REVIEWS
A History of
the Early Dynasties of Andhradesa–(C. 200–625 A.D.) by
Bhavaraju Venkata Krishna Rao, M.A., B.L., p.p. 10+682; (Publishers: V.
Ramaswami Sastrulu & Sons, Esplanade, Madras. Price, Rs. 15–0–0)
In this volume, Mr. Krishna Rao turns to the
pageant of the past, as of he conjures it back to life to fill the stage of
human activity and aspiration. Herein lies the abiding contribution of this
thesis–in the synthetic
appraisement of the achievements of our fathers. The measure of success that
the author has achieved is due not a little to his correlation of geographical,
cultural, religious and literary facts with political and dynastic.
Mr. Krishna Rao begins his narrative with the
Ikshvakus of old, the hod heirs to the imperialism of the earlier Satavahanas.
The Andhra Empire of the Satavahanas left behind a noble cultural legacy, which
succeeding epochs gratefully imbibed. Its impress may be detected even to the
present day in the language of the people. It was no wonder that the generations
which and immediately succeeded the Satakarnis should have been impregnated, in
every tissue of their social and political fabric, with Andhra traditions.
It was a period of great intellectual and religious
ferment. In the first instance, there was a Brahmanical revival. It also
witnessed unprecedented activity in other directions, such as the reclamation
of vast areas of forest and the immigration of Brahmanic settlers. Soon,
however, Buddhism regained its ascendancy, and the period became the most
glorious in the history of Buddhism in Andhradesa because of the “royal
patronage it enjoyed under the aegis of the Ikshvaku dynasty.” Inscriptions
refer to the various lofty and beautiful edifices of the Buddhist church that
once adorned turn the great city of Vijayapuri and the celebrated hill,
Sriparvata. Monks and nuns came from distant Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, China
and the Eastern Archipelago and from other distant countries.
The author carefully examines al the available
epigraphic, archeological and sculptural evidence to support his reconstruction
of this vital lea period of Andhra history. A wealth of sociological formation
is brought to the light, which gives us a glimpse into the sacred and secular
life of those days. Monastic establishments were greatly patronised and
scrupulously preserved. Gifts and endowments were made for their up-keep; and
royal ladies seem conspicuous as donors.
It was a time when Andhra genius, was blossoming in
a thousand directions. The Andhras “ventured early into the unknown regions
beyond the Blue Sea” and through their cultural and colonial expansion created
what might be described as “Greater Andhra”. It was not a mere physical
expansion but a spiritual conquest, the expression of a great missionary endeavour. “The colonial expansion of
Andhradesa civilised the savage races of the countries and islands of the East
and created in them a new thirst for culture, The colonials and foreign
co-religionists were, therefore, eager to make a pilgrimage to the holy land
where stood the sacred Sriparvata and pay homage to the relics of the Buddha
enshrined in- the Mahachaitya.”
Nagarjunakonda, so called because of its connection
with the renowned Acharya Nagarjuna, was regarded as one of the holiest of
shrines by the Buddhist communities all over the world. Nagarjuna was a great
philosopher whose sceptical and nihilistic thought necessitated the advent of
Sankara at a later date. Yuvan Chwang visited the Buddhist establishments in
Andhra in the early part of the 7th century A. D., and has left behind valuable
information. From the inscriptions of Nagarjunakonda, Amaravati and
Jaggayyapeta which belong to the
Ikshvaku period, the teeming life of the times is revealed to us and we learn
of several schools of religious thought or Mahasamghikas which flourished in
Andhradesa.
The glorious age of the Ikshvakus did not last for
long. Within half a century after its rise, it fell before the rushing surge of
Pallava valour. The Pallavas were staunch Brahmanas who had established
themselves at Kanchi as “Supreme Lords of the South.” The Pallava King slew the
last of the Ikshvakus. The Pallavas
“continued the work commenced by the Imperial Andhras, Andhrabhrityas and the
Sriparvatiyas, and established cultural affinity between the North and the
South which brought about about a national unity that welded Aryavarta and
Dakshinapatha lying between the Setu and the Narmada, into Bharatavarsha.”
