उत्तररामचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - संस्कृत मूल एवं हिन्दी व्याख्या)

ii INTRODUCTION.
of the Dravida country (vide text pp 39, 64, 130) The poet
seems to have been quite familiar with the Godavari from
his descriptions of it in the 9th Act of the Malatīmādhava
and in the Uttararāmacharita He seems to have been also
familiar with the Vindhya mountain (Act V 14 of the
Uttararāmacharita)
About the name of the poet there is a controversy In
all his three dramas occur the words "srīkaṇṭhapada-
lāñchanaḥ Bhavabhūtir nāma One would naturally expect
from the position of the word 'nāma' that the poet's name
was Bhavabhūti and that later in life he received the title of
Srīkaṇṭha But most of the commentators say that his name
was Srīkaṇṭha and that later on he was called Bhavabhūti
in consequence of a certain benedictory verse in honour of
Pārvatī 3 It seems to us that the commentators had no
certain knowledge on the subject and that they were guided
probably by the etymologies to which the word Bhavabhūti
lent itself We are confirmed in this opinion by the fact that
the commentators are not in agreement as to the verse on
account of which the poet earned the epithet Bhavabhūti 4
Moreover there is another story mentioned by the commentator
Ghanaśyāma that the god Siva manifested himself to the poet
in the form of a Brāhmaṇa and gave him riches 5
Bhavabhūti came of a learned family Bhavabhūti himself
seems to have been a profound scholar He had made a
thorough study of the Vedas of the Vedānta, Sānkhya and
3 Vide p 2 com वीरराघव on महावीरचरित says "श्रीकण्ठपदला-
ञ्छन । विदूषणनामेदम् । भवभूतिनाम 'साम्बा पुनातु भवभूतिपवित्रमूर्ति' इति
श्लोकरचनामृतेन राजा भवभूतिरिति ख्यातिन " वीरराघव on the उत्तररामचरित
says the same जगद्धर commenting on the मालतीमाधव says 'नाम्ना
श्रीकण्ठ प्रसिद्धया भवभूतिरित्य ' while त्रिपुरारि on the मालतीमाधव says
'भवभूतिरिति व्यवहारे तस्यैव नामान्तरम्'
4 घनश्याम and वीरराघव say that it was on account of the verse
'साम्बा पुनातु भवभूतिपवित्रमूर्ति' that the poet was called भवभूति But
जगन्नाथपण्डित commenting on गाथासप्तशती (I 36) says 'श्रीधर इति कवि
नाम । भवभूतिरिति 'गिरेर्जाया । कुचौ वन्दे भवभूतिसिताननौ' इति पद्यकरणोत्तरं
पदवीनाम"
5 Vide p 4 com. Following this, वीर० says 'के चान्ते वचये
ईश्वर एव विप्ररूपेणागत्य भूरि दत्तवानिति वदन्ति । श्व च भवाद्ब्राह्मणतो भूतिर्यस्येति
भवभूतिरित्यभ्य इत्याहु ।'