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Prakrit and Apabhraíśa Studies
In the verse cited above, Nayanandin points out that the life of Sudarsana is free from the blemishes that mark the three very famous and popular narratives and hence that it is superior to all of them.
5. In the Sayala-vihi-vihāna-kavva, another Apabhramśa poem by Nayanandin, we get another important reference to the story of Sūdravatsa. In the opening portion of the poem, while describing the cireumstances under which the poet was urged to undertake its writing, he incidentally touches upon the historical glory of the city of Dhārā where the poet carried out his literary activity. He mentions great kings of yore who ruled over Dhārā:
jahim Vaccharāu punu Puhaivatthu, humtau puhaisaru Sūdavatthu, hoeppiņu Vatthael? pacchae) Harimadeu (?) mandaliu Vikkamāiccu jāu.
Here, Puhulvatthu, Sūdavatthu, and Harimadeu are respectively to be corrected as Puhaiyacchu, Suddavacchu, and Harisadeu. The kings mentioned are Vatsarāja, Pșthvivatsa, Sūdravatsa, Harşadeva and Vikramāditya.
Here Pșthvivatsa and Sūdravatsa are mentioned as famous past rulers of Dhārā. In the Old Gujarati version of the tale, the names of the hero and his father are given in various forms, but Suddavaccha and Pahuvaccha (i.e. Sūdravatsa and Prabhuvatsa) are the earliest. This point is discussed further below. Secondly, Suddavaccha in that poem marries a princess of Dhārā and later on becomes the ruler of that city.
6. Thus two Apabhramśa poets of the eleventh century, who lived in Dhārā, are quite familiar with the story of Sūdravatsa and one of them actually wrote a narrative poem having a plot based on that story. They flourished in the time of king Bhoja. who alludes in his Srågäraprakāśa to some characters of that story. All these references point to the great popularity of this tale in the Malwa region in the tenth and eleventh century, and this is
