Chapter 1 - Kathasaritsagara and its Cultural Value

CHAPTER I 1. Kathasaritsagara and its Cultural Value Somadeva, the father of Indian Fiction has left as his legacy to posterity, his famous and popular 'Magnum Opus' the Kathasaritsagara. It contains nearty 350 stories collected and put together by him into 18 books (Lambakas) of 124 Tarangas totally consisting of 24000 verses. Since all classes of stories of remote past have found entry into it, it is of immeasurable value from the point of view of the history of civilization. All folk-Tales, originally as they do among the vast folk, must reflect their life. The Kathasaritsagara according to Buhler, takes the first place among the numerous collections of fables and surpasses the 'Panchatantra' Vetal panchavimsatika, Simhasanadvatrimsatika, Sukasaptati and other works as one of the great work of collection of fables 1 not only in bulk but also in other romances. ' Locate is of the opinion that "the Indian tales are for its history, religious, literary and social, of an importance of which no comparison with other literatures could possibly give an adequate idea." This remark aptly 2 3 applies to Kathasaritsagara As has been expressed by Speyer, Kathasaritsagara, 1. Buhler, G., I.A. Vol.I, p.302 'Brihatkatha of Kshamendra. 2. Locate Q.J.M.S. IV p.64-85. 3. Speyer 'Studies in Kathasaritsagara, 1908.

2 represents as in a mirror the different shades and aspects of the muttiform Indian Society, its large towns, the seats of commerce and learning as well as the wild tracks of its forest region # • Thus besides its being an arsenal of more or less ancient tales of great value for the comparative study of fancy and folk-lores etc., it depicts also, to the student of the Indian world, the image of Medievel Indian Society, its saints and its worldings, its every-day life and its 4 feasts, its ruling classes and its scum. Yet again these tales introduce us into a mixed world of priests and princes, merchants and artisans who feel, act and speak of their times. India is, no doubt, poor in historical records. Yet pleasing literary compositions of the nature of Kathasaritsagara are a mirror wherein a historian is allowed to contemplate a pretty exact image of the Society." It is the poet who is the true representative of his times. He represents the true life of the people, their ideals and aspirations, their joys and sorrows, their achievements and their failures, their houses, their villages 5 and their cities the total life of the people." The Kathasaritsagara viewed from this angle is of immeasurable value to a student of ancient Indian society and may therefore give us a living and comprehensive image of the geographical, social, religious, economic and political conditions of the Indian Society as reflected in the 10 th and 11 th century A.D. No doubt that the in Kathasaritsagara we are for the most of times in the land of imagination A 4. Locate, op. cit. IV p.64-85. 5. Raja C.K. 'Survey of Sanskrit Literature', preface p.VII.

3 and fancy without geographical or religious boundries. Yet in it there is an under-current, of the many/sided activities of the society, flowing steadily, in which one can dive deep. Somadeva may speak of a king, of a gallant warrior, of an artesan, of a merchant, of a trader, of a Brahmin, of a courtezan, of a sea-farer, of a mythical being or of Taxita and Pataliputra, Tamralipti and Bharu Kachcha, Ujjayini and Sravasti, Pratisthana and Kaushambi, yet he offers us an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the real and a most varied life of the people. It is from this view-point that here an humble attempt is made to depict the Indian Society as represented by Somadeva in his Kathasaritsagara A critical survey of the historical and cultural aspects as gleaned from it is therefore planned in the succeeding chapters. 2. History of Narrative Literature Origin and Development Before we proceed to make a critical study of Kathasaritsagara, I have tried with the help, derieved from the Vedic, the Puranie, the Epic traditions and other source material, to trace the history of narrative literature and the place of Kathasaritsagara in it. In Kathasaritsagara, in a main frame-story, are fitted many large and small stories. This is a pecularity of the fully developed narrative literature. Such narrative works had a pretty long history before they attained the present form. We can trace it definitey back to remote antiquity. 'In India, tales,

