Kuvalayamala Part 2

SR No.: 002778
Original Sutra Author: Udyotansuri
Author: A N Upadhye
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Publication Year: 1970
Total Pages: 368
Language: Sanskrit, English
Classification: Book_Devnagari & Literature
File Size: 12 MB

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84
KUVALAYAMĀLĀ
cover their bodies with bodice; they like flesh, wine and merriment (love ?); and they speak isi kisi misi’. 14) Those from Kosala are adept in various arts, proud, irritable, and well-built; and they speak “jala tala le'. 15) Those from Mahārāstra are hardy, lean, dark and enduring; they are proud and quarrelsome; and they speak 'diņņale gahiyalle', 16) Those from Andhra like women and warfare; they are handsome and fierce in eating; and they utter 'ați puți rațim'. The prince observed these 18 (really 16) Desi-bhāsās and those of Khasa, Pārasa and Barbara people. For some observations about these people and their speeches, one has to study the discussions of Dr. A. MASTER and the Notes at the end. The indefinite nature of the readings raises some problems which await further investigation.
Any way Uddyotanasūri is one of those few authors who have shown not only that language-insight but also illustrated a number of languages and dialects which, in view of his definite age and locality, are a remarkable document for the study of Indo-Aryan in general and Mid-Indian in particular.
10. METRICAL FORMS IN THE KUVALAYAMĀLĀ
The Kuvalayamālā, as a whole, looks apparently like a massive work in Prākrit prose with a continuous narration uninterrupted by any division like the ucchayāsa or pariccheda etc. For a big work like this, this is a speciality and even a hindrance in following the complicated threads of the story which not only deals with a number of lives, but also embodies a large number of sub-stories emboxed here and there. The original Brhatkathā was possibly divided into Lambhas. The Vasudevahimdi, which is looked upon as the Jaina prototype of Guņādhya's great work, has also suitable Lambhas. The Kādambarī of Bāņa is one continuous story, and this looks like a good prototype for our author who is quite acquainted with Bāna and his works. The Vāsavadattă of Subandhu does not, somewhow, find a place among the works referred to in the Kuvalayamālā. A Kathā, according to Bhāmaha, does not contain Ucchvāsas; and it is to be remembered that the Kuvalayamālā is a (Dharma-) Kathā of the Samkīrṇa type. The Taramgavaī of Pādalipta, there are reasons to believe, was also a continuous narration without any sections. The Samarāiccakahā of Haribhadra is, however, divided into Bhavas, which serve the purpose of Adhikāras. In a number of Präkrit and Apabhramsa works the division of Paricchedas or Samdhis is rather artificial. Any way this Kuvalayamālā is a prominent example of a continuous composition in Prākrit. A closer scrutiny shows that it is composed partly in prose and partly in verse: both the types get mixed up without any clear-cut restrictions. In view of its poetic qualities and free admixture of prose and verse, it can be called Campū, which style is cultivated by a number of Jaina authors in their religious romances. The verses here come some time to continue the narration, now and then by way of an effective description, often as gnomic, religious or didactic
See the Introduction pp. 41 ff., to the Lilāvai edited by A. N. UPADHYE, Singhi Jain Series, No. 31, Bombay 1949.