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INTRODUCTION
xli
ing task to make out the-sense or rather nonsense of these examples some of which have remained rather obscure to me." A careful reading, however, of the gathās with the help of the various readings contained in the manuscripts quoted in the foot-note by Pischel would lead one to discover sense, and highly poetical sense in these gāthās apart from the help which they render in ascertaining the correct meaning of a 'Desi sabda.' In fact, these gāthās are not only valuable for the lexicographical material they contain but they form a valuable contribution to Prakrit lyric poetry at the same time comparable to the “Sattasai” of Hāla. Most of the stanzas are miniature amatory poems depicting love-scenes in various aspects. Another class of stanzas eulogises the achievements of his hero Kumāra pāla as manifested generally in the miserable condition of his enemies or their wives. The remaining stanzas cannot be brought under any general heading as they deal with various topics such as condemnation of certain vices, praise of certain virtues, religious worship and maxims of prudence. These are comparable to Bhartyhari's Nitišataka and anthologies of 'Subhāşitas' of various writers. A complete classification of the gathās based on an analysis of their contents is given in the following table.
The illustrative gāthās are classified according to the subjects they deal with in the following table :
W
EES
Chapter.
Eulogy of Kumārap&la.
Miscellaneous.
Amatory Gatbās.
Total
I
761
382
198
133
! 5-7, 10-15, 17-20, 25, 26, 28, 32-34, 86-89, 42, 44, 46-49 51, 52, 55, 56, 58-60, 63, 67-73, 75, 76, 79, 81, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 94, 96, 98, 99, 101-104, 108-110, 112-115, 120, 123-126, 181-183.
9, 22, 24, 25, 29, 31, 40, 41, 43, 45, 50, 53, 54, 57, 62, 78, 80, 83-85, 88, 90, 95, 97, 100, 105, 107, 116-119, 127-180.
14, 8, 16, 21, 27, 30, 35, 61, 64, 77, 82, 98, 106, 111, 121, 122.
