Two Less Known Works of Bilhana

Summary

Focusing on the medieval Kashmiri poet Bilhana, this paper brings to light two lesser‑known works that expand our understanding of his oeuvre. Bilhana is best known for the courtly epic ‘Vikramankadevacarita’, composed for the Western Chalukya emperor Vikramaditya VI, yet he also produced writings outside the royal panegyric tradition. The first text examined is the dramatic poem ‘Karnasundarindika’, a play intended for performance in a Jaina temple. Although its plot centres on non‑Jaina characters, the prologue invokes the Jina because the patron was a Jaina minister. The paper analyses the Sanskrit verses spoken by kings and other figures, noting their elegance and rhetorical power, and explains how the author’s name is revealed in the closing benediction. It situates the drama within the historical context of fourteenth‑century Karnataka and discusses its relationship to Bilhana’s later work. The second piece is the ‘Bilhanastaka’, a hymn to the Jina Parshvanatha attributed to Bilhana by the scholar Muni Caturavijaya. Manuscripts of this eight‑verse hymn have been preserved in Jain libraries in Patan but were little known. Through stylistic comparison, the article argues that the hymn is indeed by Bilhana: its language and prosody reflect the eleventh‑century milieu, its imagery and similes mirror those of the ‘Vikramankadevacarita’ and it uses simple ornamentation rather than the elaborate devices favoured by later Jain poets. The paper suggests that Bilhana may have composed the hymn during his stay in Anahilapataka under the patronage of Minister Santuka. By analysing these two compositions, the author demonstrates Bilhana’s versatility and his ability to address both secular and religious audiences. The study also highlights the cross‑cultural patronage networks of the period, where Hindu poets wrote for Jain patrons and vice versa. Understanding these works enriches appreciation of Bilhana beyond his famous epic and adds to knowledge of medieval Sanskrit and Jain literary traditions.