Setubandha

Author(s): Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

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2
There are a few exceptions to what has been stated above. In one or two cases, e. g., Setu 3.81, Rāmadāsa's readings have been followed, as they appeared to be the best. Besides, there is a small number of readings in which the commentators differ from each other, and even the South Indians disagree among themselves. In such cases, too, unless otherwise stated, Rāmadāsa's readings have been followed faute de mieux.
In a translation based on different commentaries containing many alternative explanations, it is not always easy to hit upon the right meaning of a word or a phrase, especially on account of the vagueness of Prakrit as a medium of expression ; and there will always be room for improvement in the rendering of particular verses. In Setu 1. 22, for instance, it would be better to take vela in the sense of samudrajalavrddhi, as suggested in Krşņavipra's alternative explanation, so that the rendering might be : "The pure-rayed pearls, the stars, ... ... ... shone in the ocean of the firmament, adhering to its floodtide, the night.' It is needless to give other examples. The extracts from the commentaries appended to the translation contain adequate material for an evaluation of the different interpretations and variant readings.
II
The Setubandha : an outline The Setubandha of Pravarasena deals with a portion of the story of Rāma from the return of Hanumat from Lankā with the tidings of Sitā to the death of Rāvana, with special emphasis on the construction of the great causeway between the mainland and the island. The poem, though written in Prakrit, is wellknown to students of Sanskrit literature from
this verse is also found in the commen,
1. It now appears that Rāmadāsa's reading in
tary of Laţakanamisra,