Kshemendra (IAST: Kṣemendra; c. 990 – c. 1070 CE) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath-poet, satirist, philosopher, historian,^[1] dramatist, translator^[2] and art-critic^[3] from Kashmir in India.^[4]

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]

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]