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42
LĪLĀVAI
pletion of the poem, every episode contributing to the fulfilment of the main purpose of the poem, namely, Lilāvati's marriage with Satavāhana.
. In such a complex plot slight looseness and some repetitions are inevitable, but they are such as could be avoided by a more mature and gifted poet. In the Necklace episode the author has not told us anything about Virayāhana, much less how the Necklace came to him :etc.
As the divya-mānuşa type needs, we have in this poem an assembly of characters both human and semi-divine, the latter comprising those from the clans of Vidyadhara, Yaksa, Siddha, Räksasa and Gandharva. The abodes and movements of these characters add touches of romance, supernaturalness and awe to the atmosphere in the poem. Destiny is made to rule rigorously and supreme, even though the human beings should go on doing their utmost; and the freaks of Chance, almost a handmaid of Denstiny, have full scope everywhere. This has led the author to introduce, in this story, religious devotion as the potent remedy against all ills and as a means to happy life. The gods and saints can bless when they are pleased and curse when they are offended; and consequently human beings, who can be temporarily transformed even into animals and demons, are made to wander in this trackless wilderness of worldly existence. The suffering characters like Mahānumati, Kuvalayāvali etc. are all made to practise rigorous and respectful devotion to Pärvati and Iśvara; and thus alone they get through various calamitites and win the worldly pleasures.
d) The Hero of the Poem King Sātavāhana is the hero of the poem; and the celebration of his marriage with Lilāvati, the daughter of king Silāmegha of Sinhala island, is the central theme. Important items of information about Sātavāhana available in this poem may be put together here and then scrutinised in the light of other evidence.
Sātavāhana or Hāla was ruling at Pratisthāna in the Aśmaka country on the bank of Godāvari. His ministers were Pottisa and Bhatta Kumārila, and his commandar-in-chief, Vijayānanda. Seeing his portrait. the Simhala princess Līlāvati, who was destined to be the queen of a universal sovereign, fell in passionate love with him. Her parents allowed her to go to him. On the way she chanced to meet her cousin sister Mahānumati and her companion Kuvalayāvali whom ill-luck had deprived
1 See notes on gatha 976 at the end.
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