Treasury of Jain Tales

Author(s): V M Kulkarni
Publisher: Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre

Page 19

charms, etc., (2) food - 'how delicious! ‘how tasty the food is', etc., (3) country or region or place - 'how lovely'! 'how beautiful it is!', etc. and (4) about the king or ruler of the land. The additional three, mentioned in Sthânănga, sūtra (569), mean : (5) a vikathā which is marked by tenderness and pity or compassion.
(6) a vikathā which adversely affects one's right faith and (7) a vikatha which adversely affects one's right conduct.
The Das avaikālikasūtra-niryukti (gātā no. 207) lists the following vikathās : 1. stri kathā, 2. bhakta-kathā, 3. răjakathā, 4. cora-janapadakathā, 5. nata-nartaka-jalla-mustika-katha. The first three types have already been explained. 4. talk about a thief - 'a thief was caught today', 'he was thus hurt or oppressed'; talk about a janapada— that a particular region or place is so lovely, etc. and 5. talk about an actor, dancer or (a person doing tight rope-walking) a rope dancer, or a wrestler.
Uddyotanasuri (in his Kuvalayamālā, 779 A.D.) lists five types of stories: 1. sakalakathā, 2. khandakathä, 3. ullāpakathā, 4. parihāsakathā and 5. samki rnkathå.
The sakalakathā ('entire story') follows its hero through a series of lives. The working out of actions and their results through several lives of the hero forms its subject matter. It is, as the name suggests, of very great length. Hemacandra gives Haribhadrasuri's Samarādityakathā (8th century) as its example. The khandakathā ('short story) narrates an episode from a long narrative which is already known through some other work. Hemacandra gives Indumati as its example. This work however is not extant
Both these types of kathā are known to be written in Prakrit only. The Ulläpakatha deals with voyage or love between a young man and a young woman which demands adventures on their part.
The parihāsakathā is 'an amusing story'.
The samki rnakathā is one which is distinguished by the characteristics of all the types of kathā, which is charming with its erotic sentiment, which has its various constituent parts well-knit