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{{Short description|Non-extant ancient Indian epic}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox poem
| name = Bṛhatkathā
| image = Brhatkatha stemma.svg
| caption = Probable relationship between versions of the ''Brihatkatha''
| author = [[Gunadhya|Guṇāḍhya]]
| language = [[Paisaci]]
| form=epic
}}
'''''Bṛhatkathā''''' ([[Sanskrit]], "the Great Narrative") is an ancient [[Indian epic]], said to have been written by [[Gunadhya|Guṇāḍhya]] in a poorly-understood language known as [[Paiśācī]]. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the ''[[Kathasaritsagara|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 [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Bāṇa]], the ''Bṛhatkathā'' existed in the 6th century CE.<ref>Winternitz 1985, p 346.</ref> According to other estimates it predates that period by several more centuries. For example, if the story of [[Udayana (king)|Udayana]] by poet [[Bhāsa]] (and also later by [[Harsha]] in [[Ratnavali]]) was inspired by ''Brihatkatha'', it had to be older than the time of [[Bhāsa]] — itself uncertain, but before the 3rd century CE.

==Early references==
The earliest extant reference to the ''Bṛhatkathā'' seems to be that of [[Subandhu]] (600-700 CE) in ''[[Vasavadatta]]''.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, p 11.</ref> [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Bāṇa]] (7th century) refers to it in his romances ''[[Harshacharita]]'' and ''[[Kadambari]]''.<ref>Nelson 1974, pp 19-22.</ref> A reference by [[Daṇḍin]] in his ''[[Kavyadarsha]]'' is problematic because it describes the ''Bṛhatkathā'' as being marvelous and as composed in the vernacular of the [[Bhoot (ghost)|bhūtas]] (evidently Paiśācī). However, the information appears to be second-hand. A fuller reference is provided in ''[[Dashakumaracharita]]'', whose author is possibly not the same Daṇḍin.<ref>Nelson 1974, pp 33-35.</ref> Later references include the ''Daśarūpa'' of Dhanamjaya, ''Nalacampū'' of Trivikramabhaṭṭa,<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 11-12.</ref> and ''Āryāsaptaśatī'' of [[Govardhana (poet)|Govardhanācārya]].<ref>Nelson 1974, pp 36-37.</ref> A Cambodian inscription (c. 875) expressly mentions Guṇāḍhya and his aversion to Prakrit.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 12-13.</ref> The earliest extant Kannada work on grammar and poetics, ''Kavirajamarga'' by Nripatunga (c. 850), mentions a now-lost Sanskrit version of ''Bṛhatkathā'' by the author [[Durvinita]]. We can safely assume the existence of a romantic work by Guṇāḍhya before 600 CE.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

==Reconstructed content==

[[File:BK relations.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|Relationships of chief characters in the ''Brihatkatha'' (as evidenced by the derived texts ''Brihatkathashlokasamgraha'', ''Brihatkathamanjari'', and ''Kathasaritsagara'').]]
Although several derivative works remain today, they differ so greatly that they cannot be used to reconstruct the ''Bṛhatkathā'' in its totality. However, some strong inferences can be made about its content based on their similarities.<ref>Reconstruction based on Nelson 1974, pp 324-327 & Nelson 1978, pp 665-669; except where noted.</ref>

===Udayana===

Due to a ''dohada'' ("pregnancy craving"), Mṛgāvatī, pregnant with Udayana, is either covered or immersed in red. A monstrous bird mistakes her for raw meat and carries her away, later dropping her. She is cared for in a hermitage, where she raises her son.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 58-60.</ref> Udayana obtains a wonderful lute, elephant-taming skills, and confidants; he and his mother eventually return to their home, [[Kosambi|Kauśāmbī]].<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 60-62.</ref>

Udayana is later captured by Pradyota, the King of Ujjayinī. Here, he teaches the lute to Pradyota's daughter, Vāsavadattā, and they fall in love.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 60-62.</ref> Eventually, they escape to Kauśāmbī, where Udayana's rightful kingship is restored, and they are married.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 78-81.</ref> But, fearing Udayana is weakening, and desiring an additional political alliance, Udayana's ministers make him believe that Vāsavadattā is dead, and arrange a marriage to Padmāvatī.<ref>Vijayalakshmy 1981, pp 84-86.</ref>

Though he is later reunited with Vāsavadattā, Udayana remains childless. Later, as a boon of [[Kubera]], Vāsavadattā becomes pregnant with Naravāhanadatta (his name means "given by Kubera"),<ref>Penzer 1924, Vol IX p 119.</ref> who is fated to become the emperor of the Vidyādharas.

