Page:A History of Civilisation in Ancient India based on Sanscrit Literature Vol 1.djvu/66

18 FIFTH EPOCH. The fifth or last epoch of Hindu history is the epoch of Hindu revival, and covers five centuries from 500 A.D. to 1000 A.D., the date of the first invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni.

The period begins with great deeds in politics and literature. Foreign invaders had harassed India for centuries before, and at last a great avenger arose.Vikramâditya the Great, of Ujjayinî, was the master of Northern India; he beat back the invaders known as the Sakas in the great battle of Korur, and asserted Hindu independence. Hindu genius and literature revived under his auspices, and a new form of Hinduism asserted itself.

The three centuries commencing with the time of Vikramâditya the Great (500 to 800 A.D.) may be called the Augustan era of later Sanscrit literature, and nearly all the great works which are popular in India to this day belong to this period. Kâlidâsa wrote his matchless dramas and poems in Vikrama's court. Amara Sinha, the lexicographer, was another of the "nine gems" of this court. And Bhâravi was Kâlidâsa's contemporary or lived shortly after. Silâditya II., a successor of Vikramâditya, ruled from 610 to 650 A.D., and is the reputed author of Ratnâvali. Dandin, the author of Dasakumâra Charita, was an old man when Silâditya II. reigned, and Bânabhatta, the author of Kâdambarî, lived in his court. Subandhu, the author of Vâsavadattâ, also lived at the same time; and there are reasons to believe that the Bhattikâvya was composed by Bhartrihari, the author of the Satakas, in the same reign. In the next century Yasovarman ruled between 700 and 750 A.D., and the renowned Bhavabhûti composed his powerful dramas in this reign. Bhavabhûti, however was, the last of the galaxy of the poets and literary