Amrita Collected Papers by A M Ghatage

SR No.: 006968
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Kasturbhai Lalbhai Smarak Nidhi Ahmedabad
Total Pages: 530
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 10 MB

Page 125

116
Amrita
silently on a lotus leaf and the many pranks of apes. Besides these the plants get their share and the mountain Sahya with the river Godā figures prominently. There are a good many maxims and popular sayings of a gnomic nature while incidently many gods, situations from the epics and folk-lore are also mentioned.
The work also gives us a few references of general interest. Of kings we meet the two famous names of Vikramāditya and Sālāhana, beside the name of Hāla the compilor of the anthology at the beginning and the end of the śatakas. The geographical atmosphere of the work is pretty old. No big towns are mentioned which may be due to the rural background of the work. The constant reference to mount Sahya and the river Godā makes it almost certain that the work is the production of the country of Mahārāstra. The winds from Malaya 101 also play their part and the rivers Revā 102 and Tapī103 on the northern side get mentioned. A few names of races and tribes like Pulinda, Palāśa and the Rākṣasas from Lankā occur. Of religious and mythological allusions, we have the praise of Śiva at the beginning and at the end under the title of Pasupati which would indicate that Hāla was a worshipper of Sankara. He is once mentioned by the name of Pramathādhipa104 which also occurs in Varāhamihira. His spouse Gauri and her temple is also referred to, while she is known by her popular names Ajjā 105 and Avanna 106. Kāpālika07 a worshipper of Siva is also described as besmearing his body with ashes. Once Ganapati 108 is referred to, but the reading is doubtful. Visnu 109 also figures and mention is made of his three steps in the heaven while his wife Lakşmi is said to come out of the milkly ocean. The binding of Bali by him is also found in the Mahābhāsya of Patañjali. Krsna 110 often figures. His play with Gopis in the Vraja are described and his beloved Rādhā finds mention. He is called Damodara which epitomises one of the incidents of his childhood. Madana!ll and his five arrows are prominently found. A few epic references occur. The death of the lord of the Kurus112 at the hands of Bhīma in the presence of Mādhava is from the Mahābhārata while Rāma and his brother Laksmana are from the other epic?13. Buddha'14, his Sangha and their formula of greeting siddhirastu show the knowledge of Buddhism and possibly of Jainism.
But many of these references depend upon the different recensions of the work. There are at least six different recensions 115 which differ from each other not only in the number of verses but also in their arrangement Verses common to all the recensions amount to nearly 430 which can, therefore, be regarded as the oldest nucleus of the collection. The first recension is the