Shila-bhattarika was a 9th-century Sanskrit poet from present-day India. Her verses appear in most major Sanskrit anthologies, and her poetic skills have been praised by the medieval Sanskrit literary critics.
Biography
Shilabhattarika lived in the 9th century. One of her poems mentions the Narmada River and the Vindhya mountains. Therefore, as a young woman, she probably lived along the Narmada River, near the Vindhyas. M. B. Padma, a scholar of the University of Mysore, speculates that she may be same as Shila-mahadevi, the queen of the 8th centuryRashtrakutarulerDhruva. Padma's theory is based on the facts that the suffix "Bhattarika" attached to the poet's name indicates her high social status, and that the queen is known to have made generous grants to scholars. The 10th century poet Rajashekhara praises Shilabhattarika as a leading figure of the Panchali literary style. A verse, attributed to Rajashekhara in Vallabhadeva's 15th century anthology Subhashitavali, states that this style maintains "a balance between words and meaning". According to Rajashekhara, the Panchali style can be traced to the works of Shilabhattarika, and possibly in some of the works of the 7th century poet Bana. Shilabhattarika has been quoted by several classical Sanskrit literary critics, and her verses appear in most major Sanskrit anthologies. She is known to have written at least 46 poems on topics such as "love, morality, politics, nature, beauty, the seasons, insects, anger, indignation, codes of conduct, and the characteristic features of various kinds of heroines." However, most of her works are now lost, and only six of her short poems are extant. Sharngadhara-paddhati, a 14th century anthology, praises her and three other female poets in the following words:
Example verses
The following short poem of Shilabhattarika is considered as one of the greatest poems ever written in the Sanskrit tradition. Indian scholar Supriya Banik Pal believes that the poem expresses the speaker's anxiety to be reunited with her husband. According to American authorJeffrey Moussaieff Masson, the poetess, possibly a middle-aged woman, implies that the illicit, pre-marital love between her and her lover was richer than their love as a married couple. An interpretation by the 16-century philosopher Chaitanyasuggests that the verse is a metaphor for a person's desire to be united with the "Supreme Lord - the Absolute". The following verse expresses the speaker's longing for his wife: In the following verse, a poor speaker expresses grief at not being able to provide his loved one with jewels or food: The following verse, also quoted in the Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara, describes the importance of learning and engaging in discussions with scholars:
