Yasastilaka and Indian Culture

SR No.: 001609
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Jain Sanskruti Samrakshak Sangh Solapur
Publication Year: 1968
Total Pages: 566
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Story, Literature, & Culture
File Size: 16 MB

Page 74

4. YAŠASTILAKA AS A PROSE ROMANCE
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romance with the unwieldy description of the huge tree in the valley of the Suvela mountain towards the beginning of Yasastilaka, Book V; and Bāņa's beautiful portrayal of the trees around the Siva temple where Mahāśvetā worshipped with the Jaina author's laboured description of the pleasure garden in Yasastilaka, Book I. Similarly, the enumeration of different varieties of plants illustrated in Subandhu's description of the seashore in Vasavadattă is overdone in Somadeva's picture of the great forest in Yasastilaka, Book V. It may be said, on the whole, that in natural descriptions Somadeva is far excelled by Bāņa and Subandhu; and there is nothing in Yasastilaka which will bear comparision with the serene picture of the rule of concord and harmony governing the life of animals and human beings in Jäbāli's hermitage, as described in Bāņa's Kādambari. Lengthy and detailed descriptions of female beauty, so wearisome to readers of Sanskrit prose romances, are practically absent in Yasastilaka owing to the very nature of the subject-matter.
More important than the question of style is the fundamental difference between the story of Yasodhara and the romantic tales of Kādambari and Vāsavadattā. The salient feature or the story of Yasodhara is that it is a realistic tale based on a domestic tragedy, even an unpleasant incident of domestic life, around which is woven a story of moral and religious edification. It was a daring experiment on the part of Somadeva to have co romance, of which adultery and murder were two prominent features, in the grand style of Bāņa and Subandhu; and Yasastilaka, is, as a matter of fact, the only considerable Sanskrit prose romance which deals with tragic incidents of conjugal life, eschewing romantic love in favour of grim realities and the workings of fate. From this standpoint Yasastilaka may be described as a realistic novel, and the note of realism is accentuated by the complete absence of the miraculous except in a few minor episodes independent of the main story. This appears to be a noteworthy characteristic of Somadeva's work when we remember the part played by the miraculous in all other Sanskrit prose romances from Kādambari to Gadyacintāmaņi.
Two other characteristic features of Yasastilaka may be emphasized : it is a vivid picture of certain aspects of contemporary life and society as well as a great religious romance; and in both respects it differs widely not only from Kādambari and Vasavadattā but from the remaining Sanskrit prose romances. These points have been dealt with in subsequent chapters, and we may here attempt a somewhat detailed treatment of Somadeva's prose as far as it is represented in his Yaśastilaka,
As is usual in Sanskrit prose romances, long-winding descriptions preponderate in Yasastilaka to the detriment of the narrative, and are