The Ikshvakus fell, never to rise again, but the
resounding echoes of their glory reverberate down the ages, and their life
become renewed in the polity of the Cholas of a later day who appear to be
their political descendants. The Ikshvaku Empire had split up into a number of
petty kingdoms, each struggling in its turn for paramountcy. The Brihatphalayanas
and after them, the Anandas filled the stage for a while. Brihatphalayanas seem
to have had extensive maritime activity. The Anandas fell before the rise of
the Salankayanas. When Samudra-Gupta threatened the political existence of the
South, it was a confederacy under the aegis of the Salankayanas and the
Pallavas which opposed him and foiled his ambitious design.
The period of Salankayana supremacy synchronised
with the golden age of the Imperial Guptas of the North and of the Kadambas of
Vaijayanti. “Under the Salankayanas the kingdom of Vengi, with its fine
seaboard and two great rivers, flowing almost from West to East, enjoyed great
volume of sea-borne trade.” These monarchs appear to have been very liberal and
tolerant. Although themselves Parama-bhagavatas
and followers of Vedic Brahmanism, they extended their patronage to
Buddhism. No wonder the Salankayana king was extolled as Vividha-dharma-pradhanasya. Tradition makes the Salankayanas extend
their patronage to the Buddhist clergy at Kanchipura and elsewhere; and it is
even suggested that they were responsible for the spread of Buddhism into
Burma.
Under the Vishnukundins, the entire Andhra land was
once again brought under a single sceptre, and old glories were revived.
Madhavavarman, the Great, claimed to be the “Chakravartin of Dakshmapata” and
sustained his claim by the performance of Rajasuya, Purushamedha, Sarvamedha,
and eleven Asvamedha sacrifices. Ever since the fall of the Ikshvakus, the
Andhra land had known no peace; but now for the first time, a long spell of
prosperity gave an impetus to the creative instincts of the race which marked a
revival of Andhra culture and glory. Under the aegis of Imperial dynasty a new
style of sculpture and architecture found expression. The new style has been
called the Pallava; but it has to be correctly called the Vishnukundin. The
beautiful cave temples of Undavalli, Mugalrajapuram and Vijayavada (Bezwada)
are sublime art creations and may be attributed to this period. The new style evidently
became popular and the Pallavas only copied it later. “The glory of the
Vishnukundin dynasty and all that it had contributed to the prosperity and fame
of Andhradesa and Andhras was quickly forgotten in the splendour of the
Chalukya sovereignty that followed and lasted for six long centuries.
Thus the historian leads the reader from one
cultural epoch to another, focussing attention upon those forces and influences
which, in their impact, necessitated a new shuffling and shaping of the social
fabric. Homage is paid to conventional historiography only in that all facts
are fitted up into a dynastic or political framework. But the historian, with a
rare intuitive understanding, emancipates himself from its thraldom, and,
instead of becoming a valet of princes, becomes the historian of life and
civilisation. Culture-contact, culture-conflict, crisis and ultimate
reconciliation–that is the dialectic and yet synthetic process the historian
discerns in the march of ages. This makes this undertaking of Mr. Krishna Rao
most conspicuous and confers on it an abiding value. That part of it which is
rigorously faithful to the canons of orthodox historiography does much to
obscure its value. If a second edition of this work should be called for, the
axe may be most ruthlessly employed. But the work in itself, in other respects,
constitutes a radical and welcome departure.
– (Prof.) Pratapagiri Ramamurti
Gandhism
Reconsidered–Prof. M. L. Dantwala. (Padma
Publications Ltd., Bombay.) –Price Re. I–0–0.
This is a very brief but brilliant study of Gadhism
in its economic implications. Prof. Dantwala must be deemed an acquisition to
the growing (but, at the moment, not articulate) band of expository advocates
of Gandhian ideology. He has an intimate and thorough appreciation of Western
economic trends, a firm grip of first principles and an exhilarating sense of
national pride. But his appeal is throughout to the most exacting tests of
scientific economics.
