Maṇḍana: The Poet-Prime Minister of Māṇḍu

Maṇḍana: The Poet-Prime Minister of Māṇḍu

Introduction

“Maṇḍana, the Poet-Prime Minister of Māṇḍu, forms the last link in the long chain of litterateurs, who wielded pen and sword with equal effect.” – Satya Vrat Shastri.

Life

Born to Bāhaḍa, Maṇḍana was a unique amalgamation of scholar, minister, administrator and a devout Jaina. Maheśvara’s Kāvyamanohara, a text that recounts the achievements of those born in the Śrīmāla lineage, delineates the life of the author under discussion. He mentions him as a crest jewel in the Śrīmāla lineage. On his

जाग्रद्व्याकरणश्च नाटकशुभालङ्कारविज्ञस्तथा सङ्गीतातुलकोविदः प्रविलसद्गम्भीरशास्त्रान्वितः।
चातुर्यैकनिवासभूमिरतुलैः प्राप्तोन्नतिः सद्गुणैः श्रीमालान्वयवर्द्धनोऽमलमतिः श्रीमण्डनो राजते॥१।१२॥

An attentive grammarian, learned of nāṭaka (dramaturgy) & alaṅkāra (figures of speech), exceptionally experienced in music, brightly shining with (knowledge of) enigmatic scriptures, an abode of cleverness, elevated with exceptional virtues, possessing pure intellect and bestower of prosperity of Śrīmāla lineage, Śrī Maṇḍana appears splendid.

Maṇḍana flourished in the first half of the fifteenth century and most of his literary activity took place under the patronage of Alama or Alma of Maṇḍapadurga (Māṇḍu). In one of his works, he identifies himself as आल्मसाहि-प्रधान. P. K. Gode and Satya Vrat both identify this ruler as Alāp Khan, aka Hoshang Ghori. Maṇḍana was a gifted writer. He composed nine works across all the literary genres in which he was proficient.

Works

  1. Vyākaraṇa
    • Sārasvatamaṇḍana (The Ornament of Sārasvata Vyākaraṇa)
      The earliest known commentary on Sārasvata Grammar of Anubhūti Svarūpācārya. The commentator quotes:
      सूत्रसप्तशतीं यस्मै ददौ साक्षात् सरस्वती।
      अनुभूतिस्वरूपाय तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
      Salutations to Anubhūti Svarūpācārya, the preceptor, to whom the seven hundred rules were bestowed by Sarasvatī herself.
      This is probably one of the earliest commentaries on Sārasvata available today. This text lies unpublished.
    • Upasargamaṇḍana (The Ornament of Prefixes)
      This work too, like Sārasvatamaṇḍana, remains unpublished. As the name suggests, the work is related to upasarga-s or prefixes. No other definite information is known about it. Three copies of this work are preserved at Hemchandracharya Gyan Mandir, Patan.
  2. Alaṅkāra/Kāvyaśāstra
    • Alaṅkāramaṇḍana (The Ornament of FoS)
      Composed in lucid style with basics of poetry, the Alaṅkāramaṇḍana treats the topic like Mammaṭa in his Kāvyaprakāśa. The work is not comprehensive by any means, but serves as a handbook to provide a good foundation of poetry. Divided into five paricchedas, the work mainly deals with the definition of kāvya, its types and rītis in the first section, the faults and virtues of kāvya in the second and third sections, rasa (sentiment) in the fourth section and alaṅkāra-s in the fifth section, perhaps the largest among all.
    • Kavikalpadruma (The Poets’ Wish-Fulfilling Tree)
      This work is noted as attributed to Maṇḍana in the Catalogus Catalogorum, but the work seems irretrievably lost.
  3. Kāvya
    • Kāvya-Maṇḍana (The Jewel of Poetry)
      Satya Vrat recognizes this work as his magnum opus. Divided into thirteen cantos and consisting of about 1250 verses, the text delineates an episode from the Mahābhārata. It starts from the episode of the Pāṇdavas’ escape from the lac-house, then the wanderings and eventually winning Draupadī’s hand in Swayaṃvara.
    • Maṇḍana-Kādambarī-Darpaṇā (The Jewel of the Mirror of Kādambarī)
      One fine evening, the king expressed his longing to read the Kādambarī but he failed to do so due to his continuous engagement in the state’s chores. He asked Maṇḍana to narrate the story in short (तदिदानीं त्वया सम्यक् सा संक्षेपेण कथ्यताम्। मतिवैभवनिस्तीर्णवाङ्मयेन ममाग्रतः॥). He has not only captured the depth of feelings or emotional torment from Bāṇa’s Kādambarī, but has also mimicked his phraseology in order to remain faithful to the prototype. For instance, Bāṇa writes: किमनेन गृहीतनागृहीतेन वा किन्नरयुगलेन प्रयोजनम्। Maṇḍana states: गृहीतेनागृहीतेन किं वाऽनेन प्रयोजनम्।
  4. Belles Lettres
    • Candravijayaprabandha (The composition on Victory of Moon)
      The work stands as a pinnacle among the works of Maṇḍana because it expresses his love for nature and proficiency in creating captivating picturesque depictions through his crafted words. One fine full-moon night, Maṇḍana was seated with other fellows literati when they started describing the moon. He composed verses from the depiction of moon-rise and moon-set. At the end of the first paṭala, he describes the setting of the moon as:
      तदनु निजं रिपुं तं चन्द्रमाक्रम्य भानुः सकलमपि च हृत्वा तस्य चैश्वर्यजातम्।
      अपरशिखरिशृङ्गादात्मपादोपघातैः पयसि चरमसिन्धोः पातयामास भूयः॥१।४०॥
      Then the sun, having attacked its enemy ― the moon, and seized all its splendor, repeatedly hurled it from the summit of another mountain into the waters of the ocean.
    • Campūmaṇḍana (The Ornament of Campū)
      Divided into seven chapters called paṭalas and styled in the classical Campū genre, a mix of prose and poetry, this work explores the story of Rājimatī and Nemi (22nd Tīrthaṅkara of the Jainas). It starts with the episode of Samudravijaya and concludes with the initiation of Neminātha.
    • Śṛṅgāramaṇḍana (The Ornament of Love)
      Though not rightfully termed as a śataka, the Śṛṅgāramaṇḍana contains 108 erotic verses. The text is defective at a few places. The verses depict separation and union of lovers. An instance can be described as follows: प्राणैर्विना न वरिवर्त्ति देहः प्राणा विना त्वां क्षणमक्षमा मे। त्वं च प्रवत्स्यन्नसि जीवितेश! मा भूदमीषां खलु सार्थभङ्गः॥ The body shall not prevail without prāṇa and my prāṇas are not even capable (of living) for even a second without you. O the life-line! and you are traveling, hence, may there not be dissociation with the merchant.
  5. Music
    • Saṅgītamaṇḍana (The Ornament of Music)
      As the name suggests, the work discusses the tenets and theories of music and allied topics. The work remains unpublished and preserved at Hemchandracharya Gyan Mandir, Patan.

Conclusion:

Maṇḍana was thus bountifully endowed with administrative skill and high literary attainments. In his own words, both the goddesses of learning and riches resided in his campus in perfect harmony.

महालक्ष्मीसरस्वत्योर्बद्धसापत्न्यवैरयोः।
वर्धते महती स्पर्धा मन्दिरे यस्य बन्धुरे॥१।१०॥ कादम्बरीदर्पण

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