Date and Works of Rayamukuta

Summary

In this companion piece to the previous article, the author examines chronologies proposed for Bṛhaspati Rayāmukuṭa and assesses the authenticity of works attributed to him. Scholars had previously dated Rayāmukuṭa to the fourteenth century based on a single reference to Śaka 1353 in a commentary on the Amarakośa. The article argues that this date is unreliable because the verse may have been interpolated by a later scribe. Instead, the author divides Rayāmukuṭa’s career into three phases: an early period when he wrote under the patronage of Rājyadhara or Jalāl ud‑Dīn; a middle phase when he gained the title Ācārya and composed extensive commentaries; and a mature phase when he was honoured as Kavi‑cakravartin and compiled a Smṛti digest entitled Smṛti‑ratnavalī. The dating is supported by internal references, palaeographic evidence and cross‑referencing with contemporary events, such as the fall of the Iliyas Shāh dynasty and the accession of Raja Ganesha. The article also surveys works sometimes misattributed to Rayāmukuṭa and concludes that some treatises on poetics and law were written by his disciples or imitators. It emphasises the need for critical editions to distinguish genuine compositions from later pastiches. By analysing manuscripts preserved in London, Calcutta and the Royal Asiatic Society’s collections, the author pieces together a more coherent biography. He concludes that Rayāmukuṭa should be placed in the early fifteenth century and that his oeuvre reflects a highly productive scholar who responded to changing patronage and intellectual demands.