Ocean of Music, Volume 1

Dr. M. Krishnamacharyar says that Siṃhabhūpāla, who wrote the commentary on the Ocean of Music original: "Saṅgītaratnākara," a foundational 13th-century Sanskrit text on Indian music and dance, is different from the author of the Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa original: "Rasārṇavasudhākara," a major work on aesthetics and dramaturgy.¹ He does not give any explanation. It is true that while he gives an elaborate description of his ancestry in the introductory portion of the Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa, he gives little information about himself in his commentary. This must be due to the fact that he wrote the commentary after he wrote the Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa. It is not possible at this stage to investigate the point on the basis of any internal evidence. I must wait for that till the whole of the commentary is published. But the colophon a concluding statement in a manuscript giving facts about its production in the two works proves the identity of the authors beyond any doubt.² The question of a work called Definitions of Drama original: "Nāṭakaparibhāsa", the question of the Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa having been written by another person who was a favorite in the court, and the question of the authors of the two works being different—such questions should not have been raised, and if the points had been properly investigated such doubts would not have been raised. But since they are found in works well known and relied on by many, it has become necessary for me to investigate the points and make certain remarks on them.

¹ See Classical Sanskrit Literature, footnote 1, p. 853.
² The colophon in the Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa reads as follows:

Thus ends the work named The Moonlight of the Ocean of Rasa, composed by the illustrious Siṃhabhūpāla, who is the son of the glorious King Anapota, the formidable Bhima in strength of arm, and the "Ganda-Bhairava" a title meaning "formidable hero" lord of the prosperous Andhra region, etc. original: "इति श्रीमदन्ध्रमण्डलाधीश्वरप्रतिगण्डभैरवश्रीयनपोतनरेन्द्रनन्दनभुजबलभीमश्री-शिङ्गभूपालविरचिते रसार्णवसुधाकरनाम्नि etc"

This may be compared with the colophon at the end of the first chapter of the commentary. Further, the identity of the names Sudhākara meaning "Moon" or "Source of Nectar" in both works too point out to the identity of the authors.