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Gunadhya
Guṇāḍhya is the Sanskrit name of the sixth-century Indian author of the '' Bṛhatkathā'', a large collection of tales attested by Daṇḍin, the author of the ''Kavyadarsha'', Subandhu, the author of ''Vasavadatta'', and Bāṇabhaṭṭa, the author of the '' Kadambari''. Scholars compare Guṇāḍhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long-lost ''Brihatkatha'' in Sanskrit; the loss of this text is one of the greatest losses of Indian literature. Presently available are its two Kashmiri Sanskrit recensions, the ''Brihatkathamanjari'' by Kshemendra and the ''Kathasaritsagara'' by Somadeva. Date Guṇāḍhya could have flourished during the reign of a Satvahana king of Pratishthana (modern-day Paithan, Maharashtra). According to D. C. Sircar, he probably flourished between the 1st century BCE and 3rd century CE. An alternative account, mentioned in the ''Nepala Mahatmya'' of the Skanda Purana, states that Gunadhya was born in Mathura, and ...
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Kathasaritsagara
The ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva. ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' contains multiple layers of story within a story and is said to have been adopted from Guṇāḍhya's '' Bṛhatkathā'' ("the Great Narrative"), which was written in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśāchī. The ''Bṛhatkathā'' is no longer extant but several later adaptations still exist — the ''Kathāsaritsāgara'', '' Bṛhatkathamanjari'' and '' Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha''. However, none of these recensions necessarily derives directly from Gunadhya, and each may have intermediate versions. Scholars compare Guṇāḍhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long-lost '' Bṛhatkathā'' in Sanskrit. Presently available are its two Sanskrit recensions, the '' Bṛhatkatha ...
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Brihatkatha
''Bṛhatkathā'' (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' (''कथासरित्सागर''), ''Bṛhatkathāmañjarī'' (''बृहत्कथामंजरी'') and ''Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha'' (''बृहत्कथाश्लोकसंग्रह'') in Sanskrit, as well as the ''Peruṅkatai'' and ''Vasudevahiṃḍi'' in vernaculars — make commentary on the piece. The date of its composition is uncertain. According to testimonials by later Sanskrit poets such as Daṇḍin, Subandhu, and Bāṇa, the ''Bṛhatkathā'' existed in the 6th century CE. According to other estimates it predates that period by several more centuries. For example, if the story of Udayana by poet Bhāsa (and also later by Harsha in Ratnavali) was inspired by ''Brihatka ...
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Bṛhatkathā
''Bṛhatkathā'' (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the '' Kathāsaritsāgara'' (''कथासरित्सागर''), ''Bṛhatkathāmañjarī'' (''बृहत्कथामंजरी'') and '' Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha'' (''बृहत्कथाश्लोकसंग्रह'') in Sanskrit, as well as the ''Peruṅkatai'' and ''Vasudevahiṃḍi'' in vernaculars — make commentary on the piece. The date of its composition is uncertain. According to testimonials by later Sanskrit poets such as Daṇḍin, Subandhu, and Bāṇa, the ''Bṛhatkathā'' existed in the 6th century CE. According to other estimates it predates that period by several more centuries. For example, if the story of Udayana by poet Bhāsa (and also later by Harsha in Ratnavali) was inspired by ''Briha ...
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Gunadhya Legend
Guṇāḍhya is the Sanskrit name of the sixth-century Indian author of the ''Bṛhatkathā'', a large collection of tales attested by Daṇḍin, the author of the ''Kavyadarsha'', Subandhu, the author of ''Vasavadatta'', and Bāṇabhaṭṭa, the author of the '' Kadambari''. Scholars compare Guṇāḍhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long-lost ''Brihatkatha'' in Sanskrit; the loss of this text is one of the greatest losses of Indian literature. Presently available are its two Kashmiri Sanskrit recensions, the ''Brihatkathamanjari'' by Kshemendra and the ''Kathasaritsagara'' by Somadeva. Date Guṇāḍhya could have flourished during the reign of a Satvahana king of Pratishthana (modern-day Paithan, Maharashtra). According to D. C. Sircar, he probably flourished between the 1st century BCE and 3rd century CE. An alternative account, mentioned in the ''Nepala Mahatmya'' of the Skanda Purana, states that Gunadhya was born in Mathura, and ...
