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The story of Dhanyā occurring also in the Kumarapālapratibodha, has the same motif as a Gujarati folk tale, ghankā ane ghaņki nī vārtā ‘The tale of the male and female wood-worm.' A third version of the same motif is found in the story of the monkey couple transformed into human beings that we come across in some of the tale-groups connected with the life-story of Jambūsvāmin (see, e.g. pp. 99-100 in Guņapāla's Jambucariya. It also occurs in Jambū’s biography given in Hemacandra's Sphavirävali).
Linguistically too the MC. has its several points of interest. Firstly, it has one whole story, viz., Sulasakkhānu, in Apabhramsa. It is called Akhyāna as well as Samdhi, and its structure conforms with that of other known poems of the Sandhi-type in Late Apabhrarśa. As has been stated by the editor (p. 43, footnote), this Sulasāsaṁdhi is found also as a self-contained work preserved separately from the MC. Besides this, MC. has numerous short passages in Apabhraíśa. Their value as specimens of the Apabhramba of Hemacandra's times is quite obvious.
Secondly, the Prakrit of the MC. has numerous words, constructions and idioms which are significant for the study of Apabhraíśa and early Gujarati. The following few words and forms, picked up in a casual reading of the firse thirtyfive pages only, would suffice to illustrate the point (Abbreviations : DN. =Deśīnāmamālā of Hemacandra. SH. = Siddhahema of Hemacandra.)
Feres41 (3,56) gech (cf. DN. 3, 36; SH. 8, 2, 174; PC. 5, 13, 9 etc.)
fsf54 (3, 65) 'a wayward rascal (cf. the Dimļins of Lāța described in the Padatāļitaka Bhāņa.)
setem (20,3) 19% (cf. $a124 at Saṁdeśarāsaka, 143). 18 (5, 11, 6, 7.) 'tree'. (cf. Fits 'thicket DN. 3, 57; Guj. tree.)
at Or I (fem) (5, 15; 17) 'front portion of the upper garment covering the lap.' (cf. UIN (masc). 'ibid'. DN. 2, 80; Guj. aldt 'ibid', 'lap'.)
ataru (5. 7) 'act of sweeping'. (cf. af 'sweeper', 966o 'broom', Abhidhānacintamani, 363, 1016; 73eri, atero broom' DN. 6m 97; Hindi GERI, gert.)
w (5, 11, 5, 6, 25) 'some sweetmeat etc. sent as present to ones kin living afar, (from Pk. w, Sk. and the diminutive suffix-2) cf. Guj. Mardi home-made lunch taken outside.' aset (?) (5, 19). The verse line in which this word occurs is as follows:
बझंति तरुवरेसुं चंचलतुरयाण वरवलच्छीओ। The corresponding passage in the Ārārnaśobhā in the Samyaktvasaptati commentary of Sarnghatilaka, written in 1365 A. D., reads
- तरलतरंगवलच्छ वझंति समंतआ तरुमूले । (Here तरंग is an obvious mistake for तुरंग). The word is the same as चलत्थ (v. 1. वलच्छ) which occurs at Saṁdeśarāsaka, 169 (in the compound form ginenfefs), and which the Sanskrit commentary renders as
J 15. The word also occurs in the form of acte (compounded as
