Ancient Sanskrit poetess Shilabhattarika

Ancient Sanskrit poetess Shilabhattarika

Subject: History

Section: Art and Culture

Why in News?

Copper plates decoded by Pune-based Bhandarkar Institute shed light on celebrated ancient Sanskrit poetess Shilabhattarika. A copperplate charter with five copper plates said to be dating from the reign of the Badami Chalukyan ruler Vijayaditya (696-733 CE) were brought for decipherment.

The Charter

• The copper plate charter dated from the time of Chalukyan ruler Vijayaditya.
• The charter had five plates measuring 23.4 cm by 9.4 cm, held together by a copper ring bearing a beautiful varaha (boar) seal.
• The varaha seal is the trademark of the Badami Chalukyas.
• The charter contained a Sanskrit text of a total of 65 lines inscribed in late-Brahmi script.

Shilabhattarika

• Inscriptions on Pune copper plates establish the poetess as a Chalukyan Princess.
• Shilabhattarika is the daughter of the Chalukyan ruler Pulakeshin II of Badami (in modern Karnataka), who defeated Harsha.
• Pulakeshin II ruled from 610-642 CE. He defeated Harshavardhan of Kanauj in a battle near the banks of the Narmada River in 618 CE.
• This decipherment revealed Shilabhattarika, as a poetess in the ancient Indian world in the heavily male-dominated field of classical Sanskrit literature.
• The Sanskrit poet-critic Rajashekhara (who lived in the 9th-10th century CE) and was the court poet of the Gurjara-Pratiharas, has praised Shilabhattarika for her elegant and beautiful compositions.

Noted Marathi poetess, Shanta Shelke drawn inspiration from Shilabhattarika’s verse to compose one of her most iconic songs— toch chandrama nabhat (translated as ‘it is the same moon in the sky’). The decoding marks a notable shift in the historiography of Badami Chalukyas by placing Shilabhattarika as having lived in the 7th century CE rather than the current theory which has her as a wife of the 8th century Rashtrakuta ruler, Dhruva.

King Vijayaditya Donating a Village

• King Vijayaditya, a Chalukyan ruler ruled from 696 CE to 733 CE. His reign was marked by general peace and harmony. He built a number of temples.
• A primary reading of the plates revealed that Vijayaditya had donated the village of Sikkatteru in the Kogali Vishaya to a Vedic scholar named Vishnusharma in the month of Magha, Shakayear 638, corresponding to January-February 717 CE.
• Sikkatteru is identified as Chigateri situated near Kogali in the Vijayanagar district of Karnataka.
• The plates revealed that the village was donated on request by Mahendravarma, the son of Shilabhattarika, the daughter of ‘Satyashraya’.
• While other Badami Chalukyan rulers affixed the title of ‘Satyashraya’ (translated as “patron of truth”) to their names, the only ruler to be known purely by this title was Pulakeshin II. Pulakeshin II was the great-grandfather of Vijayaditya.

Other Facts Revealed from the Copper Plates

• The names of Shilabhattarika’s father-in-law Mokkara (or Mushkara), and his father Durvinita (the most important ruler of the Western Ganga dynasty who ruled from 529-579 CE) are also given in the plates.
• Shilabhattarika was married to Dadiga, a prince of the Ganga lineage of Talakkad. The most important ruler of the Western Ganga dynasty, Durvinita, was succeeded by Mokkara, who ruled till 604 CE. Dadiga was the son of Mokkara.
• Mokkara was succeeded by Polavira, his eldest son while his younger son Dadiga (Shilabhattarika’s husband) was possibly deputed to Kogali as its governor.
• His son Mahendravarma continued in the same position.

Badami Chalukyas, Ganga Dynasty and Pallavas

The Gangas acted as subordinates to the Chalukyas of Badami and fought against the Pallavas of Kanchi. Hence Mahendravarma’s age was estimated to be above 70 years old when these plates were issued. The Pallavas were the sworn nemesis or arch-rivals of the Badami Chalukyas, with Pulakeshin II being defeated (and possibly killed) in 642 CE in the invasion by the Pallava Narasimhavarman I.

The importance of Shilabhattarika and her poetry

• Over 40 of Shilabhattarika’s verses are said to be still existing.
• Rajashekhara, the great 9th-century critic lauds her compositional style. According to him, Shilabhattarika’s works adhere to the Panchali style that calls for a balance of the word with its meaning.
• In this regard, Rajashekhara even places her at par with Banabhatta, the court poet of Harsha.

Literature Lineage of Shilabhattarika

It was decoded how Shilabhattarika might have acquired such a high degree of proficiency in composing poetry, which placed her on an equal footing with the most exalted male poets of the age. Badami Chalukyas and the Western Gangas were great patrons of literature. Shilabhattarika’s great-grandfather-in-law, Durvinita (noted ruler of the Western Gangas), was himself a proficient composer, and had patronised Bharavi, the author of a classical epic Kiratarjuniya. Shilabhattarika was born in Badami Chalukya family and got married in Western Gangas family. With an illustrious literary pedigree on both sides of her family, it is not surprising that Shilabhattarika turned out to be a poetess of a high order.