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16
DHURTAKHYANA:
legends, the legends themselves get ridiculed. Thus, to a certain extent, the author is using the mode of reductio ad absurdum in denouncing the legends.
All of them are confirmed rogues, quite expert in their business; and it is not without some significence that they should be made to dabble in Puranic legends, as if this was quite on par with their usual routine! It looks like a bit of irony that the legends should be put in the mouth of rogues and that they should come forth to prove the impossible by quoting them! Akhyāna is usually a serious tale, especially an epical or Puranic episode. It is certainly a piece of pungent sarcasm, if Akhyāna refers here (V. 6) to the fantastic tales narrated by rogues. If it refers to the series of Puranic legends and episodes, it is equally ironical that they should be put in the mouth of rogues and that both of them should prominently figure in the title of the book! Thus the plot, the mode and accessories of attack and even the title: all these are not only appropriate but also partial and favourable for the artistic performance which Haribhadra has achieved here. Even minor touches add to the ironical flavour of the atmosphere: Müladeva declares that he is putting up with parisala such as hunger and thirst (I. 28), a veritable Jaina monk indeed!; Kandarika salutes the feet of Jina like a pious devotee (II. 24); Khamḍavānā qualifies herself as aṭṭhārasa-dosavivajjiyā (V. 98), an adjective usually applied to the Tirthakara; and lastly, that hypocritically exacted tip is glorified as a Dana, a pious donation, which renders everything allright (V. 102). There are some drawbacks: sometimes the same legends and motifs are repeated and in some places there is some obscenity. As to the first one wished that the author avoided this repetition; but as to the second, it was inevitable, if the author wanted to expose the obscenity of some of the Puranic legends.
By assimilating different traditions Western literature has come to possess an astonishing variety of literary expression. The fact becomes obvious even to a superficial student of English literature, if he simply notes its chief landmarks and growth. Scholars comparing the ancient Indian literature with that of the English are struck with the manifold variety, range and artistie appeal in the latter. The disparity can be explained away on the basis of the peculiar lines on which each civilization advanced. Apart from its intrinsic merits and abiding values, in a way, by taking into account the range of time covered by the civilization, the extent of the land and the magnitude of the population, one has to admit that the ancient Indian literature, available to us today, is comparatively small in quantity and limited in variety. The reasons are apparent. On the whole, the Indian mind has enjoyed the comfort of dignified isolation from constant foreign influence. Religious spirit has permeated not only Indian life, but also Indian literature: even secular compositions could not escape religio-moral influence. Both men of letters and literary life in India are confined, as a rule, to an insignificant minority of hereditory intellectual aristocrats. Antiquity is an asset, but not necessarily a virtue. Old arns of expression and moulds of
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