ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Vireshvara’s Vāṅmaṇḍanaguṇadūtakāvya, a premodern Sanskrit messenger poem which, though following Kalidasa’s footsteps, portrays a reality very different to the dreamlike descriptions of the Cloud Messenger. Instead, this messenger poem is a dramatic plea of an impoverished poet looking for a patron.
The narrator speaks about the ugliness and difficulties of his current position and surroundings and sends his own Poetry with a mission of convincing his potential benefactor and his entourage to take him on. The poet’s Poetry, and in fact the poem itself, is his calling card as he applies for the position of court poet of a chieftain called Bhimasena. He also spends considerable time extolling the king and his entire entourage, making sure to pay special attention to the minister of finance.
The text is unique in that it is personal, even autobiographical, and was most likely supposed to appeal to a local audience familiar with the messenger’s route. A local seamstress, some small temples, a prison, travelers’ camps, the gardens of a Muslim magnate Hasan the Yavana, and local history also make an appearance.
