Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)

Rajashekhara (IAST: Rājaśekhara; fl. 10th century^[1]) was a Maharashtri Prakrit and Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic. He was the court poet of the Gurjara Pratiharas.^[2]

Rajashekhara wrote the Kāvyamīmāṃsā between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. He is most noted for the Kārpūramañjarī, a play written in Maharashtri Prakrit.^[3] Rajashekhara wrote the play to please his wife, Avantisundarī, a woman of taste and accomplishment. Rajashekhara is perhaps the only ancient Indian poet to acknowledge a woman for her contributions to his literary career.^[1]