Sangita Ratnakara

was Sodhala. original: "तस्याभूत्तनयः . . . श्रीसोढलः" (His son was the illustrious Sodhala), verse 5. He was patronised by King Siṅghaṇa. original: "येन . . . न्यधायि महती श्रीसिङ्घणे श्रीरपि" (By whom great wealth was also placed in the illustrious Siṅghaṇa), Ibid. This is a king of the Yadava dynasty, who ruled in Deogiri (modern Doulatabad) from 1210 to 1247 A.D. The Śaka era years 1132-1169. Śārṅgadeva was the son of this Sodhala. original: "तस्मात . . . जातः शार्ङ्गदेवः" (From him was born Śārṅgadeva), verse 9. He speaks about his own learning in detail. Found in verses 10-14.

Many commentaries are known to have been written on this work of Śārṅgadeva. The editors of the work from Calcutta say Preface, p. 4. that they have known of seven commentaries, of which four are in Sanskrit, one in Hindi and two in Telugu. But they had seen only two of the Sanskrit commentaries (evidently those by Kallinātha and Siṁhabhūpāla) and the one in Hindi. The late Dr. M. Krishnamacharyar mentions the following commentaries on it, in his Classical Sanskrit Literature paragraph 1004, page 853. : Siṁhabhūpāla, Keśava, Kallinātha, Haṁsabhūpāla, Chandrikā, and the Hindi commentary by Gaṅgārāma. Of these the commentaries by Siṁhabhūpāla and Kallinātha will be taken up for detailed consideration presently.

The commentary by Keśava is called Kaustubha Kaustubha: literally 'jewel', a common title for scholarly works, according to Dr. Krishnamacharyar. foot-note 2 on p. 853. A commentary by Keśava is mentioned in the Saṅgītasudhā The Saṅgītasudhā (Nectar of Music) by Govinda Dīkṣita mentions Keśava’s commentary in the following verse: "The two Brahmins, Keśava and Kallinātha, who set out here to make this [work] clear." Edition of Music Academy, Madras, No. 1, p. 152, verse 408.