4 fables and stories as a form of literature, existed much 6' earlier than in other civilized countries,' They were in circulation among the people for a long time. These tales and stories in mixed form of prose and verse were first admitted into Sanskrit literature as forms of light literature. Yet about the origin, development and admission of this narrative literature into Sanskrit language, scholars have not reached a unanimous conclusion. The Two Schools Winternitz, clearfly mentions that certain tale like stories that have been found in Vedic works, belong to mythical, declavatory and legendary poetry and to genuine tale literature. Animal stories that we find in the Upanishadas, can hardly be called fables. find g 8 Das Gupta, While fully agreeing with the above opinion, expresses that "they were not perhaps used for a definite purpose nor reduced to literary forms until at a comparatively late period. The ancestors of the popular tales may have been the Vedic Akhayanas as are preserved in the Rigvedic dialogue hymns of Pururavas and Urvasi and in the Sunahsapa legend, but it is futile to seek the origin of the beast fable, in the Rigvedic hymns of frogs etc. 6. 7. 8. Winternitz, 'History of Indian Literature, Vol.III, Part I, p.304,305. Winternitz, op. cit. Vol.III, Part I, p.304-305. Das Gupta, S.N, History of Sanskrit Literature, p.84-85.

9 10 11 5 12 Keith, M. Krishnamachariar, Krishnachaitanya, C.K. Raja and others, on the other hand, argue that the fables and tales first orginiated in the Vedic literature. This literature is full of tales about men and gods, animals and birds. In Rigveda Brahmins are compared to crocking frogs as they sing at their sacrifice. In Upanishadas Janasruti is mentioned as attracting the attention of pious Raivaka p 14 15 13 to the conversation of the two flamingoes or again the one of Satyakama being instructed first by a bull, then by a flamingo and then by an acquistic bird. Again in Chandogaya Upanishada hady . we have a living picture of dogs reciting 'mantras' like priests and howling for food. These instances, Keith and others argue, are definitely indicative of the origin of fables and tales during the Vedic period. Both these schools, thus, one way or the other, trace the origin of the fables and tabes from the Vedic literature. One cannot therefore accept the earlier view and reject the later as wrong, since both of these views are realiably supported for conclusive proof. It appears that there was a mass of floating story and fable literature in circulation among the Indians from a 9. Keith A.B. History of Sanskrit Literature, pp.242-244. 10. Krishnamachariar M. History of Sanskrit Literature,p.412. 11. Krishnachaitanya, 'A New History of Sanskrit Literature p.412. 12. Raja C.K. 'A survey of Sanskrit Literature, pp. 233,237. 13. Keith A.B. op.cit., pp. 242-244. 14. Krishna Chaitanaya op. cit., pp.360-361. 15. Ibid. op.cit. pp.360-361.

A 6 1. grind. dim and distant past. As time rolled on they attained a definite form and became popular. Going through, probably, many stages it was admitted into Sanskrit and Prakrit literatures. Thus it probably began to appear gradually in the earlier Brahaminical and Buddhist literature. The se stories and fables first appear in prose form, then partly in prose and partly in verse form and it is at a later time we come by works of narrative literature written wholly in verse. Thus the assimilation of these tales and fables into Indian literature seems to have gone through a long process. These two catagories of narrative literature, viz. the tales or stories and fables, afterwards separated from each other. Growth of Narrative Literature and Other Works Panchtantra, Brihatkatha n The earliest representative works of the above two catagories in definite form are the 'Panchatantra' written in Sanskrit and the 'Brihatkatha' of Gunadhaya written in the Prakrit Paishachi language. The Panchatantra' was afterwards followed by 'Vetalapanchavim satika, Simhasanadvatrisatika and Suka saptati etc. and the Brihatkatha by 'Brihatkathamanjari' 'Kathasaritsagara' and the 'Brihatkatha slokasamgraha", all written in Sanskrit. 3. Narrative Literature of Kavya Type One more form of this narrative literature also developed during the 6 th and 7 th century A.D. in which all the grace and refinement of the 'Kavya' are transformed from

