The Date of the Kaumudimahotsava
Summary
K. Chattopadhyaya investigates the date of the Sanskrit drama Kaumudīmāhotsava and critiques K.P. Jayaswal’s claim that it belongs to the early Gupta period. Jayaswal used the play to reconstruct the Guptas’ early history, but Chattopadhyaya argues that scholars have accepted his conclusions without examining whether the text supports themimage/. He analyses internal evidence such as references to characters, metres and social customs and notes that the heroine Vijayikā is likely a northerner, casting doubt on her identification with the Gupta princess Vijjakā. The author compares the play’s language and prosody with other known works and finds no compelling reason to date it to the 4th century. He also examines the tradition that the author is a court poet of an early Gupta king and finds this attribution unfounded. Chattopadhyaya concludes that the drama cannot be dated before Śaṅkarācārya (8th century), though its precise date remains uncertainimage/. The only firm conclusion is that it postdates the early Gupta era, so it cannot be used as a source for that period. The article thus rejects Jayaswal’s historical inferences and emphasises the need for caution when using literary texts to reconstruct history.
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Conclusion
Chattopadhyaya refutes K.P. Jayaswal’s assertion that the Kaumudīmāhotsava dates from the early Gupta period. By scrutinising the play’s internal evidence and comparing it with other works, he shows that the drama cannot be dated earlier than Śaṅkarācārya. Its precise date is unknown, but it clearly postdates the Gupta era, rendering Jayaswal’s historical deductions untenable. The paper underscores the danger of using literary texts without critical examination to reconstruct political history.