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THE NALARĀYADAVADANTĪCARITA
(Adventures of King Nala and Davadanti)
Edited by ERNEST BENDER
CONTENTS
PAGE
III. Text ....
.........
308
PAGE ... 267
267 560
268
IV. Translation .........
I. Introduction......
1. The source of the materials.... 2. The story and its significance...
3. The meters... II. Grammar
1. Phonology......... . .. 2. Morphology ..... 3. Notes on syntax....... .
V. Glossary .........
.........
302
VI. References........
.................
I. INTRODUCTION 1. THE SOURCE OF THE MATERIALS
there is a blank space in the center, as the conventional The Nalarāyadavadanticarita is an Old Gujarati!
survival of the rubrication for the string-hole in the rendition of the Jain parallel to the Nala-Damayanti
old palm-leaf manuscripts. Folios one and fourteen, story of the Mahābhārata. As with other parallel
verso, mark the title in the upper left-hand margin.
P, No. 9526 in the Sri Sāgargacchano Jaina Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist stories and motifs, the work has many unique features, since the Jain story-teller
Jñanabhandär of the Sri Hemacandrācārya Jaina employed it for the edifying presentation of the Jain
Jñānamandir at Patan, consists of twenty-one folios, religion.
each folio measuring 7.88 by 4.25 inches. Folios one, The present edition is based upon four paper manu
two, and twenty-one have twelve lines of writing on scripts. These are, for facility of reference, desig
each side; folios three through thirteen, recto, and
fifteen through twenty have thirteen lines per side; and nated B, H, P, and S. B, B.D. 83, No. 1918, in the collection of the library
folios thirteen, verso, through fourteen, verso, have of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
fourteen lines per side.
S, No. 2946 of the Sri Jaina Ananda Pustakālaya at Bombay, consists of eight folios, of which number
45 at Sürat, consists of fourteen folios, of which folios one six is missing. Each folio measures 11.25 by 4.75 at inches, and has nineteen full lines of writing on each
and two are lacking. Each folio measures 4.25 by
10.37 inches, having thirteen full lines of writing on side, except for folios three and four, which have twenty lines, and folio eight, verso, which has twenty,
each page. and finishes the text along the right-hand margin.
Of the four manuscripts the text of P is in the best H, No. 2137 % in the Indic manuscript collection of
state of preservation. The others, or what remains of the Harvard University Library, consists of fourteen
the others, are in good condition and clearly written in folios, each folio measuring 10.50 by 4.40 inches.
the Devanāgari script. The manuscripts usually indiExcept for the verso side of folio fourteen, there are
cate the e- and o- vowels by writing the stroke over on each side fourteen lines of writing. On each page
the akşara; in a few instances they are marked, as in
the Jaina Devanāgari script, with a stroke before the 1 See Tessitori, 1914: 43:21 and footnote.
aksara to indicate the e-vowel and strokes on both ?H.D. Velankar in his register of Jaina works, "Jinaratnakośa," sides to indicate the o-vowel. H writes the arlists other manuscripts-two at Limdi, two at Surat, and one at diphthong 6 in stanzas 125 and 129 with the usual two the Bhandar of the Vimala Gaccha Upasraya, at Falusha's Pole, Ahmedabad. With the exception of one of the Sürat manu
strokes over the aksara in daineva and darva, respecscripts, the S of this study (the other could not be located), these tively. B indicates the ar of 'vairagi in 311, in the were not available to me. I have recently received word from same manner, while H employes the Jaina Devanāgari Mr. Shah that copies of two manuscripts of the Nalarāyadavadanticarita have been obtained for me, once again, through the kind The name on the paper cover wrapped around this manuscript help of Muni Sri Punyavijayaji, and are on their way. Unfor- is "Naladavadanticaritarasa." This never appears in the text. tunately, they will arrive too late for incorporation in this study. The name on the paper wrapper is "Naladamayanticopai." However, any new evidence they may offer will be published in this never occurs in the text. a future article.
. The ai-diphthong is written thus (a) to distinguish it from * Poleman, 1938: No. 5559.
the vowels ai in conjunction. 267