Gandhism has too often been muddled with what has
been tendentiously dubbed the ‘bullock-cart’ type of society. There is this
much of truth in the charge, that Gandhiji seeks to, place the bullock (a
living thing) in front of the cart which is as dead as the nails riveting it.
Gandhiji is the greatest exponent of living values; and the peculiar mark of
his greatness is that he sees them with a steady vision in an age when the
machine has made a shameful conquest of man. The simple life of Confucius,
Buddha and Christ was an obvious choice in days when there was no alternative
to it. To hold fast to it amidst modern distractions is nothing short of
heroism.
Prof. Dantwala’s exposition of trusteeship vs. socialism is particularly
illuminating; and his interpretation of Gandhism as an attempt to narrow
boundaries which artificially separate men is a felicitous way of bringing out
Gandhiji’s preoccupation with men, not so much in the mass but rather as
individuals. Finally, the cult of non-violence is explained in terms of
international politics, and a practical method of applying it is indicated,
once the economics of peoples is rationalised.
Prof. Dantwala writes with delightful ease and an
instinct for the right or incisive word. Such quiet mastery leads us to hope
for great things from him.
P. M.
Post-War
Construction by D. Pant, B. Com.
Ph.D. (Dublin). Kitab-Mahal, Allahabad. Price Rs. 2–8–0.
This book contains ten chapters dealing with many
of the ideas very much in the air. Almost everybody has been familiarised with
what has been portentously called reconstruction after the present War. Dr.
Pant has been a diligent student of current thought; he has done a good deal of
reporting in this book. But the prevailing impression is one of haziness. There
is a persistent mix-up of what is practicable, what should be done, and what is
being actually done. Ii is not surprising that he should distribute bouquets
and brick-bats with indiscriminate impartiality all round. One infers that he
is opposed to Gandhism; but he is not over enthusiastic about the methods of
the Government either.
Beyond a number of unexceptionable general
statements, we have been unable to form a clear picture of what the learned
Doctor’s panacea for our ills really amounts to. English is very faulty and
even jejune in places. The use of
‘shall’ and ‘will’ is particularly jarring. But we believe that he means well,
and is really an enthusiastic student of affairs. Only he fails to put it
across.
P. M.
Two Lectures
on an Aesthetic of Literature–by B. S. Mardhekar. Publishers: Karnatak Publishing House, Bombay.
Price 1–4–0.
Out of the somewhat depressing welter of our Indian
writing upon aesthetics, with its miraculous dullness and its appalling
vapidity, Mr. Mardhekar emerges with a conspicuousness that is comforting.
Susceptibility, clairvoyance, immediacy of response, are all his; he is the
friend of any talent that is fine and strange and frank enough to incur the
dislike of the mighty army of Aristotle. He is innocent of prepossessions. His
critical theory: A-B-C-D-E, is inexplicably uneven as if the writer were
perpetually playing on the boundary line that divides sanity of thought from
intellectual chaos. There is method in the madness, but it is a method of
intangible ideas. Nevertheless, These lectures show that Mr. Mardhekar has
evolved a criticism of literature that makes for intellectual cultivation
although it is of a Bohemian rather than an academic kind.
K. K. K.
Look on Undaunted–Poems by P. R. Kaikini, New Book Company, Bombay–Price Rs. 2.
‘Look on Undaunted’ is the sixth volume of poetry
published by the Mr. Kaikini. In spite of the Lawrencian cult of the
ennoblement of the flesh here and there, that has influenced him considerably,
he is still a believer in the perfection of Man as a powerful weapon to forge
perfection out of the ruggedness and the chaos of this world.