7 . verse to prose to create a fanciful story or to vivify a legend or a folk-tale. This form of ornate prose also gradually evolved with the above two types of narrative literature. But since it is under the influence of 'Kavya' we are not, at present concerned with it. Dandin's 'Da sakumaracharita, Subandhus 'Vasavadatta and Banas 'Kadambart' fall under this ca atagory. Out of the first two catagories viz. tales or stories and fables, the first was used to teach political principles and worldly wisdom while the other was meant for spiritual and worldly objects. 4. Further growth of Narrative Literature 16 Before this narrative literature took the above definite forms, it was used by the early Buddhist teachers (wherein the Buddhist monks by relating beast stories illustrated the deeds of greatness of the Buddha and Bodhisattva. The virtues and vic vices are expressed by birds, animals etc. to give a realistic human picture and a didatic purpose. The lowrelief sculptures on the Bharhut Stupa show that the Buddhist traditions have absorbed these beast fables as far 17 back as the 2 nd century B.C. Grammarian Patanjali in his Mahabhashya mentions the story of Vraddhakumari who by a boon from Indra secured a husband, sons, cows and rice. He also 16. Keith A.B. op.cit., pp.242-43. 17. Krishnachaitanya, op. cit., pp.360-361.

8 refers to the tales about 'Yavakruta' 'Priyangu' and 18 'Yayati'. He further mentions the Akhayikas of 'Vasavadatta; Sumanottra and 'Bhimarathi' and expressions like 'Kakataliam' | Ajakrupaniyam 19 occur in his work. Many other references from his work further prove the currancy of this literature during his age. But the credit of popularising this narrative literature goes to the Jain monks and authors who have always been good story-tellers. The mass of narratives and books of narratives among them is indeed vast. As has been expressed by Hartle, "we ought to be grateful to them, due to whom we possess simple excellent prose of the type of narrative 21 literature." The commentaries to their sacred texts which stretch from the 1 st to the 8 th century A.D. contain a mass of traditional legends, numerous fairy tales and stories. In addition to this they have further produced a vast fairy-tale literature in prose and verse. But since it is used for religious purpose it is seldom intended for mere entertainment. The same is the case with the Buddhist literature. Further, in Mahabharata, beast fables are narrated by 22 many characters for didactic and spiritual purpose. 18. Puri B.N., 'India during the times of Patangati'. pp. 216-217.-. 19. Ibid 'India during the times of Patangati'.pp. 216-217. 20. Winternitz, 'History of Indian Literature, Buddhist and Jain Literature, Vol.II, pp.521. 21. Hartle, 'Geist des Ostens I, 1913, pp.185. 22. Krishna Chaitanya op.cit. pp.360-361. Winternitz is of the openion that the narrative literature first developed during the Epic-period, and therefore he argues that the earliest fables are those that appear in Mahabharata in Book XII.

.....9 The great Itihasa and Puranas also contain many tales and fables. Again Chandrakirti who belongs to the 6 th Century A.D. mentions the story of the king, the astrologer and the 23 rain-fall : Before thi 24 n thi Vasubandhu who flourished in the 4 th Century A.D. has mentioned, 'The story of Jackal and the Lion' in his Gathasamgraha. The narrative techique is high-lighted by the dialogue-form as used therein. The above references prove beyond doubt the existence of the narrative literature throughout the centuries. But, as has already been pointed out, it was used for religious purposes. It is only at a later time that these narratives shed their religions association and developed into the first two types, viz. the story literature and the fable literature, of distintiv tintive narrative literatures. Thus the earliest work of the nature of a collection of tales meant for spiritual and worldly objects must have probably been the Brihatka tha (The great story-book) of Gunadhaya written in Paishachi language followed by its two renderings in Sanskrit namely the 'Brihatkathamanjari' of Kshmendra and the 'Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva and the 'Brihatkatha sloka sangraha' of Buddhaswamiits Nepali version. The Panchatantra in Sanskrit was followed 23. Krishnachaitanya, op. cit., pp.360-361. 24. Ibid. op. cit., pp. 360-361.2

