Page Text
________________ INDIAN NARRATIVE LITERATURE : A STUDY Keith in his well-known work, A History of Sanskrit Literature, deals with the katha literature in Sanskrit and Prakrit. In chapter XI he treats of the didactic fable (the Pancatantra, its derivative forms and the Hitopadesa); in chapter XII on the Brhatkatha and its descendants (Brhatkathaslokasamgraha of Budhasvamin, the Kashmirian Brhatkatha, Ksemendra's Brhatkathamanjari and Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara); in chapter XIII, of the romantic and the didactic tale-the former touching upon the Vetalapancavinsika, the Sukasaptalti and the Simhasanadvatrimsika, and the latter mentioning the Parisistaparvan a supplement to his epic Trisastisalakapurusa-carita by Hemacandra, the Upamitibhavaprapanca katha of Siddharsi, the Campakasresthikathanaka and the Palagopalakathanaka of Jinakirti; in chapter XIV of the great romances covering the Dasakumaracarita of Dandin, the Vasavadatta of Subandhu, the Harsacarita, the model of an akhyayika and the Kadambari, the model of a katha, the two famous works of Bana; and in chapter XV, of the later romances-Dhanapala's Tilakamanjari and Vadibhasimha's Gadyacintamani (and campus) Early writers on poetics deal with the salient features of a katha and an akhyayika, two principal types of prose works but do not take note of other types of prose writing. It is only later alamkarikas like Abhinavagupta, Bhoja, Hemacandra, etc., who define and illustrate upakhyana, akhyana, nidarsana, etc., and sub-varieties of katha like khandakatha, sakalakatha, etc. Anandavardhana and Abhinavagupta, it would seem, take note of only two types of Prakrit kathas : Khandakatha and sakalakatha. Prakrit writers like Haribhadra, Uddyotanasuri treat of some more types of kathas in Prakrit. Leaving aside great works like Brhatkath, and its descendants and wellknown works of Dandin, Subandhu and Bana we notice herebelow the descriptions or definitions of the various types of kathas noted by Prakrit writers of eminence and Sanskrit writers on poetics. Stud.-66 www.jainelibrary.org For Private & Personal Use Only Jain Education International
| SR No. | 001868 |
| Book Title | Studies in Jain Literature |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | V M Kulkarni |
| Publisher | Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre |
| Publication Year | 2001 |
| Total Pages | 114 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English, Literature, & Story |
| File Size | 14 MB |