Part 5(b): Kādambarī—the other Gadyakāvya of Bāṇabhaṭṭa

Bāṇa’s Kādambarī is a kathā. The writer himself has stated in the last introductory verse of the Kādambarī^[1] that this book is to be accepted as kathā. The subject matter is not based upon historical facts, but seems to be an invention. Love is the pre-dominant sentiment and the narrative ends in the winning of a girl. The definition of kathā given by Bhāmaha is followed in the Kādambarī, which shows that it neither contains verses in vaktra and aparavaktra metres, nor a division into ucchvāsas.

The story is divided into two halves pūrvārdha and utttarārdha. In pūrvārdha, the story of the Kādambarī is narrated by a parrot, Vaiśampāyana, to king Śūdraka, who was the king of the capital Vidiśā.^[2] The parrot is presented to king Śūdraka by a caṇḍālakanyā,^[3] that parrot had great power of speech and he praised^[4] the king. Therefore, king requested Vaiśampāyana with curiosity to tell where he was born; who were his parents, from where he had come, how he had became a parrot and had fallen in the hands of caṇḍālas etc. Then, Vaiśampāyana narrates his birth in great Vindhya forest, his nest on the top of Śālmalīvṛkṣa, the marching of śavara army in that forest, how he could survive and had come to jāvālirāśrama, jāvāli’s attention towards him and his remembrance of his past life and the remark that he (Vaiśampāyana) was reaping the fruit of his folly of previous life. The parrot’s story is a very long tale, and therefore, he would tell the sages often. When the night fell, the sages gathered together, Jāvāli began his narrative story as follows. Here ends the kathāmukha.

In utttarārdha, the descriptions of Tārāpīḍa, the king of Ujjayinī and his wife Vilāsavatī, their son Candrāpīḍa’s love story with Kādambarī, a gandharva princess are found. The love story of Kādambarī’s friend Mahāśvetā and Puṇḍarīka is also interwoven in it. Due to curse, their love story was very heart breaking, but, at the end, they met again. The plot of the Kādambarī appears very complicated due to the description of most of the characters that represent the second and the third birth. It is, such as, at first Vaiśampāyana^[5] was born as ṛṣikumāra Puṇḍarīka.^[6] In second birth, was born as the son of Śukanāsa,^[7] the minister of king Tārāpīḍa. And then, due to curse, he was born as a parrot^[8] (śūka bird). At last, he got his life as Vaiśampāyana, the son of Śukanāsa.

Although, it is a kathā, some special social conditions are reflected in it, such as, untouchability of the caṇḍālas^[9] which is emphasized in it. Queen Vilāsavatī performed some rites to beget a son.^[10] The people believed in good and bad omens and in dreams^[11] etc. In the Kādambarī, information regarding various knowledge^[12] acquired by the people of 7^th century A.D. also can be found.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

…..nibaddheyamatidvayī kathā, Kādambarī, v.20

[2]:

āsīda….rājā śūdrako nāma. …..tasya ca rājñaḥ …….vidiśābhidhānā nagarī rājadhānyāsīt, Kādambarī,pp.8-14

[3]:

…..vaiśampāyano nāma śukaḥ…..devapādamūlamāyātā…., Ibid.,p.26

[4]:

…vihaṅgarājo rājābhimukho bhūtvā…spaṣṭavarṇasvarasaṃskārayā …papāṭha, Ibid.

[5]:

Ibid.,p.125

[6]:

Ibid.,p.231

[7]:

Ibid.,p.123

[8]:

Ibid.,p.49

[9]:

[a] mātaṅgajātisparśadoṣa…, Ibid.,p.25 [b] mātaṅgakuladūṣitām.., Ibid.,p.24

[10]:

Ibid., pp.108-109

[11]:

….śukanāsāya taṃ svapnamakathayat, Ibid.,p.110

[12]:

tathā hi pade vākye pramāṇe dharmaśāstre…..sarvalipiṣu sarvabhāṣāsu ....sarvaśilpeṣu..kalāviśeṣeṣu paraṃ kauśalamavāp, Ibid.,p.126