Proceedings of the Seminar on Prakrit Studies 1973

Author(s): K R Chandra, Dalsukh Malvania, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 156

115
ted verses in it 62 ace in Prakrit (including Apabhramsa). The rest are in Sanskrit and Kannada, It bas preserved some are story motifs10 which appear to have been picked up from some written or, more probably, oral tradition of Guņādhya's Bịhatkathā. Moreover, an Interesting feature of tbis narrative work is its having some tendencies of the prose narrative texts of the Ardhamāgadbị Canon like the Nāyādhammakabão, Antagadadasao, A0uttarovavāiyadasao, Nirayāvaliyāo, etc. and some of the narrative parts of its exegetical literature, where strict adherence to the Jaina cosmographical setting for each story, emboxment of sub-tales in the main or frame-story stereo-typed descriptioas, synonymous repetitions are liberally used. Moreo. ver, several Prakrit words and phrases are found used in their natural set. tings along with the Kannada words in sentences or clauses in the course of the text : vakkhānisu, jāpisu, javajjivam. chatthatthamadasamaduvalasa etc. After reading the text one feels that the author's Prakrit sources and other Midole Indo-Aryan literature (in Jaina Śaurasens, Ardhamagadhi, Apabbramsa and even Palśācı) he bad used or assimilated, had developed in him a special liking for the diction of the Prakrit literary speech. The Cavumdaraya Purāņa of the great Cāvumdarāya (c.778 A.D.) who wrote a Kannada Commentary on the Gommațasāra of his teacher Acārya Nemicandra, also shows the influence of Middle Indo-Aryan literature (in Jaina Saurasenl, Ardhamāgadbs and Apabhramsa) but not to the etenxt as that of the Vaddārādbane.
Similarly some of the early Campū works like the Adipurāna of Pampa (941 A.D.), the Santipurāņa of Ponna (950 A.D.) and the Ajitapurāņa of Ranga (993 A.D.), all Jaina works, indicate some direct or indirect infi. uence of Prakrit literature. In these woks are found backformations from Prakrit like pāguda, carige, vigurvisu etc., the birth of which appear to have been owing to such author's being influenced by their some Prakrit sources along with the Sanskrit ones.
Moreover, these early Campū works, beginning from Pampa, were influenced by the Apabhramśa metre Pajjhadia'11 which was adapted to Kannada suitabiy, Pampa was the first known poet to adapt this Apable rarśa metre which later came to be known as 'Raghata' or Ragale'12 with its three varieties Utsäha, Mandānila and Lalita. This "Ragale' metre in Kannada continued to hold its sway on the minds of the later poets to such an extent that with further adaptations it finally appeared as "Saraļa Ragale' and continued to be used till the recent days of the 20th century when the
10 Like the hybrid motif of promise to return' used iu ihe sud-sub-tale of Sudáme
which is emboxed in the subtale of Kanne in the Story of Sukumara Swami. 11 This is described in 1--125 in the Prākta Paingala na, Varanasi, 1959, p. 112. 12 Nagavarma has used these terms for the first time in his Chhando'mbudhi, 3.22.