‘Impressionism’ of which Mr. Kaikini is an ardent
student often suffers from this vital defect. The thread that connects the
images of various emotions into a consistent whole even in the best specimen of
its kind is too intangible to be apprehended and, in consequence, the picture
presented is glaringly sketchy and obtrusive, These lines the ‘Nocturne’:
“The correct number found A 45 C
block a knock” etc.
despite whatever poetry that may be imagined in or rhythm attributed to
them is a prosaic statement of fact. Mere imitation of Edith Sitwell or T. S.
Eliot without realising the formless forms of theirs, whether they are
appropriate vehicles of tender emotions, will not make poetic that which is
unpoetic.
Mr. Kaikini is not enamoured of the ‘white
civilization’ that has ushered in “The bloody chapter of new mans war-grim
history.”
He is therefore quite abreast of his times in
preaching universal peace to mankind by the ‘purging’ of “the treacherous night of its dreadful
bombs.”
There are beautiful lines of poetry, filigree-like
in tenderness and grace, such as the following: –
(a) “A moon flower sere
I follow you, O fair one.
As the koel follows the warming spring
Ever an ever.
Through the arch of amber-colored torches
Lalita, darling mine.”
(b) “On the swift heels of twilight
The
furious wind hisses about darkly
Spreading its angelic wings.”
(c) “Across dreamy dawn shades of laughing hills”
The renderings of the folk-songs from the Konkini, have a delightful
simplicity and sweetness.
P. S.
Blood of Stones; Poems by Harindranath Chattopadhyaya. Padma
Publications Ltd., Bombay. Price Rs. 1-4-0.
This pamphlet-verse covering in all 20
pages comprises of only three poems: ‘Blood of Stones’, a wreath of honour
laid at the graves of the Indians fallen in the battle against the Fascists; ‘On the Pavement of Calcutta’ a gruesome picture of the
hunger-stricken in Bengal; ‘Thou shalt not Pass’ an inveterate challenge and
warning to Japan that she shall not conquer
India, as India has grown antifascist. The last poem is the most
remarkable of all. It is verily a tirade in the manner of war-propaganda
against the Japanese nation for the various commissions and omissions
on their part which have landed them in the vortex of the present
War. It is no pleasant surprise to
note that Mr. Harindranath has climbed down from the ethereally pure
heights of melodic wisdom, which have been his, to the sordid levels
of a propaganda poem.
P. S.
Kensington
Park–by Sri K. Gopalakrishna
Rao. Publishers: Manohara Grantha Prakasana Samiti, Dharwar. Price 1-4-0.
The book is miscellaneous in character and
includes essays, poems and a short play. Though the modes of writing are
thus varied, their background remains the same throughout, viz., the Kensington Park in Bangalore. The author has succeeded
well in his task of introducing the Park to readers through a descriptive
essay. There are two sketches, which are really stories. One of them deals with
a simple coolie, a self-made man with a notable character and with
labour-strikes and lock-outs. The other deals with the life of a poor English girl, who is forsaken by her parents, relatives and false
lover. The reader’s interest is well sustained and the author has given us a work of fine artistry. The other essay (Full Moon in the Park) is equally good for its imagination
and thought.
The short play brings in the tender feelings of
children and the thoughts of a pair of lovers belonging to the lower
classes. The play suffers from too many songs and dull movement. Of the three
poems, one thrills with patriotic feelings and makes an impression.
G. V.
Shivana Solu–(A short play) by “Amaravani”–Publishers: Kavya Kala
Sangha, Bangalore City. Price 0-12-0.
This is a short play describing Parvati’s conquest
of love over Shiva. Shiva, who burnt the God of Love into ashes in a fit of
anger, himself falls in love, paradoxically enough, with Parvati.
Parvati is the major character of the play. She
goes through a severe ordeal enduring all kinds of hardships in order to
fulfill her ambition. She stands always for the welfare of humanity and the
world at large. She sympathises with the misfortune of Rati who loses her
husband on this occasion. The author has successfully brought out the greatness
of Parvati throughout the play and interprets Shiva’s boon to Parvati as the
Lord’s defeat itself.
