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The rise and fall of the kāvya project

The Rāmāyana of Vālmīki is said to be the ‘first kāvya’ (poem) in Sanskrit, but the age of its compilation is uncertain. The Junagarh inscription of the Śaka ruler Rudradāman, ad 150, is the first datable Sanskrit poem belonging to the category of praśastis. Praśastis became increasingly common subsequently as a tool of flattery and means of monarchical legitimisation. In time it became normal for every sovereign to have a praśasti composed for himself, so that inscriptions carrying praśastis tended to become more and more numerous. The Harṣacarita of Bāṇa shows how long texts could carry this form of literature, which, in turn, would influence the style and similes of subsequently inscribed praśastis. The Palam Baoli inscription (1,276) shows how a praśasti could now be compiled without the court of the ruler (in this case Sultan Balban) being aware of it. Obviously, praśastis lost their political utility. Although subsequently too praśastis were composed, their legitimising role seems to have been over now. This boded ill for the kāvya form as well.