Royal Sports And Enjoyments in Ancient India

The book is a selected portion of my Ph.D. dissertation entitled ‘A Critical Study of Abhilasitarthacintamani (otherwise known as Manasollasa) by Somesvara submitted for Ph.D. degree in Sanskrit in the University of Calcutta in the year 2000. The encyclopaedic Sanskrit text Manasollasa authored by South Indian Karnataka king Bhulokamalladeva Somesvara of 12 th century CE. contains 100 chapters on different topics. Among them 50-60 chapters enumerate different types of social festivals and rituals foods poetics different types of sports and games animal sports gemology hunting sex-sport etal of a king. Manasollasa or Abhilasitarthacintamani of King Somesvara III displays a unique structural composition of five units each again being a composite of the numeral twenty (vimsati). Each of the five sections (prakaranas) are again classified in twenty chapters (adhyayas). Among those five prakaranas or sections the third vimsati or Upabhogavimsati of Manasollasa describes twenty types of enjoyments or upabhogas to fulfill the king’s desire. The last two vimsatis are Vinoda vimsati and Krida vimsati. In these two vimsatis different types of amusements sports and games are narrated. Vinoda vimsati deals with different movements and sports of elephants and horses which are named as gajavahyalivinoda and vajivahyalivinoda respectively. Other vinodas enumerate amusements the sports of cocks quail ram buffalos pigeons dogs falcons and fishes. The fifteenth chapter of Vinodavimsati is Mrigayavinoda which deals with king’s sport of hunting. And this special type of sport is of various kinds.