===Naravānhanadatta===

Udayana's life serves as the prelude to the central story of his son, Naravānhanadatta. Unlike his father, who appears in several works unrelated to the ''Bṛhatkathā'', Naravānhanadatta is known only from texts demonstrably linked to the ''Bṛhatkathā''.<ref>Nelson 1974, pp 16-17.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Equivalents of chief names<ref>Nelson 1974, pp 330-332.</ref>
! Sanskrit !! Tamil (''Peruṅkatai'')
|- style="background: silver;"
| Kauśāmbī || Kōcampi
|- style="background: silver;"
| Ujjayinī || Uñcai, Uñcēṉai
|-
| Gomukha || Kōmukaṉ
|-
| Hariśikha || Arucikaṉ
|-
| Kaliṅgasenā || Kaliṅkacēṉai
|-
| Madanamañjukā || Mataṉamañcikai
|-
| Mānasavega || Māṇacavēkaṇ
|-
| Mārubhūtika (Bhūti, Marubhūti) || Pūti
|-
| Naravānhanadatta || Naravāṇatattaṉ
|-
| Padmāvatī || Patumāpati
|-
| Pradyota Mahāsena || Piraccōtaṉaṉ Maṟamāccēṉaṉ
|-
| Ṛṣabhaka || Iṭapakaṉ
|-
| Rumaṇvān (Rumaṇvat) || Urumaṇṇuvā
|-
| Śatānīka || Catāṉikaṉ
|-
| Tapantaka || Tavantakaṉ
|-
| Udayana || Utayaṇaṉ
|-
| Vasantaka || Vayantakaṉ
|-
| Vāsavadattā || Vācavatattai
|-
| Vegavatī || Vēkavati
|-
| Yaugandharāyaṇa || Yūkantarāyaṇaṉ, Yūki
|-
| colspan=2 | ''Placenames in {{Font color||silver|gray.}}''
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Character equivalents in the ''Vasudevahiṃḍi''
! Sanskrit !! Mahārāṣṭri
|-
| Naravānhanadatta || Vasudeva<ref>Nelson 1974, p 197.</ref>
|-
| Udayana || Aṃdhagavaṇhi<ref>Nelson 1974, p 206.</ref>
|}

==Legendary origin==
[[File:Gunadhya legend.svg|thumb|upright=2|Major characters and path of Shiva's story in the legend of Gunadhya, as told in the first Book of the ''Kathasaritsagara'' (Ocean of Rivers of Story).<ref>Lacôte 1923, pp 22-25.</ref>]]
For the origin of ''Brihatkatha'' as described in ''Kathasaritsagara'', see the adjacent diagram.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1506 "Gunadhya" from "The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature] (Volume Two) (Devraj to Jyoti)" by Amaresh Datta, page 1506.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book
| title=Essay on Gunādhya and the Brhatkathā
| first=Felix
| last=Lacôte
| translator-first=A. M.
| translator-last=Tabard
| date=1923
| location=Bangalore City
| publisher=Bangalore Press
}} (reprint, from the ''Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society'', of Tabard's translation of Lacôte 1908: {{Internet Archive|Lacote1908|Essai sur Guṇāḍhya et la Bṛhatkathā}})
* {{cite book
| title=The Bṛhatkathā: A Reconstruction from Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha, Peruṅkatai and Vasudevahiṃḍi
| first=Donald
| last=Nelson
| date=1974
| publisher=University of Chicago
}} (PhD Dissertation)
*{{cite journal
| title=Bṛhatkathā Studies: The Problem of an Ur-text
| first=Donald
| last=Nelson
| journal=Journal of Asian Studies
| volume=XXXVII
| issue=4
| date=August 1978
| publisher=Association for Asian Studies
| pages=663–676
| doi=10.2307/2054369
| jstor=2054369
| s2cid=147593705
}}
*{{cite book
| title=The Ocean of Story, being C.H. Tawney's Translation of Somadeva's Kathā Sarit Sāgara (or Ocean of Streams of Story)
| year=1924
| last=Penzer
| first=N. M.
| author-link=Norman Mosley Penzer
| publisher=Chas. J. Sawyer
| location=London
}} [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein01somauoft Vol I], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein02somauoft Vol II], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein03somauoft Vol III], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein04somauoft Vol IV], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein05somauoft Vol V], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein06somauoft Vol VI], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein07somauoft Vol VII], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein08somauoft Vol VIII], [https://archive.org/details/oceanofstorybein09somauoft Vol IX], {{Internet Archive|id=oceanofstorybein10somauoft|name=Vol X}}, or as [https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/kathasaritsagara-the-ocean-of-story proofread HTML eBook Volume 1-9], including thousands of notes and large appendixes.
* {{cite book
| title=A Study of the Peruṅkatai: an authentic version of the story of Udayana
| first=R.
| last=Vijayalakshmy
| date=1981
| publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies
| location=Madras
}}
* {{cite book|last=Winternitz|first=Moriz|author-link=Moriz Winternitz|title=History of Indian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C&pg=PA346|date=1 January 1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0056-4}}

{{Brihatkatha}}

[[Category:Indian poetics]]
[[Category:History of literature in India]]
[[Category:Prakrit literature]]
[[Category:Paisachi literature]]
[[Category:Epic poems]]
[[Category:Indian poems]]

Brihatkathamanjari - Revision history

Bharatwiki Socrates at 17:30, 27 November 2023