Indological Studies

SR No.: 022756
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: H C Bhayani
Publisher: Parshva Prakashan
Publication Year: 1993
Total Pages: 376
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 25 MB

Page 327

On the Prakrit Sources of Tale-types and Tale-motifs
akamanikosa11 (1073-1083 A.D.). It occurs as an emboxed story in the Tale of Bandhudatta (verses 14-48; pp. 283-286). Its outline follows.
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Tired of his ill-tempered wife, a man of noble faimly left for the nearby city. Some youthful and boisterous milk-maids too were going to the city and they joined him on the way. Not caring for his depressed mood, they tried to engage him in some frivolous chitchat, so much so that it got upon his nerves. The girls pressed him either to tell a story or even pick up a quarrel with them so that the long journey may be shortened. He immediately grabbed at the chance and put his foot across the legs of one of them.. She stumbled and fell over one that was walking in front of her, and all of them thus fell down breaking to pieces their pots full of curds. They cursed the noble man and started quarrelling with him. Soon all of them reached the city, and the nobleman somehow managed to leave the sore milkmaids' company. He went to the courtesans' quarters and got a night's shelter at a Dharmaśālā. A bawd approached him and pressed him to narrate to her some episode from the Rāmāyaṇa or the Mahabharata.. He requested her to leave him in peace as he was deadly tired, but she kept on pestering. Enraged, he knocked out her teeth with a blow and set the house on fire by means of the lampflame. He was immediately arrested for these acts and produced before the king. The milkmaids had been already there with their complaint. The nobleman pleaded that being harassed beyond tolerance by the two parties he took them at their words. In one case he picked up quarrel as he was advised to do and in the other case he gave the actual demonstration of the two incidents from the Rāmāyaṇa: Hanumat's blow had scattered the pearls from Ravana's diadem: this was matched by knocking out the bawd's teeth; and the burning of Lanka was matched by setting the house on fire. The king gave his verdict: 'Not guilty'. The close kinship of this tale with the tales from Bengal referred to above is quite obvious.