10 by Vetalapanchavamshatika Simhasana- dvatrimsatika and Suka saptati. 5. The date of Panchatantra and Brihat-Katha. 26 25 Krishmachariar is of the openion that the Panchatantra belongs to the 4 th or 5 th Century A.D. According to Das Gupta the Brihatkatha of Gunadhaya was written in the 1 st Century A.D., Buhler in his Kashmir Report places Brihatkatha in the 1 st Century A.D. F. Locate adjusts it to the 3 rd Century A.D. Weber places Gunadhaya in the 6 th Century A.D, while Speyer argues that he flourished between 4 th Century 28 27 and 6 th Century A.D. Levi cautiously adjusts him in the 29 3 rd Century A.D. Keith, after quoting many references by quoted many later Sanskrit writers from Brihatkatha, proves 30 that it existed before A.D. 600 definitely. Thus the question regarding the date of Brihatkatha is a disputed one and still unsettled. Also the question about the 25. Krishmachariar M. op.cit., pp.417. 26. Das Gupta S.N., op. cit., p.92 (Foot-note); also see Raja C.K., 'Survey of Sanskrit Literature, pp. 237-238. 27. Buhler, Kashmir Report. 28. Speyer, Studies in Kathasaritsagara' 1908. 29. S. Levi, "Thetre Indien', 1891, pp. b.317. 30. Keith A.B. op.cit. pp. 266.

11 Paishachi language, its period of existence, its cradleland have been contraversial. We are not at the moment concerned with them since from our study view point they are not of vital importance to us. We have therefore avoided them. The Brihatkatha is lost to us. However various references to Brihatkatha as pointed out by eminent writers like Bana, Subandhu, Dandin, Dhananjaya, Trivikrama, Somadeva suri, Govardhana and others show that it existed upto the 12 th Century A.D. It was however rendered into Sanskrit first by Buddhaswami then by Sahmendra and Somadeva. 6. Narrative Literature Its Types - Katha and Akhayika. 31 The common name for all the different types of narratives in Sanskrit is 'Akhayika', i.e. little story or small narrative, and 'Katha, i.e. conversation, entertainment or narrative. The Agnipurana mentions five types of Gadyakavya namely the Akhayika, the Katha, the Khanda Kavya, 32 the Parikatha and the Kathanika. It has also defined the Akhayika. This defination is accepted by Bhamaha. In his Kavyalankara he defines it as a prose composition with exalted subject matter. The hero narrates it. It is devided 31. Keith A.B. op.cit., pp.268-269. 32. Agarval, V.S. 'Kadambari eka Sanskritic Adhayana, Introduction p=13 and Agnipurana 366/15-17.

12 into many uchchhavasas. Facts of experience are recorded in it and it contains verses of indicative nature. It further contains the abdication of girl, fighting, separation 3 and the final triumph and the union. On the other hand he defines Katha as a composition narrated not by the hero but by some others and its language may be Sanskrit, Apahbramsha. 34 Dandin in his Kavyadarsha does not admit this distinction Rudrata in his 'Kavyalankara' says that Katha is composed in prose of light words. Its object is the winning of a girl. It is a prose work in Sanskrit while verses in any other language may occur in it. While he defines Akhayika as a story of a king liked by the author, at the beginning of which there is a salutation to the God and Guru. According 35 to Bana Akhayika is based on historical facts while Katha is the poetic creation. (Kavi Kalpana prasuti). He calls • his Kadambari a Katha. Dr. Agrawal is of the opinion that there arose a long controversy between Bana and Dandin over 36 the relation between Katha and akhayika. 33. Upadhaya A.N., Lilavai, 'Introduction', pp.41-42. 34. Agarwal V.S., op. cit., 'Lilavai'. Introduction p.13. He says that the difference in only in name. 35. Ibid. pp.13. 36. Ibid. 'Harshacharita ak Sanskritis adhavana', pp.5.

13 37 Kshamendra in his Brihatkathaman jari mentions Katha as the chief narrative and Akhayika the "intercalated" stories. It has been pointed out by Winternitz that in Kathasaritsagara Somadeva generally calls the stories as 38 Katha and also Akhayika. The grammarian Patanjale, mentioned Patanjale, mentioned earlier, refers to three Akhayikas namely of Vasavadatta, Sumanottara and Bhimarathi but unfortunately he does not 39 mention anything about the form and content of a Katha. Katyayana specifically mentions Akhayika in his Vartika. Keith is of the opinion that a Katha is a conversation, a story, while an Akhayika is a minor narrative. 41 40 Winternitz 42 agrees with the opinion expressed by Dandin while Das Gupta defines Katha as an invented story and Akhayika as traditional legend but further argues that this distinction is academic. 43 According to Puri Katha is essentially a fictitious narrative 37. Winternitz op.cit., Vol.III, Part I,pp.307. Also refer to De.S.K. BSUS III. p. 1307. 38. Ibid. pp. 307. 39. Puri B.N. 'India during the Times of Patanjali,pp. 215. 40. Das Gupta op.cit. p.201. 41. Keith A.B. op.cit., p.245. 42. Das Gupta S.K. op.cit., p.83-84. 43. Puri B.N. op.cit. p.215, Agarwal also has pointed out that Panini mentions the Slokakara and Gathakara and defines Akhayana as the literature of stories, 'India as known to Panini p.341.

