On Some Quotations of Māgha’s Verses
Summary
“On Some Quotations of Māgha’s Verses” by Ludwik Sternbach investigates how later Sanskrit anthologies and commentaries attributed verses to the 7th‑century poet Māgha, author of the *Śiśupālavadha*. Māgha lived after Bhāravi and before Vāmana and Ānandavardhana, and his epic poem served as a model for later writers. The article notes that Māgha was extremely popular in India from the 8th to the 15th centuries, and his verses were frequently quoted in works on poetics, rhetorics and collections of subhāṣitas (wise sayings). Some of these verses can be traced to the *Hitopadeśa*, *Pañcatantra* and *Vikramacarita*, while others are drawn from later anthologies. Sternbach compiles fourteen verses attributed to Māgha that do not appear in the extant *Śiśupālavadha* and argues that several are spurious. He shows that medieval commentators sometimes misattributed verses from Bhāravi’s *Kirātārjunīya* and the *Śiśupālavadha* itself to Māgha because of thematic similarities. The article concludes by listing doubtful verses and advising caution when using anthologies as evidence for an author’s corpus.
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Conclusion
Sternbach’s research underscores the importance of textual criticism in Sanskrit studies. By demonstrating how easily verses are misattributed in later anthologies, he provides a cautionary guide for scholars reconstructing the oeuvre of poets like Māgha and stresses the need to consult original manuscripts.