215 
1893.] H. M. Vidyabhushan — Study of Sanskrit in Ceylon. 
timid at this first union. O beauteous Maiden ! the rays of the rising 
sun are appearing and the cocks are crowing.” 
“ The discovery that Kshemendra quotes this verse and assigns it to 
Kumaradasa will one day, I hope, prove a valuable datum for the Maha- 
bhashya itself. Unfortunately we do not yet know Kumaradasa’s own 
date. But the following verses by him are quoted here, as, with the 
present example, presenting strong internal evidence that a writer who 
quotes Kumaradasa cannot have lived at the date now widely accepted 
for Patanjali.” 
Prof. Peterson again published the following note in the Academy 
for the year 1885, page 277 “ I have lately come across a date for 
Kumaradasa and the name of his book. In Jalhana’s ‘ Sukti Muktavali 
the following verse of Rajasekhara’s treats of this poet : — 
o Vi 
“i.e., ‘The poet Kumaradasa and Ravana, if any, are the only 
persons who can achieve the Janaki-harana (or Rape of Sita) in the face 
of the Raghuvamsa (or unawed by the dynasty of Raghu).’ 
“It is clear from this that Kumaradasa wrote his ‘ Janaki- 
haranam ’ after Kalidasa.” 
I think, by writing ‘after Kalidasa,’ Prof. Peterson meant after the 
“ Ragliu-Vamsa,” for it is only stated in the above sloka that Kumara- 
dasa’s “Janaki-harana” was a later production than the “ Ragliu- 
Vamsa.” But it does not necessarily follow that Kumaradasa flourished 
after Kalidasa. 
The ‘ Pada-Chandrika,’ by Raya-Mukuta, a commentary on the 
Amarakosha, which is a work of the 15th century, has numerous 
quotations from Kumaradasa’s “Janaki-harana.” This shows that the 
work was largely used in India during the 15th century. 
We are told by the Singhalese historians that about the 14th 
century certain Dravidian kings conquered Ceylou and exterminated 
all the Sanskrit and Pali works of that island ; so much so that the 
Singhalese, after the downfall of this dynasty, had to bring all tho sacred 
books from Burmak. It seems that Kumaradasa s works were also 
destroyed at that time in Ceylon. But as the Janaki-harana was extant 
in India up to the 15th century, we may hope that it will, some day, bo 
discovered by the Pandits who are now engaged in collecting Sanskrit 
Manuscripts under the auspices of tho Government. 
In 1870 Mr. James D’Alwis, who was entrusted with the work of 
searching for Sanskrit and Pali manuscripts in Ceylon, discovered a 
manuscript of the Singhalese Sannct , i. e., a literal translation of the 
