br8hmanda, Seam8 t o stop

vith 1mperl.l Guptas and the i r contemporaries. T h w the PW-VS

a t l eas t , the important ones among them may have been fi~MLlised

during the Gupta period. Thus, we have ~~n tha t PC- have

been popularislng the s t u l y of s a ~ k r % t leunlng from 4th centwy

B u r 8 assigns b - 5 century A.D. 8s the date of Vianu- 0 I

dharmottara ~ur$a on t he growd that the text i n non-tantric

and Buddha is consi&rod 8a an Avatar. The frequent w e

of the word 'pr"adurbhiiva8 aad not '8vatICra1 .aka8 hi8 &cirion

fim. Whether the w o r d lAr . ta r ' l a wed or 'prdurbhava' is

used, i t i s 1 ~ a t e r i . l as for u the tex t Is concermd, Hence

h i s contention may not be accepted. Furhhsr, there are cer ta in

passages f ~ ~ r d both In Hatsya and Vianudhannottara PUP*. It * t

is believed that these p u s q e s are borrowed by Hatsya. I t i s

indeed s t r a e t ha t the Hatsya does not even mention Vi~nuhha~mo-

ttara pur'ba as an upapur-. Alberwi mentions it and there-

fore the e a r l i e s t date could be 900 - 1000 A.D.

There are twelve verrer which ape* of Phenomena and which

are not considered t o be utpatm and which are corapon both t o

Matsya and Vigmzdharmottara ~ur-ka and the B p t Samhita. 14

Mbhutasarga u occurring i n a11 these t h n e

and In ~Ghaspa tya ,

The occurrence of these twelve verses both i n Brhat Samhita

and Visnudharmottara I , purEna ra ises the important question of the

chrono'logica~ re la t ion of the two works. ~ a r a r a i h i r a 8n autho-

r i t y on Astrology expl ic i t ly says tha t he took twelve verses from

This is w r y evident tha t he did not borrov i t f r a ~ the

Vlsnudhanaottara Puriina.

ijgiputra *rt.ih i l o k a i h r ~ i d ~ & de t a u Sanaa oktalh vaj j as ad- m e h i kappa raodbya nirghata nlhavaMb parlvesarajodhiba e t c

kcord ing t o h i m Vi8ntdharrottara P U F ~ borroua t h e verses

from B r b a t 8amhita. If t h i s i r accepted Y l 8 n u d h u h o t t ~ a Purana . i s de f in i t e ly later than 6th century

It is a l r o possible t o argue t h a t the p d y c w d have taken

them from Wipu t ra . . but nowhere does the ~ur'.p. mention about it.

I n k ~ p i n g with the s a l i e n t fea tures of the pup- cornposed by

the semi-dfvine being ParZsara I n the beginning or' KaUyuga,

the p u r x w do not l i k e t o borrow any thing from a human author.

I t i s noted here t h a t Viafnrdharmottara pure* has only three / slokas quoted from ~ o g a y g t r a of ~ a r & a by Adbhutasiigara.

But according t o v v a a theae three Llokaa are the s-aries

of t h e slokas of Rsiputra. Hence, i t i s not possible t o say

t h a t they are borrowed by Var&a e i the r from Matrya or Viqnu-

dhanaottara Pur3a . ~ u t , both the pure- are s i l e n t about it.

It can eas i ly be s a i d t h a t these two p u r - w have borrrved the

verses from Brhat Samhita. T h i s is supported by Adbhuta Sii&ara(s

quoting of seven klokas from ~ r h a d y a t r a of v a r h a . These verses

Utpala ~ u o t e a on Brhat samhital7, these a re V&'€iha'~ a n and

are m t borrowed from any other sources.

Vlisnudhannottara . . PurUCana i s an encyclopaedic work and ~ a r i i h a

was an astrologer and an astrorrarrer of top rank. He could ra ther

turn t o h i s pmdecess&s f o r borrowing ideas and not t o an upa-

puriinag. It might be possible tha t this t e x t might not have

existed or it might not have been recognlsed as an authority when

Vargha wrote t h i s during t h e f i r s t half of 6th century A.D. besides

upapur-has are knovn f o r borrowing and hence w e do not have instances

where i n other works have borrowed the i d e u from PW-+ or up*

pur&as. , Heme we con say t h a t Vi?nudharrnottara purka has borrowed

the ideas ftom aJ1 the works which are quoted s o far.

17. 'Brhat Samhita. 4722

The V.i?rpra c u l t and daiva c u l t are both dea l t inQZ d r t u l

and r i ~ t a n a o u a l y , It is indeed sufpriaing t o f i n d the portion I

wherein 88nkara is described as the ro lo authority, Even though

be is pictured 811 a dei ty known for purioa ard other thing8 yet

the does not IU t o see the o m i r c i e m e or the iord.

This p r t l s a n treatment i s a suff ic ient proof t o decide that tho

t ex t i s only a compilation.

