Bruhat Katha kosha

Author(s): Harishen Acharya,
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

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BRHAT-KATHİKOŠA
घत्ता-संबंधविहूणु सव्वु वि जणु रसु न देइ गुणवंतहं । तेणिय गाहाउ पयडिवि ताउ कहमि कहाउ सुतहं ॥ भणिदं च
जिह कुड्डेण विहूणं आलेक्खं नत्थि जीवलोयम्मि । तिह पयवेणविहूणं पावंति कहं न सोयारा ॥
The thesaurus of tales has come from Jinendra to Ganadhara and from Ganadhara to Śreņika; in the Pañcamakāla it was narrated by Śivakoțimunindra'; and through various teachers (guru-kramena) it has reached Śricandra. Secondly, Mulārādhană, whose study leads one to the happiness of heaven and liberation, has got in its gathas so many nice and interesting stories. Thirdly, Śricandra would first explain the gathās in which the stories are referred to and then narrate the stories. Lastly, Śricandra remarks that nothing would be interesting if given out of context, so the stories would follow only after the gathās are given. As there cannot be a painting without the wall, so the readers cannot grasp a story without word-to-word explanation or understanding (of the basic gaāthā). He begins with the opening Mangala (of the Bha. A.) which is explained; and then follows the second gätha which also is explained and on which are added the illus. trative stories of Bharata etc. in Apabhramsa. Thus it is plain that he gives stories associated with the gathas of Mulāradhana of Sivarya or Sivakoți. He picks up only those gathas on which the stories are to be illustrated, explains their literal meaning in Sanskrit, and then gives short and long tales. Possibly he complains against his predecessors that they did not give these gāthās, but narrated only the stories; in a way his is a commendable procedure, but unluckily he has not quoted those gathās upto the end. Sricandra's Kosa is interspersed with Prakrit and Sanskrit quotations.
b) PRABHACANDRA'S KATHAKOSA IN SANSKRIT PROSE
This work gives in simple Sanskrit prose, with occasional quotations in Sanskrit and Prakrit, the stories of those religious personalities who devoted themselves to fourfold Aradhană and attained happiness. The text is called Aradhana-satkatha-prabandha; the first two gathās from the Bha. Aradhana are quoted at the beginning; some of the titles of stories introduce the tales with a few words from the gathas of Bha. A., and all these can be traced to that text: these facts clearly indicate that this Kosa gives stories
1 Reading the whole Kadavaka, I do not think that we would be right in taking the second line literally and attributing a Kathakosa to Śivakoti.
2 I am very thankful to my friend Prof. Hiralalaji who procured for my use the Ms. of this Kathakosa belonging to the Balatkara Jaina Mandira, Karanja (A. No. 79 Kathakośa Magadhi). On account of the effect of ink on paper, the written portion of many folios is brittle and even broken.
3
On Prabhacandra, his date and works, see Nyayakumudacandra, vols. I and II, especially their Introductions (Māņikachandra D. Jaina Granthamala, Nos. 38-39, Bombay 1938-41).