The play is written in blank verse and reflects a
modern outlook as the title itself would indicate. In spite of this modernism
there is a profuse use of old and worn-out similes such as abound in the works of ancient authors. The language is on the whole simple and
provides interesting reading.
G. V.
Sree
Basavannanavara Amritavani–by Sri A. N. Krishna
Rao–Publishers: Karnataka Sahitya Mandira, Dharwar. Price Rs. 2–4–0.
The book contains a sketch of Basaveswara’s life
and his sayings arranged under different heads. The legends that have grown
round the saint’s life are critically assessed and the main incidents have been
presented, as far as possible, on the basis of his own sayings,
which constitute a great treasure of Kannada Literature and have imparted a
new vigour to the language.
The collection of quotations from the works of
other poets, shows how Basaveswara soon became personality love and revered by
one and all.
G.V.
Haridasa
Sahitya–by Keertanacharya Belur
Kesavadas, published by Hari Mandira, Vani Vilas Mohalla, Mysore. Price Rs.
3–0–0.
Sri Belur Kesava Das, who has already published
biographical studies of the Karnatak Vaishnava saints, attempts in this book a
critical estimate of the literature of the Vaishnava saints, the Haridasas of
Karnatak. The book brings together information handed down by tradition on the
works of these saints. The author writes with evident enthusiasm on the
contribution of these saints to the evolution of South Indian music, and of
their philosophy of life, and a colourful account of their
songs as literature. The book makes interesting reading and may be consulted
with profit by all those who are interested in the songs of the Vaishnava
mystics of Karnatak.
–K
Sudra Tapasvi (The Outcaste Ascetic) by K. V. Puttappa,
M.A.,–Published by Mysore Kavyalaya, Mysore.
Mr. Puttappa has chosen the theme of this short
play from the story of Shambhuka, the outcaste ascetic, who was slain by Sri
Ramachandra, which occurs in the Uttara
Kanda of the Ramayana. This story
is particularly abhorrent to the sense of equality of a modern thinker and
humanitarian. The author considers the episode an interpolation by an inferior
mind. While this may be conceded, one should like to say that the selection of
this particular theme for his short play is not altogether a happy one for a
writer of Mr. Puttappa’s abilities.
The author shows admirable command in the handling
of blank verse. Although the metre of the lines is sometimes elusive, the
rhythm keeps up with the thought of the lines. Mr. Puttappa has invented a new
kind of dramatic metre, which justifies itself by the effect it produces.
Doniya Binada
and Kavi–(The Merriment of the
Boat, and the Poet) by Mr. P. T. Narasimhachar, M.A.,–Published by Mysore
Kavyalaya, Mysore.
These are two song-plays. The first one, (the
Merriment of the Boat,) describes how a young man who had lost all hopes in
life was saved from drowning himself by a young lady. Hope returned to him,
with love and beauty.
The second play deals with Nature and a poet who
are friends loving each other’s company. The poet spends long hours of
contemplation in the midst of Nature who reveals her secrets to him. But the
poet’s wife is constantly fretting and fuming over her husband’s unworthliness.
The author describes with sympathy the feelings of his wife and shows reverence
to the life of the poet.
Mr. Narasimhachar is a true Nature-poet whose
perception of Nature is a happy blend of poetry and philosophy.
Sharada Yamini
(The Moonlit Autumnal Night) by
P. T. Narasimhachar, M.A.,–Published by
Mysore Kayyalaya, Mysore.
The nature poems in this collection which reveal
the poet’s perceptive and imaginative powers are Particularly good. It is a
valuable contribution to contemporary Kannada literature.
A. K. P.
Primers and
Reader, and thirty booklets–Published by the Mysore State Literacy Council, Mysore (Prices 0-1-0 and 0-1-6).
One of the main problems of adult education is to guard against people lapsing back into illiteracy after they have been rendered literate. The Mysore State Literacy Council has therefore rendered signal service in publishing these books containing stories and general knowledge by competent, writers in a simple, straightforward style. We trust that this work will be kept up in ever-growing measure.
K.