Some of the scholars are of the opinion that,Visnudarmottara * . ~ u r i ? i s the work of ~ h h a ,

Jayantha of 12th century A.D. i n h i s prithvzrzja c a r i t a (1-3)

says I ~ h G a s y a ~ i v y l u a Khalu visnudhardk . . : . SO' pyLanarht bh=at-v'6mumaCa 1

This pushes the date o f Vianudhafi~ottara purii.na as far back

as 5th century B.C. Jonan$a while co l l en t iq on ~ r i t h i d r I j a

c a r i t a of Jayiintha or Jayanaka of 12th century P.D.says - So'gnlrapi ~h6aamunch kzvyaa viqpadharmZn wkh-m tyattav nadahadityarthah

Since the date of ~ h b a is not cer ta in 1 t is not possible

t o f'lx the d a t e of Visnudharmottara ~ur&a. ~ I b a ' s date i s

subjected t o a l o t of controversy. His date fluctuates b e t ~ e n

5th century B.C. d 1 s t century A.D. A cursory reading of the

p u r ' a ~ indicates tha t there are ce r t a in points which map be! sa id - with no hes i ta t ion t o be tha t o f ~ h % a ~ s . Bhaa was a atanuch

advocate of vaisnava - . philosophy. H i 8 conception of society,

God etc., was very much different . be had a l o t of respect f o r

the Brahaaim. I n all h i s dramas he throws much light on tU8 j 8

asppct. I n Vismdharmottara ~uri fr U S O U ~ 0 &T P'kYL'''

Visnu Dharmottard Pur%a i s e voluninou~ book dealing vi th #

varied topics . There i s ,a l o t of scope . to r discussion. Each of

the chapters can be assigned t o a p a r t i c u l a r da te - I n the IInd

volume there are many por t ions which echo the ideas of KsutilayIa

Artha k b t r a o 1 9 One v o l u e of Vi??u Dharaottara PurZ9a i s comp-

l e t e l y devoted t o the descr ip t ion of the marriage of Siva w i t h /

P G r v ~ t h i , t he b i r t h of ~ m a r a e t c . bere we f i n d Siva being dercribed /

a s the most superior de i ty of a l l . The concept of Eankara Samhita

appears t o have been accepted by t h e author of Visnu Dharmottara ) #

~ u r s n ~ , qui te contrary t o t h e theme and aim. This portion i s sure

t o have been wr i t ten by an author who by a11 means was a staunch t /

devotee of Lord Siva. I n another volume of the same t e x t Lord Siva

i s described a s lower t o Visnu and i s pictured a s a de i ty known f o r f

h i s passion. Here t h e au thor ' s concept of Civa i s e n t i r e l y d i f f e ren t .

One can r e a l l y v i s u a l i s e the pa r t i s an view of t h e author who must

have been a staunch advocate of Vaisnava, philosophy. As both the * .

views a r e made t o pppear contradictory outwardly by these Par t i san

authors, w can d e f i n i t e l y say t h a t Vig?u Dharmottara P u r h a i s a

work of compilation. We have seen already how d i f f e ren t port ions

of Vtsnu Dharaottara PurLna belong t o d i f f e ren t periods of time. ' #

Accepting the authorship of Bhasa we can assign the date 5th century

3.C. t o the ea r ly ~ a f ~ n a t s a philosophy advocated i n the t e x t . This r .

forms the lower l i~i t . The upper l i m i t car1 be f i x e d by taking i n t o

view t h e theory of nava r a sas and various other Alankgra port ions. ----------------------------------------*--------------*----------

19.' & i u t l l y a l a A r t h a k s t r a : 70-72 One must not fo rge t t h a t t h e author while mentioning the kings mentions about ahojsr5ja . Who could t h i s moja be? I f , according t o t h e author he i s the i?hoj a of Dhara then t h e d ~ t e of the t e x t g e t s pushed forward.

It ha8 been aowptd by the UIzrkrriku that Amah

vardhsm an exponent of Dhruii theory, gave t he r t a t u r of I€-r

t o $-&a and treated tt u the nlnth Rua. Even though them

e r i a t e d the mraraaa thoory,yet, d h t a v u not given the atatu*

of R a m . It i s perhaps f o r the first time i n t h e Hirtory of

Q Rasa Alankara Ctra, Ananda Vardhana t r e a t s Santa as ninth rufru

and aayr vehemently that i n t h e ~ab'bhErata i s the pre-

dominent sentiment. This concept i s a l s o found i n the Vianu-

dhamot tara ~ u r i i ~ , Hence it is not wrong if vs ray t h a t the

e n t i r e Alankara port ion belong8 t o 9th century A,D, conrider-

ing the f a c t t h a t the author ha8 t &en i n t o account the l a t a r t

trerds of t h e then e x l r t i n g period.

I t i s not possible t o a r s i g n a pa r t i cu la r period t o

Vipzydhannottara ~ u r b aa it i a a compilationtwe can 889 t h a t

the work began qu i t e e a r l y and the authors kept on adding a8

and when changes took place i n the society.

Therefore t h e da te of Vipnudharmottara ~ur-?a f luctuate8

between 5th cenhury B,C. snd t h e 9 th century A,D. 4