14 while Akhayika deals with facts of experience and semihistorical interest. From the foregoing discussion it will thus be clear that most of the scholars agree that Katha is a creation of poet's fancy and imagination. It has no limitations. While an Akhayika deals with facts, stories, deeds of past kings etc. Judged from the above standard Somedeva's Kathasarisagara is a Katha. Most of its parts contain e n stories and exploits of legendary heros and personalities in the land of wonders and immaginations. 7. Katha and its four classes 44 Manuals of poetics divide narrative tales into four classes viz. Arthakatha, Kamakatha, Dharmakatha and Sankirnakatha. Arthakatha deals with agriculature, trade, diplomacy etc., Kamakatha treats love affairs, cleverness in arts, sending of female messangers etc. Dharmakatha describes the observance of piety, celibacy, forbearance, penance, fasts, vows of a lay devotee etc. and a Sankirmakatha is one in which the ends of human existence (Dharma, Artha and Kama), secular and Vedic doctrines etc. are described. 8. Katha division based on subject matter Apart from the division of a Katha into above four 45 classes Haribhandra in his introduction to Samaraichchhakaha A 44. Gore N.J., Samaraichchikaha, Introduction pp.3-4. 45. Gore N., op. cit., Introduction, pp.3.

15 has stated that the subject matter of a Katha (Kaha) or narrative tale, according to ancient teachers, is three fold G Divya, Divya Manusha and Manusha. Divya Katha is concerned with gods, Manusha Katha deals with human beings and a Divya manusha Katha deals both with gods and human beings. 267, fil 9. Kathasaritsagara a Divya Manusha Sankirnakatha If we apply both the above standards to Kathasaritsagara we can call it as a Sankirnakatha of the Divya-Manusha type since it describes the ends of human existence (Dharma, Artha and Kama), secular and Vedic doctrines and its characters are both divine and human beings. 10. Kathasaritsagara - A distinctive Narrative Kathas or narratives of the type of Kathasaritsagara when fully developed have their distinctive characteristicsthe use of a frame-story into which the other stories are This characteristic is common to the Jatakas wherein even long romances abounding in adventures and sometimes fitted. with a greater or less number of narratives, within the 46 narrative occur. This is also a characteristic of the Jain narratives wherein within their sacred literature they fit a mass of legends and numerous fairy-tales and stories. This peculiar method was afterwards adopted by the Sanskrit writers. Their aim was mere entertainment and no moral tag was attached to them as was the case with the above Buddhist 46. Winternitz, op.cit., Vol.II, pp.125.

16 and Jain narratives. From these, afterwards developed fully popular and useful narrative of the type of Kathasaritsagara as mentioned above. In this type of a Katha or a narrative, in a frameWinternitz calls it story the tales get interlocked 47 intercalation i.e. one of the characters in a story may come with a fresh story to make a point and a character in his story may do the same and thus the narrative proceeds further and further. In the middle of such narratives that have the affairs of human beings as the subject matter we always find also tales relating to the world of wonders and witchcraft, super-human beings and men in the guise of animals, virtuous kings and bold warriors, beautiful and loving princesses, people from various walks of life etc. 11. Kathasaritsagara and its contents In the Kathasaritsagara the main frame-story is the advantures of Naravahandatta, son of the amorous Udayana famous in Sanskrit literature, and his final attainment of Madanaman chuka as his bride and the land of Vidyadharas as his empire. Into this frame-story are fitted many stories, fables and tales of kings and princes. Many Brahaminical haminical Buddhist and Jain legends, tales of fools and foolish servants, stories of magic and witchcraft are also narrated in the middle. Exploits in 47. Winternitz op.cit. Vol.III, part I pp.304-306.

