>1,•*

Nilakantha Diksita is perhaps the most versatile and proli­

fic writer of the seventeenth century* He has contributed to the

different branches of Sanskrit literature. Though his mother-

tohgue was Tamil and he had spent his entire life only in Tamilnadu,

his writings, unlike those of the great Srlvaisnava saint and phi­

losopher, Sri Yedantadesika of the 14th century, are all only in

Sanskrit*. His works can be classified under the following three

heads: -

1* His minor works on devotional and didactic themes.

2. His major works of Kavyas.

3. His works on the other branches of Sanskrit literature,

viz. Philosophy, Tantra and Grammar,

Nilakantha Diksita has written five devotional lyrics. These

poems suggest clearly his intense religious spirit and also his

poetic faculty. These again suggest that these should have been

written by the poet before taking up his major works. The five
devotional lyrics are respectively devoted to Lord s'iva, Goddess

Candi, Lord Rama, Goddess MinaksI - his istjtfadevata, and to his

preceptor Girvahendra. These are named 1, S'ivotkaisamanjari.

2. Candirahasya. 3. Raghuvirastava or Ramayanasarasahgraha. 4.

Anandasagarastava and 5. Gurutattvamalika.

His minor works on didactic theme 4re also five. These didac­

tic poems^ besides exhibiting his mastery of Sanskrit poetry, clearly

reveal his vast experience in life. His Kalividambana is a satiri­

cal work on the practices ^followed by the people in the Kali age.

for earning their livelihood. His Vairagyasktaka speaks about the

detachment in life. His third didactic piece Sabhiranjanasataka

 74

suggests the ways and means for conduct in an assembly* His two other
didactic works are Santivilasa and Anyapades'ashtaka. The first deals
with the helpless condition after retirement, and the second gives an
allegorical description of the things and the practices that are being
followed in the world.
lilakantha Diksita’s major works of kavyas include three Maha-
kavyas., one drama and a campu. His three Mahakavyas are S'ivalllarnava,
Gangavatarana and Mukundavilasakavya. The first is a poem in 22 sargas
describing the 64 sportive exploits of Lord SundaresVara, the consort
of Goddess Minaksi, the presiding deity of Halasyaksetra or Madurai.
His Gangavabarana, in 8 sargas, describes the bringing down of the
celestial river,, Ganges, to the earth while his third Mahakavya, Mukun-
davilasakavya, incomplete and unpublished so far, describes the story
of the childhood and boyhood sports of Lord Krisna*
Nilakantha Diksita's dramatical work, Nalacarita, incomplete
though published, describes in six acts the famous story of Nala and
Damayanti,, and his Nilakanthavijayacampu is the famous campukavya
describing the churning of the milky ocean by the1 demons and the go^ds
and Lord Suva's part in drinking the poison to save the world.
Nilakantha Diksita's contribution to other branches of Sanskrit
literature includes a work on Philosophy, a work on Tantra and a
grammatical work, divatalivarahaeya is his work on Saiva philosophy}
lb is a commentary on tils' Ast|iottaran1tmas ( the 108 names) of Lord
siva. Saubhlgyacandratapa? is his unpublished and incomplete work on
Tantra,, while his grammatical work is the commentary on Kaiyata *s
1. A very rare work. It was first published in 1915, by the Yarn!
vilas press, Srirangam, Tamllnadu. The work is not available
at present.
2. The original Mss. of this work is not available. A copied Mss.
is preserved in the GOML, Madras.
s 75

on Patanjail's Vyakaranamahabhasya.1 This is naraed Mahabhasyapradipa-

prakasa,, a very rare work on grammar. It is also Incomplete and yet
to be published.
In addition to the works mentioned, Citramimamsadosadikkara, a
work on rhetoric,, defending the views of Appayya Dlksita set forth
in his Citramimamsa, is also ascribed to him. The authorship of
this work is still doubtful since neither the original Mss, nor any
o
copy of the same is available,
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORKS OF NILAKANTHA DIKSITA
An attempt to set Nilakantha Diksita's works in their true chro­
nological order is, indeed a very difficult task. Nevertheless,, it
has been tried to set up the same based on the cross-references*
found in his works,, and also after taking into consideration the
styly and their progress in thought.
It is quite evident that Nilakantha Diksita should have started
writing after’ being inspired by the work of his grand-uncle Appayya
Diksita, So he should have" made his attempt after the completion of
his education, Appayya Diksita would have given him very good enco­
uragement to the writing of his grand-nephew, Had Nilakantha Diksita
written anything during the time of his grand-uncle, Nilakantha
Diksita would have also acknowledged the same in his works. As there
is no such reference in any of his works, it is clear that Nilakantha
Diksita would have started writing only after the death of his
grand-uncle,
Nilakantha Diksita, being a devotee- of Lord Siva, should have
studied all the works dealing with the greatness of the Lord. His
1. Another very rare work on Grammar, k. worn out palm leaf Mss.
in Telugu script, is carefully preserved in the GOML, Madras,
2„ The authorship of th&s work has already been discussed,
vide supra,, pp
 76

s'ivotkarsamanjarl shows clearly that it should have been writ tenia by

one immediately after the completion of the1 studies, as there are

number of allusions to the Itihasas and the Puranas. So Nilakantha

Diksita should have written this as his first work in order to pay

his salutation to Lord Siva, Then he should have paid his homage to

Goddess Parvatl also by writing his Candirahasya next. According

to the general; practice of the Saivite Srahmanas, Lord Visnu comes

third in ther order of salutation and next, the preceptor*1 So the

two devotional poems Raghuvirastava (or Ramayanasarasamgraha) and

Gururajastava ( or Gurutattvamalika ), the former praising the great­

ness of Lord Visnu in his Rama Avatara, and the latter prising his

preceptor Girvanendra should have been composed in that order.

