7.9. Summary of the Daśakumāracarita

The Daśakumāracarita (Daśakumāracaritam) is a prose work composed by the celebrated writer Daṇḍin. Like other Sanskrit poets, Daṇḍin is also silent about himself. It is mentioned that he was a court poet of the Pallava kings of Kāñcī and can be placed at about 650 A.D.^[1]

The Daśakumāracarita comprises three parts known respectively as Pūrvapīṭhikā, which constitutes of five Uchchhvāsas; the original Daśakumāracarita in eight Uchchhvāsas and the Uttarapīthikā. Only the middle part is said to be composed by Daṇḍin.

Daśakumāracarita narrates the adventure and romance of the ten princes. The work reflects a picture of the then society portraying the common life. The stories of the Daśakumāracarita has satiric intent but cannot be said a regular satire. He depicts a society which is corrupt to the core. In the work, Daṇḍin protests the hypocrisy of his time. Daṇḍin, in the work, lampoons the hypocrisy of the Brāḥmaṇas, Buddhists and the Jainas. His satiric tendency is also visible in describing the corrupt government.

In the work, Daṇḍin criticizes the frailties of the monastic. A Jaina monk is satirized by the author who chooses the life of a monk not because of his devotion but only to envelop his blemishes of his association with a harlot. For him, the harlot was his mistress of wealth, house, body and even his very life. Soon, the harlot leaves him making penniless. Only to save himself from the disdain of people he wears the garb of a monk.

The author remarks satirically that the garb of a monk would be easy to those who have left the house of a harlot—

…sukara eṣa veṣo veśanirgatānāṃ…

The monk finds it difficult to maintain restraints and being distressed with thirst and hunger he laments for choosing the path of the heretics.

The author satirizes the Jaina religion as unrighteous and claims it as a place of excessive suffering. He also satirizes the religion as a provider of hell as a fruit after death because of one’s daily listening to the blasphemy against the gods like Brahmā, Viṣṇu etc. According to the author the Jainism is nothing but a deception.

In the Daśakumāracarita, the Brāḥmaṇas are also not appearing in the best of light. The work exposes the Brahmanic abuses and their hypocrisy. In the work, the writer satirizes the pretentious pious Brāhmaṇas.

For Māṭanga, they are Brāhmaṇas in name only who wearing sacred threads commit different sinful activities and keeping aside their religious and social duties such as the observance of truth, purity etc., live the life of lawlessness and cruelty—

kecidasyāmaṭavyāṃ vedādividyābhyāsamapahāya nijakulācāraṃ dūrīkṛtya satyaśaucādidharmavrātaṃ parīhṛtya kilviṣamanviṣyantaḥ pulindapurogamāstadannamupabhuñjānā bahavo brāḥmaṇabruvā nivasanti…uddhatya vītadayo vyacaraṃ.

In the work, another Brāhmaṇa is also depicted, who can deceive anyone by his art of magic. He is said to be a wicked fellow bearing the designation of a Brāhmaṇa.

A Buddhist nun also does not appear in the best of light. The author satirizes a Buddhist female mendicant who serves as an agent of a harlot. She is greedy and one can easily win her by paying gifts like garments, food and the like. In the work, Dharmarakṣitā, the female mendicant makes an agreement that she would hand over the harlot Rāgamañjarī in lieu of a bag of money. `

Daṇḍin also presents sharp satire in the portrayal of ascetic named Marīci. The ascetic’s weakness for worldly pleasure is the object of satire in the work. The ascetic Mārīci comes into connection with the harlot Kāmamañjarī when she rushed to his feet begging a place for shelter, declaring that now she is not interested in the pleasures of this world and wants to obtain happiness of the other world. The ascetic advises her to do her duty of a prostitute reminding the difficulties of being an ascetic. When she again requested him, the ascetic allows her to stay with him. She wins the heart of the ascetic by performing his duties. Once, in private, finding him affected by passion she makes a discourse on religious topics with him. Kāmamañjarī, the harlot opines that supported by the knowledge of the reality, Dharma is not affected by Artha and Kāma. She gives different examples of Hindu gods and saints to support her comment, such as, Brahmā’s passion for Tilottamā, Śrīkṛṣṇa’s relationship of thousands of wives, the seduction of Ahalyā, the wife of the sage Gautama by Indra, Atri’s union with a doe etc. According to her, the gods also cheat demons in various occasions to achieve their objects but it never affects Dharma. The ascetic accepts her view that Dharma is never obstructed by Kāma if one is occasionally inclined to her forsaking all his devotion. He is led by the harlot to the city on the occasion of Kāma festival forgetting all his pious duties. Soon, the hypocrite, silly ascetic is ignored by the harlot, explaining that she has won a wager by winning over the pious ascetic like him.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Daśakumāracarita, Introduction.XXVI