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LĪLĀVAI
from the Jaisalmer MS. might be noted on its margin. Though the work on hand was very heavy there, he spared midnight hours for the Lilavati and noted all the various readings. On the 24th of April '43 the Bikaner transcript (= B) reached my hands and on the 29th of the same month I received back from Jaisalmer the Pattan copy duly collated with Jaisalmer MS. by Sri Jinavijayaji himself.
I started my work in right earnest hereafter. Sri Jinavijayaji had already assured me that he would publish this work in some Series or the other. The first forme was struck by the end of July 1944. The work lingered on in the press for the last five years; and there were various difficulties: at times paper was not available; now and then Bombay had communal disturbances and strikes which affected communications; there were strikes in the Press; and one was constantly subjected to the worries of the war-time. Though the tale of my struggle to get the necessary material and to edit this text in the present form has been a long and chequered one (to put it in the words of the poem itself: deva mahamti khu kahā), it is a matter of pleasure for me to present this edition to the world of scholars.
XX
In the Introduction I have fully described the material and the method adopted in building the critical text. The transcript that reached my hands was so unsatisfactory that I could not present the Sanskrit commentary better than this: I eagerly await the discovery of another MS. to enable us to fill its gaps. When some more MSS. come to light it would be further possible to judge the authenticity of both the recensions. For the present we may accept with the Commentator that the name of the Author is Kutuhala. The story of the poem is quite engrossing and is also a careful picture of human relations often controlled by Destiny. Somehow the title Lilavati has found favour with many authors, and I have studied all the works bearing the name and their possible relation with this poem. Judged by the criteria of Rudrața and others the form of the poem is quite important. Hala has won remarkable eminence in Indian history, legends and literature; and for such a romantic poem in Mahārāṣṭrī no other king would have been a more appropriate Hero than Hala about whom the necessary results of research I have put together with a view to delineate his personality in a proper perspective. I have tried to give also a brief account of the Sapta-Godavari Bhima, the main scene of the story. The poem Lilavati is a lovely member in the family of Indian literature, so I have studied its relation with other Sanskrit and Präkrit works as far as possible. The available evidence shows that its composition can be assigned to c. A. D. 800. The stage of Prakrit language also confirms the same. My analysis of the language is modest, limited and casual; and it is necessary that a systematic and thorough grammar of this poem should form the basis of the study of Mahārāştri. It is with this end in view that I have prepared and included in this edition a full Glossary of the text. We can know more about the commentator only when some other MSS. come to light. In the Notes I have included, besides various difficulties, all that I felt necessary for an intelligent understanding of the text and its language.
While working on this poem, during the last few years, many of my scholarfriends have obliged me in various ways; and it gives me pleasure to remember them with gratitude: Mr. K. J. Dixit, B. A., B. T., Sangli; Dr. A. M. Ghatge, Kolhapur; Prof. M. V. Patwardhan, Poona; Mr. L. N. Rao, M. A., Ootacamund; Dr. V. Raghavan, Madras; and Mr. K. Madhava Krishna Sarma, M. O. L., Bikaner.
Words are inadequate to express my sense of obligation to Acharya Jinavijayaji. He secured the Pattan copy, collated the Jaisalmer MS. and arranged for the publication of this work even during these critical days. All along I found solace in his encouraging words and positive guidance in his cooperation. The students of Prakrit literature owe a heavy debt of gratitude to him; and to redeem at least a fraction of it, if possible, I have taken the liberty of dedicating this book to him.
I offer my sincere thanks to the Government of Kolhapur for the kind aid given to me in my work on the Lilavati. I also acknowledge my indebtedness to the University of Bombay for the grant-in-aid (of Rs. 200) given towards the cost of the publication of this work.
KOLHAPUR, 1-1-1949
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