Shriharsha

Śrīharṣa was the son of Śrīhira and Mamalladevī. His father, Śrīhira, was a poet in the court of the Gahadavala king Vijayachandra.[1]

Śrīharṣa composed the poem (kāvya) Naishadha Charita (IAST: Naiṣadhacarita) in 1174, during the reign of the Vijayachandra's son Jayachandra. According to Rājaśekhara's Prabandhakośa, upon the wide acceptance of Naishadha Charita, Śrīharṣa was dignified with the title Narabharati.[1]

The Naishadha Charita contains erotic themes, but according to the 15th-century Jain scholar Nayachandra Suri, Śrīharṣa was actually a celibate, who had "conquered his sense organs" (jitendriya).[2]

The Naishadha Charita was brought into Gujarat by Harihara during the reign of Vīradhavala to which Chandu Pandita in his Dipika, composed in 1296, refers to as a new poem and also to the commentary of Vidyādhara. Naishadha Charita was composed earlier than Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya in which text Sriharsha alludes to the works of Kalidasa.[1]

Śrīharṣa spent his later life in ascetic serenity on the banks of River Ganga. He composed several other works, none of which are now available. These include Vijayaprasasti, Chindaprasasti, Gaudorvisakulaprasasti, Sahasankacarita, Arnavavarnana and Amarakhandana are now available. His Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya is a critique of the Śivabhaktisiddhi by Udayana, the Nyāya philosopher.[1]

Śrīharṣa was also a philosopher; Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya or "Sugar-candy pieces of refutations," is a refutation of the doctrines of the Nyāya system of philosophy.[3]

• Philosophical Reflections in the Naisadhacarita

• The Naishadha-charita English translation by K. K. Handiqui [proofread] (includes glossary)