The author of ‘Lalit Vigraharaj’ drama was –

Correct — option (3), Somdeva.

The Lalita-Vigraharaja is a Sanskrit play about the Chauhan king Vigraharaja IV of Sakambhari, also called Bisaladeva. Dasharatha Sharma's Early Chauhan Dynasties (second revised edition, 1975) says that Vigraharaja's court-poet, Somadeva, wrote the Lalitavigraharaja, which he says might easily be classed as a first-class historical drama.

In his chapter on literature Sharma adds that Somadeva, a court poet of Vigraharaja IV, dealt with the king's love for Desaladevi, a princess of Indrapura, and with his defeat of a certain Hammira of Ghazna.

That double theme, with the patron's name, probably suggested the title. Only a fragment of the play has been recovered, preserved as an inscription.

The author is option (3), Somdeva.

The idea to remember: Lalita-Vigraharaja = Somadeva, court poet of Vigraharaja IV; the Harakeli = Vigraharaja IV himself.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Hemchandra — Hemachandra belongs to the rival Chaulukya court of Gujarat. Sharma calls him a contemporary and guru of Kumarapala, and uses his Dvyasraya-mahakavya as a source for the war between the Chauhans and Gujarat.

  The Lalitavigraharaja, though, is by Vigraharaja's own court-poet. Hemchandra answers a question on the author of the Dvyasraya-kavya.

• (2)
  Kalhan — Kalhana wrote in Kashmir, not at the Chauhan court. S. P. Sen's Historical Biography in Indian Literature (1979) calls him the son of Champaka, a minister of King Harsha of Kashmir.

  His Rajatarangini, in eight books, was completed in AD 1148–49. Kalhan answers a question on the author of the Rajatarangini.

• (4)
  Mahesh — Sharma credits the Lalitavigraharaja to Somadeva, court-poet of Vigraharaja IV, so option (4) does not fit.

  The drama named with the king in these sources is the Harakeli, which Sharma credits to Vigraharaja IV himself. Mahesh is not the author either work is credited to.

Vigraharaja IV was himself a writer. Sharma says his contemporaries called him kavibandhava, friend of poets, and that he composed the drama Harakeli on Arjuna's penance and his fight with Shiva.

Only one of the Harakeli's five acts survives, as an inscription dated Marga Sudi 5, Samvat 1210, edited by Kielhorn. Kielhorn read it as proof that Hindu rulers of the past were eager to compete with Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti for poetic fame.

Sharma records eleven inscriptions of Vigraharaja IV from V.S. 1210 to 1220. The earliest was incised in his Sarasvatimandira at Ajayameru, later converted into the Adhai-din-ka-jhompra mosque.

Key facts

• Sharma (1975): Somadeva, court-poet of Vigraharaja IV, wrote the Lalitavigraharaja; only a fragment has been recovered.
• Per Sharma, the play treats Vigraharaja's love for Desaladevi of Indrapura and his defeat of a Hammira of Ghazna.
• Vigraharaja IV wrote the Harakeli; its one surviving act is an inscription dated Marga Sudi 5, Samvat 1210.
• Sharma records eleven inscriptions of Vigraharaja IV, from V.S. 1210 to 1220, and his title kavibandhava, friend of poets.
• Historical Biography in Indian Literature (1979): Kalhana's Rajatarangini, in eight books, was completed in AD 1148–49.

Common traps

• Swapping king and poet: Vigraharaja IV wrote the Harakeli, while his court-poet Somadeva wrote the Lalitavigraharaja.
• Mixing Somadevas: the Sahitya Akademi encyclopaedia names a Somadeva who compiled the Kathasaritsagara in Kashmir between 1063 and 1082, a different poet from Vigraharaja's.
• Choosing Hemachandra because he wrote about the Chauhans' wars: Sharma places him at Kumarapala's Chaulukya court, as its guru.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2013 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which Chauhan ruler composed the drama Harakeli?

  • (a)Arnoraja
  • (b)Vigraharaja IV
  • (c)Prithviraja II
  • (d)Prithviraja III
  Answer(2) — Sharma names Ajayaraja, Arnoraja, Vigraharaja IV and Prthviraja III as lovers of good literature, and says the distinction of being an author belongs only to Vigraharaja IV, who composed the Harakeli. Options (1) and (4) are in that list but not credited as authors; option (3) is not credited with the Harakeli.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who wrote the Prthvirajavijaya, a poem on Prithviraja III and his predecessors?

  • (a)Jayanaka
  • (b)Somadeva
  • (c)Chand Bardai
  • (d)Hemachandra
  Answer(1) — Sharma calls it the work of Jayanaka, a Kashmiri poet patronised by Prithviraja III. Option (2) wrote the Lalitavigraharaja, option (3) is named by Sharma as the author of the original Prthvirajaraso, and option (4) wrote the Dvyasraya-kavya.