Sasthikadasa's- Cittamodakavya (An Old and Rare Book)

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The present work embodies the text of the Cittamodakavya preceded by an Introduction and followed by a Critical Commentary on the text. So far as we know, neither the name of the Cittamodakavya nor the name of its composer, Sasthikadasa, has been mentioned in the history of Sanskrit literature. It has been deemed necessary to bring the work to light and, therefore, a number of correspondences were made with different scholars living in different parts of the country to know if there was any work by this name or any other work of this poet available in their respective regions. Some of the scholars contacted by us responded in the negative. Among them, Dr. N.P. Unni, Professor and Head, Department of Sanskrit, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, on the strength of a verification of Catalogus Catalogurum and other materials assured us that Cittamoda has neither been published nor known to the learned world and, as such, advised us to proceed with the work of editing and publishing the same. Dr. S.S. Misra, formerly Professor and Head, Dept. of Sanskrit, Lucknow University, also sent us the same kind of advice. I remain highly indebted to them for their cooperation and constructive suggestions.

Originally, a text critical edition of Cittamodakavya was prepared as a part of a U.G.C. sponsored Departmental Research Support Scheme under the Co-ordinatorship of Prof. Dr. N.P. Bordoloi, Head of the Dept. of Assamese, Gauhati University. Subsequently, the said edition has been brought up to the present form by preparing a somewhat detailed introduction, translation of the text into English and a critical commentary for the specific purpose of executing an assignment very kindly given to me by the Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art and Culture, Assam.

Cittamodakavya is a Sanskrit poetical work composed by Sasṭhikadasa, presumably in Assam. This work occupies a. significant position in the history of Sanskrit literature on more than one count first, it is a contribution to the area of Sanskrit poetical literature by a poet, who was in our humble opinion, a native of Assam. Secondly, this is an addition to the Sataka variety of Sanskrit kavya. Thirdly, this kavya deserves to be reckoned as an important datum in respect of the cultural history of Assam, particularly the Neo-Vaisnava movement (15th-16th century) of the mediaeval period. Because of these factors, Cittamoda demands special attention of all the Sanskrit lovers in general and of critics and scholars in particular.

So far as we know neither the name of Sasṭhikadasa nor the name of Cittamodakavya is included in the known history of Sanskrit literature or in any history of Assamese literature. No other poet is known to have referred to Sasṭhikadasa as a contemporary or predecessor. Therefore, before going to present the text of the work it seems necessary to present a detailed discussion on the salient features of the work, since there is also a good deal of literary interest involved in the present exercise of presenting the poet and his poetry.