The rise and fall of the kāvya project

The Rāmāyana of Vālmīki is said to be the ‘first kāvya’ (poem) in Sanskrit, but the age of its compilation is uncertain. The Junagarh inscription of the ？aka ruler Rudradāman, 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 Bā？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 kāvya form as well