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The Sadayavatsa-kathā
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self-explanatory, in view of the fact (as we shall see) that the hero was a prince of Ujjayini and Dhārā. The characters alluded to in Bhoja's reference noted at the beginning of this paper, viz. Dantaka (?), Sūdravatsa and Kāmasenā, actually figure in the Sadayavatsavira-prabandha of Bhima8. and the episode itself mentioned in the śrñgāraprakāśa can be exactly identified in that work.
7. The Sadayavatsa-vira-prabandha (further here referred to as SVPj was composed c. 1400 A.D.9. Regarding the text there is considerable variation among the manoscripts. The work has round ābout seven hundred verses (730, if we go by the printed text). The work is mostly composed in the Caupāi and Duhā metres, but numerous other metres also are used for variation,
. Besides there are some thirty-four Gāthās in Prakrit. It is obvious that at least some of these Gāthās were borrowed from some early Prakrit version of the tale, as mostly they repeat in short what is said in the preceding Old Gujarati verses 10.
The tale narrates the loves and adventures of Sudavaccha, who was a Prince of Ujjayini and son-in-law of Sālivāhana, the ruler of Pratisthāna. Rescuing a mast elsphant, machinations of a minister, exile, wanderings in strange countries, princesses pining for the hero, omens, helpful robbers, goddesses, hunchbacks, courtesar battles, wrestlers, goblins, witches, cemeteries, deserted cities and all the rest of the hot romantic stuff, and numerous well-known motifs fill up the tale. 8. The followiug is a brief outline of the story according to
Bhima.
Sudayavatsa (S.) was the son of king Prabhuvatsa and queen Mahālakṣmi, ruling at Ujjayini. He was a gambling addict. Once he rescued a pregnant Brahmin girl from the clutches of the Royal elephant which had gone mad, by killing it. The king appointed him as heir-apparent in appreciation of this act of bravery. But the minister of the king, fearing to lose the favour of the prince because he had earlier restrained him from spending liberarlly at the time of his marriage with Sāvalimgā, the princess of Pratisthāna,
