काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

SEVENTEENTH ADHYĀYA 243
ll. 25-27. Here Rājaśekhara mentions four places: वामनस्वामी,
ब्रह्मशिला, गाधिपुर, and कालप्रिय in order to show that the directions are
to be taken only as relative, and not as always accurate. These
four places seem to be situated in the four directions of the
Kanauj city, and these are used here to prove the inaccuracy of
the directions.
He says, for instance, that the direction east of Vāmanasvāmi
corresponds to the west of Brahmaśilā; similarly, the south of
Gādhipura corresponds to the north of Kālapriya. Excepting
Brahmaśilā the other three limits of the city of Kanauj are
already well-known. It is not, therefore, difficult to imagine that
all the four boundaries refer to the city of Kanauj. This is further
strengthened by the additional references given below.
(1) Vāmanasvāmi is an incarnation of Viṣṇu. According
to the Padmapurāṇa, (Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa, 35 and Uttara. 53) Rāma, the
king of Ayodhyā, once built a temple for Vāmanasvāmi in the city
of Mahodaya or Kānyakubja. (see the Geographical Dictionary
of N. L. Dey. p. 89). Rājaśekhara refers, very probably, to this
temple of Vāmana, and according to him it was situated in the
western part of the city and towards the west of Brahmaśilā.
(2) Gādhipura is also mentioned by Rājaśekhara in his
Bālarāmāyaṇa (act X, 88), and apparently he means by that word
the city of Kanauj. Here, he mentions further that Gādhipura is
situated towards the north of the Kālapriya temple. Gādhipura,
therefore, appears to be a suburb of Kanauj in the northern part,
while Kālapriya appears to be situated in its southern part.
(3) The temple of Kālapriyanātha also must have been a
part of Kanauj, and the deity is referred to in the three famous
dramas of Bhavabhūti, who mentions that his dramas were staged
before an audience assembled in connection with festivities in
honour of Śrī Kālapriyanātha. It is well-known that Bhavabhūti
was a contemporary of king Yaśovarman of Kanauj (8th century
A. D.) and was patronized by him. It is not unnatural, therefore,
on the part of Bhavabhūti to refer to the presiding deity
Kālapriyanātha belonging to the capital city of his patron king
Yaśovarman. The testimony of Rājaśekhara also makes it clear
that the temple of Kālapriya was situated in the southern part of
Gādhipura which is again a suburb of Kānyakubja.