17 the land of Vidyadharas, Yakshas, Nagas, Gandharvas, Asuras and Danamas and stories of Savaras, Bhillas, Pulindas, of arts, artists and artisans, of merchants, traders and seafarers, of courtezans and of faithful as well as unchaste women are also narrated in the middle. The Vetal cycle Vetai and the complete 'Panchatantra' are also incorporated in it. It has thus become an occan of stories, a mixed world, a Kaleidoscope of swiftly altering scenes. 12. The date of Somadeva and Kathasaritsagara Somadeva, the author of Kathasaritsagara was a Kashmiri Brahmin. He was the court poet of king Ananta (1029-1064 A.D.), of Kashimir. It was for the amusement of his queen Suryavati that he wrote this great work. Scholars are not of unanimous opinion about the period during which Somadeva flourished at his court and wrote his great work the Kathasaritsagara Before an attempt to fix his period and the date of Kathasaritsagara is made opinions of various scholars are summarised in the following paragraph. 48 49 50 Buhler, Das Gupta and Keith are of the opinion that Somadeva wrote his Kathasaritsagara between 1063 A.D. to 1082 A.D. 51 M.Krishnamachariar says that Somadeva flourished at the Court 48. Buhler G.Indian Antiquary I. pp.302. 49. Das Gupta S.N. op. cit. pp.692, 696 and 705. 50. Keith A.B. op.cit., pp.281. 51. Krishnamachariar M. op. cit., pp.419.

18 of King Ananta between 1029 A.D. to 1064 A.D. Sesagiri 52 Rao gives 1059 A.D. to 1070 A.D. as the period during which Somadeva flourished at the court of King Harsha, (1090 A.D. 53 to 1101 A.D.). Hoernle gives 1070 A.D. as the year in which 54 Somadeva wrote his Kathasaritsagara According to Macdonell Somadeva 55 composed his work about 1071 A.D. while Wilson fixed this 56 date as 1090 A.D. Tawney argues that it is between the first and the second retirement of King Anant that Somadeva wrote possibly, about 1070 A.D., his Kathasaritsagara Somadeva himself at the end of his great work in Grantha Kartuh prashasti declares that the poem was written to plese queen Suryavati, the daughter of the King of Trigarta, the grand-mother of Harsha and mother of King Kalasha. But unfortunately for us he does not mention any date or year in which it was written. Thus the problem regarding the date of Somadeva as well as that of Kathasaritsagara has become more complicated. 13. History of Kashmir and Somadeva's probable Date Yet a key to this problem is offered to us by the According to Rajatrangani famous Kashmiri historian Kalhana. the first Lohara dynasty ruled over Kashmir for a period 52. Sesagiri Rao, Indian Antiquary I pp.365. 53. Hoernle, J.R.A.S. 1909 p.102 54. Macdonell A.A. History of Sanskrit Literature pp.376. 55. Wilson Sanskrit Lectures I p.158. Winternitz agrees with the date given by him. 56. Panzer, The Ocean of stories. Introduction, pp.XXXII Vol.I.

19 of 98 years. It was founded by Samgramraga in 1004 A.D. and ultimately during the reign of Harsha in 1101 A.D. it 57 was overthrown. The genealogy of this dynasty as given by Kalhana is as follows:- 1. Sangramaraja .... 1004 A.D. to 1028 A.D. 2. Hari Raja 3. Ananta .... 1029 A.D. (for 22 days) 1029 A.D. to 1063 A.D. 4. Kalasha and 5. Harsha 58 1064 A.D. to 1089 A.D. 1090 A.D. to 1101 A.D. Stain in his book 'A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir' also gives this same chronology of these kings of the first Lohara dynasty. Now Suryavati, otherwise known as Subhata, was the queen of King Ananta. From the above genealogy it is seen that Ananta occupied the Kashmir throne from 1029 A.D. to 1063 A.D. According to 'Rajatarangaimi/he actually Confusion is said to have abdicated it in favour of his son Kalasha in 1063 A.D. But unfortunately for him Kalasha proved to be an oppressive, pleasure-seeking and a meek king. prevailed in his kingdom and therefore Ananta was forced to take the reins of the kingdom again in his hands. But in 1077 A.D. he again retired. Yet Kalasha had developed a deep hatred towards his father and therefore afterwards attacked him and even tried to murder him. Ananta was ✓ 57. Pandit R.S. 'Rajatarangini River of Kings' p.586. 58. Stein M.A., 'Achronical of the Kings of Kashmir, p.106, 108, 110.

