Achyutadevaraya at Vijayanagara in the early part of the 16th century A. D. a lady author by the name of Tirumalambika, † who is said to have written a Champukavya called the Vara- dambikaparinaya commemorating the marriage of Achyuta- devaraya and Varadambika. The poetess Ramabhadrambat has written a beautiful kavya known as the Raghunathabhyudaya in honor of Raghunatha-Nayaka of Tanjore, a great patron of learning and an author of many Sanskrit works, who ruled over Tanjore in the early part of the 17th century A. D. In the court of this king had also flourished the illustrious poetess Madhuravani, who is known to have composed many Sanskrit poems and written a mahakavya rendering the Andhra- Ramayana of her patron into Sanskrit. From this work we further learn that there were several other ladies along with her who were eminent in poetry and other fine arts. We can thus see that there have been several female poets shining now and then, in the realm of Sanskrit Literature; but we have been able till now to come across only a very few of their works.
Among the productions of the post-Vedic pootesses known to us at present, the Madhuravijaya appears to be the earliest. The historical value of this work is ably discussed in the introduction to this work; and we shall write here a few words regarding its poetical merit. The authoress instead of drawing the subject matter from the well-known Itihasas, as is usual with the generality of Sanskrit poets, has chosen the biography of her royal consort as a fit theme to exhibit her remarkable poetical talents. The work is in the form of a classical kavya conforming to the rules laid down in the treatises on poetics and contains the usual lengthy description of the seasons, the twilight, the rising of the moon and other necessary topics. The authoress writes in the Vaidarbhi style
+ This we learnt from Mr, T, S, Kuppusvami Sastriar of Tanjore. Compare also No. 9 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1904.-Epig, Annl, Rept. for 1904. p 36. t Vide, the 'Madras Christian College Magazine.' May-June, 1917. Vide, the 'Indian Review,' Madras, Vol, XI (1908), pp. 106-111,
