PREFACE. The play Tapatîsamvarana (a) derives its name from Tapatî and Samvarana, the heroine and hero. The plot of the play is taken from the story of Samvarana, the father of Kuru and husband of Tapati described in chapters171-173 of the Adiparva of the Mahabharata. The edition of the drama is based on four manuscripts 2 or 3 centuries old obtained from the Palace Library. The variants of the manuscripts which are denoted by the letters ... and. are shown at the foot of the pages. The comm- entary published along with the text is based on one manuscript which is almost correct and like the text is noted for its high literary excellences. In fact, we may safely assert that, of the many commentaries of Kavyas that we know of, there is none that can compare with this. The King Kulasekhara Varma, ruler of Mahodayapura and "the best of the descendants of the Kerala family" is, as stated in the prelude, the author of this drama. He was an ardent admirer of "the Paramahamsas" (asceties of the highest order). That the author was a staunch devotee of God Vishnu is evident from the last verse of the play ex- pressing a longing for complete devotion towards God "Sridhara" as well as from the commentator's reference to him as "Paramabhágavata". There is another commentary to this drama and to Subhadrâ-dhananjaya, another work of the same author. Its function is merely to explain the suggestive significances () of the expressions and passages of the play. The latter commentary () is alluded to in the second verse of the above mentioned commentary, thus:- ‘ग्रन्थकारसमकालभवेन व्यङ्ग्यरूप इह चारुतरोऽर्थः । व्याकृतः सुमतिना पदवाक्ये सोपयोगमधुना स्फुटयामि ॥"
