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FOLKTALES IN MEDIEVAL PRAKRIT LITERATURE
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three different places. One was approved by her mother, another by her brother and the third one by the father. At the appointed time the three bridegrooms appeared for marriage. The night the wedding ceremony was to be performed the girl was bitten by snake and died. One of the bridegrooms followed her in the pyre, the second one took to fast, and the third one accomplished a magic art. By employing this charm he brought the bride and the groom who died with her back to life. All the three appeared and asked for girl's hand. Now the one who has gained life along with her, is her brother; the one who has given her life, is her father. The girl was given to the third, one who was on fast. The Prakrit tale is also found in the Vetalapancavimsatika as stated earlier and is preserved in the Ceylonese folktales. 12
Need of Study of Prakrit Literature
The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the need of study of Prakrit narrative literature which remains yet unexplored. There is rich material in this literature which presents a realistic picture of socio-economic life of ancient Indian people. This material will be most useful not only in the study of Indian flok tales but the folk tales at large. The fact that these tales migrated from one part of the world to another without efforts, shows that the interests of the people all over the world are common, and all want to lead a life of good fellowship with love and respect for each other. Recently, the Soviet indologists have shown interest in the study of ancient Indian narrative literature and have studied the nature of narrative from a comparatist point of view, treating all kinds of material. Let us hope this study is not confined to Sanskrit and will be extended to Prakrit literature also.
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