Page:Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets.djvu/74

Rh money by his lesser compositions, to defray the expenses of her wedding, he felt very unhappy, and knew not what to do, he however recollected an observation made by an ancient poet, that a person should not court the favor of the lower orders of Society, but should seek the patronage of kings and exalted personages, for the proverb says, "that a poet, a damsel, and a creeping plant, cannot thrive without a protector." Vidayanat accordingly wrote an epic poem, and called it Pratapha Rudreyam, in celebration of the heroic actions of the King Prataparudra, this elaborate poem is one of the most finished pieces of florid composition in the Sanscrit language. It abounds with metaphors, similes, and tropes of all kinds, with fine descriptions of the victories of the monarch over foreign potentates, interspersed with various episodes, in which love scenes are beautifully portrayed. While this work was composing, one day this poet was sitting at court, near the minister of the king. The poet Sivia enterered the royal presence, awl being a native of Eleswara agrahara, which