Bilhana
Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Sanskrit poet, known for the courtly epic Vikramāṅkadevacarita and the lyric collection Caurapañcāśikā.
Sanskrit literature: Literature composed in Sanskrit, spanning religious, philosophical, dramatic, narrative, and poetic works. Bilhana wrote within a literary tradition whose forms and prestige shaped his poetry.
Vikramāṅkadevacarita: Bilhana’s Sanskrit court epic recounting the deeds of the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. This is Bilhana’s principal royal encomium and his account of a king’s rise.
Western Chalukya Empire: A Deccan dynasty whose rulers governed from the late tenth to the twelfth century. Bilhana’s career and royal epic are associated with this dynasty’s court.
Kashmiri literary tradition: The body of literary works and practices associated with Kashmir across languages and historical periods. Bilhana is an early and prominent Sanskrit poet associated with Kashmir.
Mahākāvya: A classical Sanskrit court epic characterized by elaborate description, elevated style, and a heroic narrative. His Vikramāṅkadevacarita belongs to this courtly epic tradition.
Caurapañcāśikā: A Sanskrit lyric sequence traditionally attributed to Bilhana, voiced by a lover facing separation and death. The collection preserves the intimate, erotic mode contrasting with his royal epic.
Kalyani: A historic city in present-day Karnataka that served as a capital of the Western Chalukyas. Bilhana’s account connects his literary career with the Chalukya court at Kalyani.
Sanskrit manuscript culture: The practices through which Sanskrit texts were copied, transmitted, edited, and preserved in handwritten manuscripts. The surviving works and their variant readings depend on manuscript transmission.
Sanskrit poetics: The study and theory of literary composition, language, aesthetic effect, and poetic figures in Sanskrit literature. Its conventions help explain the crafted imagery and style of Bilhana’s verse.
Vikramaditya VI: A Western Chalukya king who ruled much of the Deccan from 1076 to 1126. He is the ruler praised in Bilhana’s court epic.