Govinda-bhaṭṭa, known by his pen name Akbariya Kālidāsa ("Kalidasa of Akbar"), was a 16th-century Sanskrit-language court poet from present-day India. His patrons included Rewa's ruler Ramachandra and the Mughal emperor Akbar.[1]

Works

The texts attributed to Govindabhatta include:

  • Akabari-vilasa[2]
  • Birudavali[3]
  • Ramachandra-yashah-prabandha, a panegyric on Ramachandra of Rewa[1]
  • Stutimalika[2]

Govindabhatta appears to have become quite popular, as his verses appear in at least six anthologies of the 17th and the 18th centuries.[3] The texts that cite his verses include Subhashita-haravali (c. 1650), Padyamrta-tarangini (c. 1673), Rasika-jivana (later than c. 1735), Sundaradeva's Sukti-Sundara, Padyareni, and Padyarchana.[4]

Most of Govindabhatta's extant verses are devoted to description and praise of kings.[2] The kings praised by him include Akbar (whom he calls Kabilendra or Jallaladin) and Ramachandra of Rewa (whom he calls Vaghela).[5] He may have adopted the pen-name "Akbariya Kalidasa" to please Emperor Akbar.[2]

In his poems, Govindabhatta pays homage to the gods Vishnu, Shiva, Bhavani, Ganesha, Krishna, Durga, and Jvalapa (Jvalamukhi).[2]

See also

  • Tansen, another courtier of Akbar originally in service of Ramachandra

References

  1. 1 2 E. V. Vira Ragahavacharya 1947, p. 567.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ludwik Sternbach 1978, p. 61.
  3. 1 2 E. V. Vira Ragahavacharya 1947, p. 568.
  4. ↑ E. V. Vira Ragahavacharya 1947, pp. 567–570.
  5. ↑ E. V. Vira Ragahavacharya 1947, p. 566.

Bibliography

  • E. V. Vira Ragahavacharya (1947). "Akbariya-Kalidasa Alias Govindabhatta (16th century)". Bhārata-kaumudī: studies in Indology in honour of Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji. Vol. Part II. Allahabad: Indian Press. OCLC 618204.
  • Ludwik Sternbach (1978). A Descriptive Catalogue of Poets Quoted in Sanskrit Anthologies and Inscriptions. Vol. 1: Aṁśudhara-Dhoyī. Otto Harrasowitz. ISBN 978-3-447-01978-1.
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