Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)

Not to be confused with Rājaśekhara Sūri, the Jain Sanskrit author (fl. c. 1350).
Rajashekhara
Occupation(s)Poet, dramatist and critic
SpouseAvantisundari
FatherDurduka

Rajashekhara (IAST: Rājaśekhara; fl. 10th century[1]) was a Maharashtri Prakrit and Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic. He was the court poet of the Pratiharas of Kannauj.[2]

Rajashekhara wrote the Kāvyamīmāṃsā between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. He is most noted for the Kārpūramañjarī, a play written in Maharashtri Prakrit.[3] Rajashekhara wrote the play to please his wife, Avantisundarī, a woman of taste and accomplishment. Rajashekhara is perhaps the only ancient Indian poet to acknowledge his wife for her contributions to his literary career.[1]

  1. ^ a b Sisir Kumar Das, Sahitya Akademi (2006). A history of Indian literature, 500-1399: from courtly to the popular. Sahitya Akademi. p. 60. ISBN 9788126021710.
  2. ^ Chandra, Satish (1978). Medieval India: a textbook for classes XI-XII, Part 1. National Council of Educational Research and Training (India). p. 10.
  3. ^ The Indian Autobiographies in English. Author House. 28 February 2013. ISBN 9781481784948.