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introduction

ity. However, because yati was sometimes adopted as a sobriquet by lay scholars, and because Krishna·mishra’s roles as a poet and counselor of a lord seem most often to have been occupied by lay specialists and not renunciates, skepticism about this tradition seems warranted. And a tale found in the Prakasa commentary relates that he wrote “The Rise of Wisdom Moon” on behalf of a disciple who was attached to poetry but disliked philosophy, and so needed to swallow the bitter dose of Vedanta mixed into the sugary syrup of the theater. This quaint story, however, must have come into circulation at some point after the real historical origins of the play were largely forgotten (Krishnamachariar 1970 [1937]: 676).

Despite the extreme poverty of our knowledge of Krishna· mishra the man, his work permits us to make some judgments regarding his character. He was the confidant and teacher of a leading lord of his time, and his qualifications for this role included a broad philosophical and literary culture. His deep understanding of the spiritual tradition with which he was affiliated was leavened by an amused view of human weakness and folly. As we become more familiar with his work, we may imagine that we catch occasional glimpses within it of the workman as well.

Literature or Philosophy?

Allegory was never recognized as a distinct genre by Sanskrit writers on literary criticism and poetics. It was not until recent times, after Western literary categories became known, that writers in the modern Indian languages coined the Sanskrit neologisms pratikanataka (“symbolic drama”) ________

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