Bhartrhari

Bhartrhari

(born 570?, Ujjain, Malwa, India—died 651?, Ujjain) Indian Hindu philosopher, poet, and grammarian. He was of noble birth; according to legend, he made seven attempts to renounce the world for monastic life before eventually becoming a yogi and moving into a cave near Ujjain. Vakyapadiya is his major work on the philosophy of language. Also ascribed to him are three collections of poetry, each containing 100 verses: Shrngara-shataka (on love), Niti-shataka (on ethics and polity), and Vairagya-shataka (on dispassion). His poem Bhatti kavya demonstrates the subtleties of Sanskrit.

---

Bhartrhari 

Years of birth and death unknown. Ancient Indian lyric poet who lived around the seventh century. Wrote in Sanskrit.

Bhartrhari was the author of the collections of love lyrics The Hundred Verses on Love, The Hundred Verses on Worldly Wisdom, and The Hundred Verses on Detachment From the World. The conflict between the humane poet and the feudal world’s cruelty is felt in these works. His poetry is marked by spontaneity of feeling, grace of form, and clarity of style.

WORKS

Subhashitatrisati. Commentary by R. Budhendra. Bombay, 1922.

REFERENCE

Keith, A. B. A History of Sanskrit Literature. London, 1953.