Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family.[5] His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida.[6] Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary exponent Abhinavagupta".[5] Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava.[6] He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and Buddhism.[7] His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the Avadana Kalpalata and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa (IAST: Vyāsadāsa; Slave of Vyasa), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his Bhāratamañjari.[6]
Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts.[6] His literary career extended from at least 1037 (his earliest dated work, Brihatkathāmanjari, a verse summary of the lost "Northwestern" Bṛhatkathā; itself a recension of Gunadhya's lost Bṛhatkathā — "Great Story") to 1066 (his latest dated work, Daśavataracharita, "an account of the ten incarnations of the god Viṣnu").[8]
Extant works
Around eighteen of Kshemendra's works are still extant while fourteen more are known only through references in other literature.[6] In addition to the genres listed below, he also composed plays, descriptive poems, a satirical novel, a history, and possibly a commentary on the Kāma Sūtra.[9]
aka: Tantrakhyayika — Panchakhyana — Kalila wa Dimna — Calila e Dimna - The Lights of Canopus — The Fables of Bidpai/Pilpay — The Moral Philosophy of Doni — Tantri Kamandaka — Nandaka-prakarana