20 however saved; but out of frustration committed suicide. Suryavati also threw herself on his funeral pyre and ended 59 her life. This took place in 1081 A.D. From the above detailed account we may draw the following observations :- 1. Since Ananta and his wife Suryawati died in 1081 A.D. Somadeva must have written his Kathasaritsagara before 1081 A.D. 2. Ananta was the patron of Somadeva and therefore he was very close to his family and thus to Suryavati for whose consolation and annsement he wrote his Kathasaritsagara 3. That Suryavati must have been utterly dejected in her life between 1077 A.D. to 1081 A.D. (Second abdication of her husband and his suicide) when Kashmir was in the midst of confusion blood shed and court intrigues between the father and the son which ultimately resulted in the suicide of Ananta. From the above observations we can adduce that Somadeva flourished at the court of King Ananta from 1029 A.D. to 1064 A.D. and this patronage was probably further extended upto 1081 A. D. even though Ananta had already abdicated in 1063 A.D. It may be said that his son Kalasha further extended it. It was probably between the years 1077 A.D. and 1081 A.D. that he might have written Kathasaritsagara for the 59. Ibid. 'A Chronical of the Kings of Kashmir', p.110.

21 the amusement of Suryavati when she was in utter frustration as has been already mentioned. 14. Sources and Material For my studies in Kathasaritsagara I have used the Nirnayasagara copy (1920) edited by Pandit Durgaprasad and Shri K.P. Parab and also its translation into English made by Tawney in ten 60 volumes. It appears, as has been pointed out by Speyer, that Durgaprasad and Parab had two different manuscripts of Kathasaritsagara before them when they took out the above edition. In the collection of the Banaras Hindu University there are two manuscripts of Kathasaritsagara Out of which one is written in Devanagari. It is complete in all respects and in all contains 487 folios. Even though it is called as 'Brihatkatha' it is really a script of Kathasaritsagara since it ends with the line "Samaptaschayam Kathasaritsagare nama Katha sangraha." The name of the scribe does not appear anywhere in the manuscript, nor the year in which it was copied. But from the writing style it can be placed in the early 18 th Century A.D. The second manuscript is written in Sarada script. The name of the scribe of this manuscript is also not mentioned anywhere in the book. Like the first one it is also complete. It is written in Kashmir as is apparant from the paper. It can be placed in the 18 th Century A.D. This copy has a fine dear-skin cover. 60. Speyer op.cit., 1908 p.

22 The Varanasiaya Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya is in possession of seven manuscripts of Kathasaritsagara Their index Nos. are 40467, 40468, 40483, 40484, 40036, 42175 and 42934. Their description is as follows:- 1) 40467 :- 2) 40468 : 3) 40483 - 4) 40484 :- 5) 42036 : 6) 42175: Size 13.9 x 11.1, lines in a page 39. Pages from 1 to 263 except no.3 and 181 and again from 1 to 132. Pages from 1 to 2 repeated. The script is Deunagari. Incomplete. Date not mentioned. numbered. Folios 568. Folios from 505 onwards are wrongly The script is Devnagari. The manuscript is completed by one Sivavarman, son of Srikantha, on Thursday on Da sam in the month ☑ Da sam of Jeyastha on the Rohini Nakshatra in Samvat 1753. :- Incomplete. Contains only pages from 1 to 30. Script Devanagari. Date and scribe not known. Incomplete. Contains pages from 40 to 50 only. Script Devanagari. Date and scribe not known. Incomplete. Contains pages from 4 to 12 and again from 24 to 26. Only 'Tarangas' from 1 to 3 describing the Naravahana-datta janma' are covered by the above pages. Script Devanagari. Date and scribe not known. -> This is again an incomplete book. Contains pages from 124 to 143, 1 to 35, 1 to 54 and again from 1 to 69, thus confusing. The name

