________________
Introduction.
Hence it is certain, that the MS. which Jayavimala used was more corrupted and as we have just stated -- more interpolated than the text contained in our best MSS. of the prose recension, one of which (viz. D) is dated Sam. 1631, and hence is older than the metrical version itself. Nevertheless this MS. D derives from the author's autograph by several intermediate MSS.; see below, p. 11. Moreover, Jayavimala does not mention the name of the author of our story, evidently because in his time already this name had been forgotten. On the other hand, the last words of Jayavimala's prasasti, viz. विहिताः खोकाचरित्रस्य, without any other designation of his source, seem to imply that this afty, i. e. the prose recension of the Campakaśreşthikathānaka, was then a well-known work. From all this we may safely conclude, that the prose recension of the Campakaśreşthikathā is considerably older than the verse.
II. The MSS. used for this edition.
Our edition is based on the MSS. ABCDW mentioned above p. 2. All of them go back not directly to the MS. of the author himself, but to some intermediate copy, as they have several striking mistakes in common.
In $ 6* all our MSS. have the mistake a fu or a misunderstood correction of it (C). In $ 74, all our MSS. read u for गलरंधे न1). Cp. also s 28 AWD सीमाल., B श्रीमाल (C has a gap here) for atatao; $ 508 A 8a , BCDW
त्मनां for मनो; 85817 ABCDW विश्वासमानयति for विश्वाHatata). In § 74 10, A TT, C TH: make no sense, and T#:, the reading of BDW, does not seem to me very satisfactory either 3). In $ 76% ACDW where is scarcely correct. B omits
1) This stanza ist absent from the MSS. of the metrical version Mm. 3) The metrical vorsion rends: H faut af heyatia a II :) In the metrical version this word is missing. The whole passage there runs thus: भो भद्र को ऽत्र राजास्ति को मन्त्री कः पुरोहितः । कः श्रेष्ठी तापस: को वा कस्तलारस्तु शौल्किकः ॥ 347 स प्राह निर्विचारो ऽच राजा मन्त्री कुशीलक: [M कुशिलिकः) । पुरोहित: शिलापात: श्रेष्ठी
la om. in Mm) qatafa: (m aamutafa:1 | 348 ATTET SETattfyu ls om. in Mm) at: uage: 1 qafa sifenatsalat is om, in Mm] art muzafqat (M feat | 349 kronor
