भर्तृहरिकृतं नीतिशतकम् - BHARTRUHARIN'S NITI-SATAKAM

 

‘Bat-Rhir:’ lived in the first half of the 7^th century. The Chinese traveller I’tsing has recorded his death as having occurred in 651AD. ‘Bat-Rhir:’ was a versatile writer who had contributed to a very large variety of subjects like grammar, philosophy, ethics and poetic art. The tradition called ‘Bat-Rhir:’, a king who doted very much on his wife and later regretted after learning the infidelity of his wife. He has written 3 lyrics all consisting of 100 verses. They are ‘naIitSatkma\’ (Neetisatakam) ‘EaR=\gaarSatkma\’ (Sringarasatakam)      ‘vaOragyaSatkma\’ (Vairagyasatakam).  The ‘नीतिशतकम्’ is a didactic lyric in 100 stanzas.  As a literary piece, नीतिशतकं stands as the most prominent among other works of the same category.  The verses express lofty ideas well illustrated and adorned with appropriate figures of speech.  

NITI-DVISHASHTIKA OF THE KING SUNDARA PANDYA

नीतिद्विषष्टिका The earliest work of didactic poetry about which some definite information is available in the नीतिद्विषष्टिका of 116 verses in the Arya meter composed by सुन्दरपाण्ड्य: of Madurai.  जनाश्रय:of 600 A.D. quotes from this work in his छन्दोविचिति: and the great मीमांसकः कुमारिलभट्टः quotes from other lost works of सुन्दर पाण्ड्यः. Therefore his date can be fixed about 500 A.D.

DIDACTIC LITERATURE IN SANSKRIT

 

Poems meant for instruction are known as Didactic poems. Didactic poems cover a wide range of topics such as the fickle nature of human existence, the worthlessness of worldly pleasures, the advantages of detachment and renunciation, the power of inevitable fate, the need of human effort, the honor attached to wealth and contempt of poverty, the results of good and bad company, the nature of the wise and wicked, the greatness of learning, the policies to be adopted for success in any undertakings by the kings., and they are expressed in a language endowed with much poetic beauty.

         The origin of Didactic poetry can be traced to the Rig Veda.  Mahabharata contains rich collections of such verses among which विदुरनीतिः in the उद्योगपर्व is very famous.  An early collection of such verses in one book form is चाणक्य -नीतिशास्त्रम् containing 340 stanzas dealing with rules of conduct in a general way.  It is not clear whether the author of this work is the well known minister of Chandragupta Maurya.  The work धम्मपाद is an attempt of the Buddhists to compose didactic poetry for the use of men of their faith.