सङ्गीतरत्नाकर: प्रथम भाग (शार्ङ्गदेव - स्वरगताध्याय सविस्तार व्याख्या व अनुवाद सहित)

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a royal physician. Besides, Bhāskara's son Soḍhala was also
appointed the Accountant General (Śrīkaraṇāgraṇī) in King
Bhillama's court.
King Bhillama died in 1193 A. D. His son Jaitrapāla
or Jaitugi ascended the throne and ruled for a short period.
He was succeeded by Siṅghaṇa in 1200 A. D. who was not
only a very powerful king but also a great patron of arts,
literature, and science. It is during his reign that Śārṅgadeva
who continued in his father's (Soḍhala's) post as the Royal
Accountant, seems to have composed his works. Having
had great scholars for his ancestors, Śārṅgadeva's heredity
must have provided him with a very rich 'saṁskāra-puñja'
(cultural heritage) combining the northern or north-western
and southern traditions in learning and arts. Along with
his study of Saṅgīta he appears to have carried on the family
profession of Āyurveda. He had also written a book on
Āyurveda entitled 'Adhyātmaviveka' to which he himself refers.¹
This work is not available. Besides this and S. R. no other
work of Śārṅgadeva is known.
Śārṅgadeva refers to himself as one who has removed
distress of the Brahmins through gifts of large wealth, of those
desirous of learning through knowledge, and of the sick
through medicines².
धनदानेन विप्राणामातिं संहृत्य शाश्वतीम् ।
जिज्ञासूनां च विद्याभिर्गदार्तानां रसायनैः ।।
This verse in a way sums up the three facets of Śārṅga-
deva's life viz. the accountant, the scholar, and the
physician.
Some of the verses³ in the introductory Section of
S. R. giving an account of the genealogy seem to be lavishing
praises on the author himself and his ancestors which to
a modern reader may appear immodest. But that was,

1. S. R. 1,2,119.
2. ibid. 1,1,12cd-13ab.
3. ibid. 1,1, 2-14.

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however, part of the culture of his period and was not regard-
ed improper then. On the other hand, the verses at the
conclusion of the work¹ are full of humility and modesty.
3. Patronage of Āyurveda in Yādava Dynasty
Scholarship in Āyurveda was confined not only to
Śārṅgadeva's family. History reveals a host of Āyurvedic
scholars who lived under the patronage of the Yādava Kings.
Furthermore, these scholars were also intimately connected
with Śārṅgadeva's family, for many of them were students
of Bhāskara, Śārṅgadeva's grandfather. In fact it is only
through the works of some of these scholars that we come to
know of Bhāskara as a great name in Āyurveda; Śārṅgadeva
himself does not give any clear indication P. V. Sharma
has ably brought out in his paper², the role of the Yādava
Kings in the promotion of Āyurveda and the contribution
of Bhāskara and other scholars.
Nāgārjuna, the author of Yogaratnamālā commences his
work with a salutation to his guru Bhāskara. Keśava, in the
concluding verses of his work Siddhamantra, describes himself
as the disciple of Bhāskara in Āyurveda and as the recipient of
Siṁharāja's (Siṅghaṇa's) patronage. Though Bhāskara him-
self lived during King Bhillama's reign, his students continued
upto King Siṅghaṇa's reign. It is the reign of King Siṅg-
haṇa which seems to have been the golden period in which
not only Āyurveda but also all the arts and literature flouri-
shed. Many of the Ayurvedic preparations were named after
Siṅghaṇa, e. g. Siṅghaṇa-cūrṇa Siṅghaṇa himself seems to have
had knowledge of Āyurveda since a few of the preparations
are credited to him.
Soḍhala, the author of two works on Āyurveda—Gadani-
graha and Soḍhalanighaṇṭu, might be the same Soḍhala mention-

1. ibid. 7, 1672-1678.
2. See footnote 2. (c) on p. xiii. regarding P. V, Sharma's paper.