Sangita Ratnakara

Three manuscripts of Siṃhabhūpāla's commentary on the Saṅgītaratnākara The "Jewel Mine of Music," a foundational 13th-century Sanskrit treatise on music and dance have come to our notice. One is in the collection at the Fort at Bikaner and we were able to secure a transcript of it.¹ There is another work in the Oriental Library at Baroda and for this also, we were able to have a transcript.² The third is in the Bhandarkar Research Institute, Poona.³ It is found that this last manuscript consists of a few stray leaves and so we did not utilise it. Another manuscript is known to exist in Kashmere.⁴ We tried very much to secure a loan or a transcript of it. But we are informed that the manuscript is not available there.

Kallinātha A prominent 15th-century scholar and commentator who wrote under the patronage of the Vijayanagara Empire also gives some information about himself in the introductory portion of his commentary.⁵ He speaks about the Karṇātaka country⁶ with the Kāverī and the Kṛṣṇā Two major rivers of Southern India on the south and the north of the country,⁷ which extends to the eastern and the western coasts.⁸ Here on the banks of the

¹ Siṃhabhūpāla's commentary is not noticed in Rajendralal Mitra's Catalogue. No. 1120 there is a part of Kallinātha's commentary. A new and complete Catalogue is under preparation. But the numbers have not been finally assigned and as such no number is given here for the Manuscript.
² The Catalogue has not yet been printed.
³ Descriptive Catalogue, Vol. XII, No. 327.
⁴ The MS. is not noticed in any catalogue. But its existence in the Raghunath Temple, Srinagar is known through private information.
⁵ Verses 5-14 in the commencement of the commentary.
⁶ "There exists the country of Karnataka" original: "āste karṇāṭadeśaḥ": verse 5.
⁷ "Its southern and northern shoulders are moistened by the trembling waves of the Kaveri and the Krishna-Veni rivers" original: "kāverīkṛṣṇaveṇītaralatarataraṅgārdradakṣottarāṃsa" Ibid.
⁸ "Seen as embracing the eastern and western shores with its own eastern and western body" original: "dṛṣṭaḥ saṃśliṣya pūrvāparanijavapuṣā prācyapāścātyavele" Ibid.