________________
viii
tant deities of the IIindu Pantheon, namely, Gaņoša, Šiva, Vi. sņu, Brahmã, Indra, etc. The very first śloka refers to Gaņe. śa, but we shall not be justified in calling him a Saiva, because it is customary with authors of all sects to be. gin with an obeisance to Gaņeśa as the bestower of perfeotion and the remover of obstacles. The grant of Mabāmandalesvara Márasimbadevarasa already referred to further makes us believe that Jainism was also encouraged in bis time. Our conclusion therefore is that Someśvara also displayed the usual liberalism of Indian monarchs. Tlae sloka 105 on page 11 furthor strengthens this conclusion.
The Mânasollaba is written in Anustubh metre, with occasional prose passages introduced in the middle. Its language is easy but florid. The work treats of many subjects and gives the maximum information in the minimum space. The work is designated by the author as the marardgeni, or a book which teaches the world, and the scope of the book is so extensive that it can rightly claim that epithet. An idea of the different subjects dealt with can be obtained form the table of contents; but we will mention here only a few interesting features among many that may be found in the book. It may be remembered that Someśvara was an orthodox Hindu king and the picture presented in his Mãnasolinea is of the glories, pomps and paraphernalia of a purely Indian court and royal household. The Western Chālukyas were never known to have been contaminated by the Mubam. madan civilization, as they, it is believed, had been destroyed by the Hoysalas.
In this work sometimes the author gives even minute
Aho ! Shrutgyanam