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Kshemendra
Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath-poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, dramatist, translator and art-critic from Kashmir in India. Biography Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His father was Prakashendra, a descendant of Narendra who was the minister to Jayapida. Both his education and literary output were broad and varied. He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary exponent Abhinavagupta". Kshemendra was born a Shaiva, but later became a Vaishnava. He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and Buddhism. His son, Somendra, provides details about his father in his introduction to the ''Avadana Kalpalata'' and other works. Kshemendra refers to himself in his works as Vyasadasa (; ''Slave of Vyasa''), a title which was perhaps won or adopted after the completion of his . Kshemendra was in great demand as a skilled abridger of long texts. His literary career ex ...
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Paiśācī
Paishachi or Paisaci () is a largely unattested literary language of the middle kingdoms of India mentioned in Prakrit and Sanskrit grammars of antiquity. It is generally grouped with the Prakrits, with which it shares some linguistic similarities, but is still not considered a spoken Prakrit by the grammarians because it was purely a literary language, and because of its archaicism. Identity The etymology of the name suggests that it is spoken by piśācas, "ghouls". In works of Sanskrit poetics such as Daṇḍin's ''Kavyadarsha'', it is also known by the name of , an epithet which can be interpreted either as a "dead language" (i.e. with no surviving speakers), or as "a language spoken by the dead" (i.e. ghouls or ghosts), the former interpretation being more realistic and the latter being the more fanciful. Evidence which lends support to the former interpretation is that literature in Paiśācī is fragmentary and extremely rare but may have been once common. The Siddha-H ...
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Vikramāditya
Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and '' Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratishthana in a few stories). The term ''Vikramaditya'' is also used as a title by several Hindu monarchs. According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE. "Vikramaditya" was a common title adopted by several Indian kings, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings (particularly Chandragupta II). Nevertheless, many scriptures from the Shaka era mentions the mighty ruler. Early legends Malava king Rajbali Pandey, Kailash Chand Jain and others believe that Vikrama ...
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Satavahana Dynasty
The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late second century BCE and lasted until the early third century CE, although some assign the beginning of their rule to as early as the 3rd century BCE based on the Puranas, but uncorroborated by archaeological evidence. The Satavahana kingdom mainly comprised the present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. At different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati (Dharanikota). The origin of the dynasty is uncertain, but according to the Puranas, their first king overthrew the Kanva dynasty. In the post-Maurya era, the Satavahanas established peace in the Deccan region and resis ...
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Paisachi Literature
Paishachi or Paisaci () is a largely unattested literary language of the middle kingdoms of India mentioned in Prakrit and Sanskrit grammars of antiquity. It is generally grouped with the Prakrits, with which it shares some linguistic similarities, but is still not considered a spoken Prakrit by the grammarians because it was purely a literary language, and because of its archaicism. Identity The etymology of the name suggests that it is spoken by piśācas, "ghouls". In works of Sanskrit poetics such as Daṇḍin's ''Kavyadarsha'', it is also known by the name of , an epithet which can be interpreted either as a "dead language" (i.e. with no surviving speakers), or as "a language spoken by the dead" (i.e. ghouls or ghosts), the former interpretation being more realistic and the latter being the more fanciful. Evidence which lends support to the former interpretation is that literature in Paiśācī is fragmentary and extremely rare but may have been once common. The Siddha-H ...
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Valmiki
Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poem. The ''Ramayana'', originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and seven cantos (kaṇḍas). The is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of the ''Mahabharata'' or about four times the length of the ''Iliad''. The ''Ramayana'' tells the story of a prince, Rama of the city of Ayodhya in the Kingdom of Kosala, whose wife Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon-king (Rakshasa) of Lanka. Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' is dated variously from 500 BCE to 100 BCE or about co-eval with early versions of the ''Mahabharata''. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a process o ...
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Gaha Sattasai
The Gāhā Sattasaī or Gāhā Kośa ( sa, गाथासप्तशती Gāthā Saptaśatī) is an ancient collection of Indian poems in Maharashtri Prakrit language. The poems are about love. They are written as frank monologues usually by a married woman, or an unmarried girl. They often express her unrequited feelings and longings to her friend, mother or another relative, lover, husband or to herself. Many poems are notable for describing unmarried girls daring for secret rendezvous to meet boys in ancient India, or about marital problems with husbands who remains emotionally a stranger to his wife and bosses over her, while trying to have affairs with other women. ''Gatha Saptasati'' is one of the oldest known Subhashita-genre text. It deals with the emotions of love, and has been called as "opposite extreme" to ''Kamasutra''. While ''Kamasutra'' is a theoretical work on love and sex, ''Gaha Sattasai'' is a practical compilation of examples describing "untidy reality ...
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History Of Literature In India
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries. History is also an academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history as an end in itself, as well as its usefulness to give perspective on the problems of the ...
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