I have great pleasure to present the critical edition of Asadhara's Trivenika to the Sanskrit world. This work which deals on the three functions of words viz., Abhidha. Laksana and Vyanjana) is a popular treatises (probably written in the 18th century A.D. The author seems to have written other five works including the commetaries. It is a matter of dismay that it is not possi ble to state anything definitely about the author's place of origin and activities. The editor. Vidvan M. Shivakumaraswamy M.A. is a budding scholar and he has endeavoured to prepare the critical edition. He has taken pains to write a commentary in Sanskrit under the able guidance of Vidvan N. S. Venkatanathachar. Retired Research Assistant of the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore. I congratulate both of them on their successful attempt in making this treatise accessible to the students and scholars of Sanskrit. It is my pleasant duty here to thank our Vice chancellor Prof. Y. P. Rudrappa and the Registrar Prof. S. Narayana Shetty for their guidance and support in bringing out valuable Sanskrit classics. The Government of Karnataka and the Government of India have been extending timely help for our publications programme and I take this oppor tunity to record my gratitude to them.

Asadhara's Trivenika is a work on Poetics, or, more properly, a work on Sabdavyapara. The three Sabdavyaparas (i. e. functions of words in conveying meaning) known as Abhidha (deno tation), Laksana (Connotation) and Vyanjana (sugg estion) have an important place in the discussions in Sanskrit poetics. Abhidha has been accepted by all without dispute while Laksana is also more or less so. But the third function called Vyanjana is an exclusive contribution of poetics (Alankara Sastra) despite the fact that later grammarians like also accept its existence and impor tance. Hence, it is not surprising that many treatises dealing with poetics devote considerable portions to elucidate these functions. Some authors have exclusively written works to deal with these functions exhaustively. The present work 'Trivenika' is one such work.