In his drama Nalacarita, Nilakantha Diksita has stated in the

prologue that it was enacted at Kanclpura, a town in the Ghingle^

pat District of Tamilnadu, during the festival of KamaksI and Skamra-

natha.2 So, it is inferred, that Nilakantha Diksita should have pro­

ceeded to Kancipura before coming to Madurai. In the prologue of the

same drama there is a reference to his Mukandavilasakavya. 3 So

before attempting to write his drama, Nilakantha Diksita should have

composed his Mukundavilasakavya. Both these are incomplete. Nilakan­

tha Diksita, it is again presumed, should have proceeded to Madurai

before completing his drama. His Mahakavya Gahgavatarana should

1. It Is the usual practice of the smai?ta_brahmins to offer salutation

especially at the time of performing SuryanamaskSrajapa, to Lord
Ganesh, then Lord Subrahmanya, then Lord Mahadeva, then Goddess
Parvatl, Lord Visnu and then Guru. Nilakantha Diksita might have
followed this order of salutation before attempting to write his
major works.
2. NC. act I, p. ^
3. ibid p. 3
 77

have- been his next work,, as there is & reference in the same work
that he was at that timefon the bank of the river Kaveri.1 Again

it is quite evident that Nilakantha Diksita did not />all re-visit

* -

the north after reaching Madurai* Therefore Gahgavatarana should

have been composed during that period succeeding his incomplete
attempt at Nalacarita drson®* Another important point that bears
testimony to the above conclusion is a good number of parallel
pieces of information, some s’lokas found in both the above two
texts verbatim,, and some with slight alternations*2 So the two
works Gahgavatarana and Nalacarita should have been composed in'
close succession* As there is no reference to Ganglvatarana in
the drama it might have been composed after the drama.
Next Nilakantha Diksita could have written his Nilakanthavija-
yaeampul This should have been composed after his entry into the
Pandya kingdom* This conclusion is arrived at because Nilakantha
Diksita himself states that he didnot get time to compose kavyas,
probably he should have been busy with his responsibilities as
minister in the court of the king. Again it is evident from the
study of the work that it should have been written at a time when
he was trying to make a mark in his life. Fortunately Nilakantha
* >

Diksita himself mentions in this work that lb was composed in the

£>aka year 4738, corresponding to 1637 A.D.®
At the time when Nilakantha Diksita was in the court of king
Tirumalai Nayaka, he should have been very active and busy, secu­
ring very good experience of worldly life. He should have had
opportunities to closely observe the life led by the people in
1. GA. canto 1, si. s/t
2. vide Appendix 4?
3. NVC, asv 1, si io
 78

various walks of life. This vast experience would have made him
compose his satirical works, Kalividambana and SabharanJanaPataka

during that period. His devotional piece ftn his isthadevata -

the Anandasagarastava - might have been written when he was on the

verge of retirement from the royal court. His three didactic

lyrics Santivilasa, Vairagyasktaka and AnyapadesaPataka should

also have been composed only during this period, as all these

works very clearly express his disgust for worldly persuits and

waste of time ander the services of the king on the one hand, and

describe on the other hand his deep desire for attaining eternal
bliss.3'

Nilakantha Diksita, after his retirement from the services of

the king, spent his later days in the village Palamadai, on the

bank of the river Tamraparni, in Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu,

He should have composed his Mahakavya , slvalilarnava, only during

his stay there, for the Pandiyan country and the river Tamraparni

are described in an attaactive manner in this work. The beautiful

description of the river Tamraparni, in the second canto of his

kavya suggests that the author had lived at on the bank of the river

at least for sometime, to describe the same in such an attractive

and picturesque manner. In all probability this must have been his

last work on kavya.

Hilakantha Diksita should have written his major works on other

branches of literature, viz. Grammar, Tantra and Philosophy only

during his later days at Palamadai, for there is no reference to

these in any of his earlier works. His third son Gfrvanendra, in

1. SV. sis 6 to 8
 79

In his stirigarakos&bana, makes a reference to Nilakantha Diksita*s

grammatical work Kaiyyatavyakhya, and philosophical work Sivatatvva-

rahasya. T —
But there is no reference to his Tantra work Saubhagya-

eandratapa, in any of his compositions* The colophon alone clearly

2
states that it is the work of Nilakantha Diksita. So the three
« . <•

should have been his last works.

To sum up one can say that there are three stages in the lite­

rary career of Nilakantha Diksita, the greatest poet and philoso­

pher of 17th century.

1. The first period, which may be called the period of his

education,, beginning from his birth, i.e. 1610 A.D. and ends xrit

in 1624 A.D., that is one or two years after the death of his

grand-uncle, Appayya Diksita*

2. The second period which can be called the period of his ac­

tivities, both literary and other services,including his services

in the royal court, extends from 1625 A.D. to 1655 A.d. i.e. one

or two years before the end of Tirumalai Nayaka’s administration

r
at Madurai. In this period most of his activities were at Madurai.

He should have composed all his lyrical poems, his Nilakanthavijaya

campu"and his kavyas Gangavatarana, Mukundavilasakavya and Nalaca-

rita, during this period only.

3.. The third period,, the period after his retirement from
the royal court,, starts in 1655 A.D and extends up to the end of h

his life. During this period he wasJLiving in the village

2. vic\a I’vt-j-vo- p T-ga

 l

80

Palamadai, on the bank of river TSmraparni. This village, tradition

says, was chosen By Nilakanthat Diksita with the sanction and endow-
* • P

ment of the king, for leading a calm life after retirement. This
period is not only the period of intense activities, but also a
contemplative period for him. Only during this period he composed
his major Mahakavya Sivalilarnava and his works on Tantra, Grammar
and philosophy.