श्री कुलशेखरवर्मभूपाल विरचितं तपतीसंवरणं (विवरणसमेतम्)- Kulasekhara Varman's Tapati Samvaranam (An Old and Rare Book)

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About the Book

Tapatisamvarana of Kulasekharavarman. the royal dramatist of Kerala (c. 11th century A.D.), is a drama in six Acts describing the love between Tapati, the daughter of the Sungod and Samva rana, the King of Hastinapura. The source of the plot is the Tapatyopakhya na contained in the Adiparvan of the Mahabharata. Sivarama (c. 14th cen tury A.D) the author of the exhaustive Vivarana commentary has utilised an earlier gloss by a contemporary of the dramatist. The Chakyars of Kerala have been staging the drama for the last several centuries in Kutiyattam per formances in the temple theatres during festivals. Both the text and the comm entary were originally edited by Dr. T. Ganpati Sastri in the famous Trivan drum Sanskrit Series. The present edition contains a detailed general introduction and study by Dr. N. P. Unni, Professor and Head of the Department of Sanskrit, University of Kerala.

About the Author

DR. N. P. UNNI (b. 1936) has the unique distinction of being the first candidate to be awarded a Ph.D. degree in Sanskrit by the University of Kerala.
After a long teaching career he joined the University of Kerala as Curator in the reputed Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library. Later he became Reader in the Department of Sanskrit and is currently Professor and Head of the Department.
Dr. Unni has more than 15 books to his credit and has contributed papers to many prominent Journals in Indology. His publications include: Sanskrit Dramas of Kulasekhara-A Study, New Problems in Bhasa Plays and History of Mushikavamsa which inci dentally earned for him a prestigious award from the University of Kerala.

Preface

The play Tapatisamvarans derives its name from Tabati and Samvarana, the heroine and hero. The plot of the play is taken from the story of Samvarana, the father of Kurn and husband of Tapml described in chapters 171-173 of the Adiparva of the Mahabharata.
The edition of the drama is based on four manuscripts 2 or 3 centuries old obtained from the Palace Library. The variants of the inatuscripts which are denoted by the letters are shown at the foot of the pages. The commentary published along with the text is based on one manoscrapt which is almost correct and like the text is noted for its high literary excellences. In fact, we may safely assert that, of the many commentaries of Kavyas that we know of, there is none that can compare with this.
The King Kulasekhara Varma, ruler of Mahodayapurs and "the best of the desceudants of the Kerala family" is, as stated in the prelude, the author of this arama. He was an ardent admirer of "the Paramahamsas" (ascetics of the highest order). That the author was a staunch devotee of God Vishnu is evident from the last verse of the play ex pressing a longing for complete devotion towards God "Sridhara" as well as from the commentator's reference to him as "Paramabhagavata". There is another commentary to this drama and to Subhadra-dhananjaya, another work or the Eame author. Its function is merely to explain the suggestive significances (44) of the expressions and passages of the play.

Introduction

KULASEKHARA VARMAN: HIS DATE AND IDENTITY

Mahodayapuram identified with the modern Tiruvañcikulam near Crangannore at the mouth of Periyir had been the capital of several kings of Kerala who possessed the title 'Kulasekhara. Kulasekhara Alvar the famous Vaisnava saint is perhaps the first and foremost among the Kulasekharas. Sankaranarayana the author of Laghu-bhaskariya refers to two kings with the respective names of Ravi and Rama possessing the title Kulasekhara. There is another Kula ekhara who composed the dramas Tapatisa nvarata [TS] and Subhad-a thanan jaya [SD]. The patron of the yamaka poet Vasudeva is again a Kulasekhara. According to tradition the patrons of Prabhakara and Lilasuka are Kulale chara. Yet another Kulalekhara is known as the founder of the Kulasekhara era, and of the temple at Trkkulasekharapuram near Crangannore.

KULASEKHARA ALVAR

According to tradition, Kulasekhara Alvar the famous author of Perumal Tiru Moli is the son of Drdhavrata. His date of birth is given as Kali year 27 (3075 B. C.) known as Parabhava, the month Magha, Friday the twelth of the bright fortnight and the nakṣatra Punarvasu. Srivaisnava tradition gives his birth place as Kolipattanam in Kerala while Vedinta Delika refers to the place as Vancikkalam. Modern scholars, however, have calculated the date of the Alvar from the astrological data scattered among his works. Swamikannu Pillai has calculated the date to be 767 A. D., but K. G. Sesha Iyer fixes the date as 527 A. D. After a glorious career as a ruler the Alvar is believed to have retired to Srirangam to lead the life of a devotee. At a place called Mannarkoil he breathed his last. There is a temple at Mannarkoil known as Kulasekhara Alvärkoil, built by one Vasudevan Kelavan of Mullappalli in Malaimandalam (Ker la) and dedicated to the memory of the Alvar.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages