Page:Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets.djvu/84

Rh of several religious works in great estimation among his Countrymen. Venkatachari was court pundit to Pralayakaveri, one of the Rajah's tributary to the throne of Vijayanagur; from this prince he obtained grants of land, he made ample commentaries on various difficult texts, and among them Sunklapa Surya Doya. Venkatachari obtained the name of Venkatadhweri, from the many sacrifices he performed: he was well versed in history, philosophy, and logic, and like his father Raghunadichet, he amused himself in the composition of elegant Sanscrit poetry, he was the author of Viswaguna Dursana, a work highly celebrated throughout the Southern Peninsula. It is composed partly in prose and partly in verse, and much ingenuity is shown in the management of the polemic arguments contained in the dialogues of two Gundharvas, one of whom is a panegyrist, and the other a calumniator on every subject, this gives our poet an opportunity to display his knowledge in Indian theology, history, geography, and logic. The poetry is rich and sublime, and the language of