Ocean of Music, Volume 1

Simhabhūpāla is a versatile scholar and a profuse writer. Apart from his The Row of Water Lilies original: "Kuvalayāvalī" and The Ocean of the Essence of Aesthetic Emotion original: "Rasārnavasudhākara", both published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series, he must have written many other works. In The Ocean of the Essence of Aesthetic Emotion, he mentions a work called The Birth of the God of Love original: "Kandarpasambhava" as his own composition.¹ In the whole of this Ocean of the Essence of Aesthetic Emotion, he quotes from his own works about twenty-five verses in illustration of various statements he makes, with the remark, as in my own work original: "yathā mamaiva". A few of them are traceable to his The Row of Water Lilies as is mentioned in the Preface to that Drama in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. We have as yet no information about the other verses quoted from his works.

In Aufrecht’s Complete Catalog of Catalogs original: "Catalogus Catalogorum", there is an entry of Definitions of Dramaturgy original: "Nāṭakaparibhāṣā" as a work of Siṅgadharanīsena. The entry is made on page 284 as found in Buhler’s Report and on page 791 as found in the India Office. The manuscripts in the India Office are described by Eggeling under Nos. 1201 and 1202. Evidently the author is Siṅgadharanīs'a and Siṅgadharanīsena must be the Instrumental Singular form with 'sa' for 's'a'.² It is not a separate work; it is only a part of Simhabhūpāla’s Ocean of the Essence of Aesthetic Emotion beginning from verse 290 on page 298.

There is no reason to believe that the Ocean of the Essence of Aesthetic Emotion was written by Vis'ves'vara on the ground that—

¹ He says: As in my own "Birth of the God of Love" original: "yathā kandarpasambhave mamaiva"—

At that moment, the artist of passion,
wishing to unite the hearts of both,
melted them with the very heat of love
through their warm, wandering sighs.

² Eggeling gives the name as Siṅgadharanis'a.