%0 Journal Article
%T The rise and fall of the k¨¡vya project
%A Kesavan Veluthat
%J Studies in People's History
%@ 2349-7718
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/2348448919834788
%X The R¨¡m¨¡yana of V¨¡lm¨©ki is said to be the ¡®first k¨¡vya¡¯ (poem) in Sanskrit, but the age of its compilation is uncertain. The Junagarh inscription of the £¿aka ruler Rudrad¨¡man, ad 150, is the first datable Sanskrit poem belonging to the category of pra£¿astis. Pra£¿astis became increasingly common subsequently as a tool of flattery and means of monarchical legitimisation. In time it became normal for every sovereign to have a pra£¿asti composed for himself, so that inscriptions carrying pra£¿astis tended to become more and more numerous. The Har£¿acarita of B¨¡£¿a shows how long texts could carry this form of literature, which, in turn, would influence the style and similes of subsequently inscribed pra£¿astis. The Palam Baoli inscription (1,276) shows how a pra£¿asti could now be compiled without the court of the ruler (in this case Sultan Balban) being aware of it. Obviously, pra£¿astis lost their political utility. Although subsequently too pra£¿astis were composed, their legitimising role seems to have been over now. This boded ill for the k¨¡vya form as well
%K k¨¡vya
%K pra£¿asti
%K Rudrad¨¡man
%K Hari£¿ena
%K Har£¿acarita
%K Palam Baoli inscription
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2348448919834788