Ocean of Music, Volume 1

In the Moonlight of Artistic Surprise original: "Camatkāracandrikā", the author Viśveśvara refers to the Moon-nectar of the Ocean of Sentiment original: "Rasārṇava-sudhākara" for further details. ¹ It is becoming a fashion nowadays to refer all works bearing the name of a king to some court poet or court scholar Pandit: a learned scholar or teacher in Hindu law, philosophy, or music. Unless there is definite evidence—as in the case of the Nectar of Music original: "Saṅgītasudhā" assigned to King Raghunātha but mentioned as being by Govinda Dīkṣita by his son Veṅkaṭamakhin ²—we have to accept that the king himself wrote these works.

The kings in ancient and even in medieval India were not mere figure-heads in administration, nor were they mere administrators. They were the true representatives of the civilization of the country. In intellectual equipment, in cultural accomplishments, and in every aspect of their lives, they represented the civilization in its ideal form. They maintained Dharma: the eternal and inherent nature of reality, often translated as duty, righteousness, or cosmic order, which is another word for civilization; they lived according to Dharma also. Besides being warriors, conquerors, and rulers, they were learned scholars, poets, philosophers, and authors, as well as patrons of learning and arts. They recognized only an Indian Dharma or civilization without any racial prejudices. Siṃhabhūpāla himself says that he belonged to the lowest caste ³, yet at the same time he honored the Brahmins The priestly and scholarly class and protected religion. Neither caste distinction nor sectarian differences interfered with the unity of culture under the rule of those great Indian kings.

¹ Compare Dr. M. Krishnamacharyar's Classical Sanskrit Literature, paragraph 879, page 771.
² See note 1 on page XI above.
³ See note 4 on page XIII above.