Kshemendra ( IAST: Kṣemendra; c. 990 – c. 1070 CE) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath- poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, [1] dramatist, translator [2] and art-critic [3] from Kashmir in India. [4]
Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. [5] His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida. [6] Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary exponent Abhinavagupta". [5] Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava. [6] He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and Buddhism. [7] His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the Avadana Kalpalata and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa ( IAST: Vyāsadāsa; Slave of Vyasa), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his Bhāratamañjari. [6]
Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts. [6] His literary career extended from at least 1037 (his earliest dated work, Brihatkathāmanjari, a verse summary of the lost "Northwestern" Bṛhatkathā; itself a recension of Gunadhya's lost Bṛhatkathā — "Great Story") to 1066 (his latest dated work, Daśavataracharita, "an account of the ten incarnations of the god Viṣnu"). [8]
Around eighteen of Kshemendra's works are still extant while fourteen more are known only through references in other literature. [6] In addition to the genres listed below, he also composed plays, descriptive poems, a satirical novel, a history, and possibly a commentary on the Kāma Sūtra. [9]
Kshemendra ( IAST: Kṣemendra; c. 990 – c. 1070 CE) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath- poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, [1] dramatist, translator [2] and art-critic [3] from Kashmir in India. [4]
Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. [5] His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida. [6] Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary exponent Abhinavagupta". [5] Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava. [6] He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and Buddhism. [7] His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the Avadana Kalpalata and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa ( IAST: Vyāsadāsa; Slave of Vyasa), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his Bhāratamañjari. [6]
Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts. [6] His literary career extended from at least 1037 (his earliest dated work, Brihatkathāmanjari, a verse summary of the lost "Northwestern" Bṛhatkathā; itself a recension of Gunadhya's lost Bṛhatkathā — "Great Story") to 1066 (his latest dated work, Daśavataracharita, "an account of the ten incarnations of the god Viṣnu"). [8]
Around eighteen of Kshemendra's works are still extant while fourteen more are known only through references in other literature. [6] In addition to the genres listed below, he also composed plays, descriptive poems, a satirical novel, a history, and possibly a commentary on the Kāma Sūtra. [9]