7) 42934 : - 23 of the scribe not known. But the manuscript was written in Samvat 1852. Incomplete. Contains pages from 1 to 9 and from 1 to 5. Script Devanagari. Date and scribe not known. felios. Of the eight manuscripts of Kathasaritsagara in the collection of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, No.143 of 1886-92, No.142 of 1866-68 are incomplete and hence are of no use to us. No.660 of 1886-92 contains in all 710 The manuscript is written in Devanagari and on country paper. The remaining five manuscripts at SR.Nos.lll, 112, 113, 114 and 115 collected in 1875-76 contain 258,359, 493, 507 and 424 folios respectively. They are all in Sarada script. All the above manuscripts more or less indicate that they follow a tradition. Most of them have again been collected from Kashmir. Thus it can be said that their source may probably be a common one. 15. The big time-gap between Gunadhaya and Somadeva Between the original Brihatakatha of Gunadhaya written in Paishashi dialect and its translation into Sanskrit by nearl Somadeva there is a big gap of nearly 900 years. It is during this mid-period that the Panchatantra probably attained its final form somewhere about 4 th or 5 th century A.D. rmaynd The Vetal Cycle; originated and became popular. It is

24 also quite obvious that many fresh stories, tales and fables must have originated and were in circulation in society. The structure of the Hindu Society must have undergone radical changes in its social, economic, religious and cultural spheres. Brihatkatha was written in an age when Buddhism exericsed its influence over Hindu mind, side by side with Saivism and many other manifold varieties of sectarian and local creeds and rites. When Somadeva flourished Buddhism had already disappeared from Kashmir and India. In Kashmir its place was taken by Saivism. The political map of India was also totally changed. India was weak. There was no strong central power. Petty states were fighting among themselves. As a result the defence of the north-west region was neglected. Mohmud came to power in Ghazni and invaded and raided India many times. Hindus suffered untold miseries. Because of these raids the very foundation of the Hindu Society was shaken. Hindu civilization stood on the verge of destruction. The Problem before Somadeva Thus the picture of the society at the time of Gunadhaya and that at the time of Somadeva is altogether different. From the study of Kathasaritsagara it appears that Somadeva has probably over-looked the above changed conditions since this change is never mentioned by him. It is very probable that he neglected it considering the literary

25 importance of his work. However he was unable to ignore the other changed conditions. Thus when he sat to translate the Brihatkatha into Sanskrit his problem was a complex one. He therefore makes a categorical declaration at the beginning, 61 According to Speyer' it of Kathasaritsagara that his shortened Brihatkatha in Sanskrit is a faithful reproduction of the Paishachi poem without reducing or adding to its contents. was Somadeva and not Kshamendra who drew up the faithful reproduction of the old Paishachi poem. Yet in spite of the above declaration it appears that Somedava was unable to check the temptation and has therefore incorporated in his work the picture of the contemporary society and the b fresh fales and stories that arose during the big timegap. Thus he has included the 'Panchatantra', the 'Vetal Cycle, the fools-stories etc. in his Kathasaritsagara The Chief deity of Brihatkatha was Kurera but Somedeva has thrown him into background and Siva, the deity of the popular form of Saivism in Kashmir during his times, is substituted in his place. Siva, really is the presiding deity of Kathasaritsagara In the following pages a humble attempt has been made to visualise the picture of 11 th century India through the Kathasaritsagara This is therefore a comprehensive and critical work sytematically written with a view to present a connected S. 61. Speyer.op.cit., 1908

26 idea of 11 th century Indian life as portrayed in Kathasaritsagara It is a presentation of life complete and whole. We can see here merchants and artisaus, workers and peasents, women and children, old people and ascetics, Brahmins and Princesall engrossed in their daily life. The characters are lively and realistic and the incidents narrated are also taken from real life. Thus Kathasaritsagara is a faithful representation of the 11 th century India and therefore the critical attempt to present the contemporary India. If the author seith, lly wondeef B zbret ks Th They how can it hea purture of the 11 th cent of the otha parte