Best Stories from Indian Classics by V.S. Naravane

Author:V.S. Naravane [Roli Books Pvt. Ltd.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Roli Books
Published: 2012-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Kathasaritsagara or the

Ocean of Stories | Somadeva

Somadeva lived in Kashmir in the latter half of the eleventh century. He tells us that, when he wrote the stories of Kathasaritsagara, Kashmir was governed by King Ananta, ‘whose footstool was like a touchstone for testing the worth of the jewels in the crowns of all the monarchs who bowed before him ’. He extols the beauty and generosity of Ananta’s wife, Suryamati. Disclaiming all originality, Somadeva describes his work as merely the distilled essence of the Brihatkatha, or the ’Great Tale ’, said to have been composed by Gunadhya. ’In order to divert, if only for a short while, the mind of that gracious queen, Suryamati, this summary of the Brihatkatha has been written by Soma, the son of Rama, a worthy and virtuous Brahmin.’

It was a confused, contradictory age, particularly for Kashmir. Great achievements in poetry, architecture and even philosophy went hand in hand with political disintegration and intellectual debasement. The air was thick with intrigue. Somadeva was himself a witness to tragic events at the court - conspiracy, usurpation, suicide and bloodshed. Old ideals were crumbling. All kinds of esoteric cults had emerged, dragging the human mind into superstition and unreason. These contradictions are clearly reflected in Kathasaritsagara. We find here much that is tender and elevating; but we also come upon the ruthless and depressing side of life.

The most striking quality of the ’Ocean of Stories’ is its stupendous range. It is unquestionably the largest single collection of stories in the world, being twice as big as the Iliad and the Odyssey put together. The title of the work is no idle boast. The Kathasaritsagara is indeed a mighty ocean, uniting in itself all the rivers of myth, mystery, fact, fancy, legend, tradition and romance that had ’flowed ’ in India since time immemorial.

The comparison is apt from another point of view. Rivers begin as tiny streams. The further they move from their source, the more they swell. Likewise, stories that have been told and retold for centuries no longer remain episodic. They grow, their course becomes wide, they become powerful forces of cultural transmission. They irrigate vast tracts of the human consciousness. In Somadeva’s great classic it is not the tiny streams but these mighty currents that have been gathered together.

But perhaps we can vary the metaphor and describe the ’Ocean of Stories’ as a vast picture-gallery in which men and women are depicted filling a variety of roles in the drama of life. Some of them face unusual situations and cross into the magic realm of the supernatural. Other find adventure through more normal channels. Still others lives swayed by the longings, passions, hopes and disappointments that are the common lot of all men. And the marvel is that in spite of the endless diversity of character and situation, in spite of the gigantic scale on which the entire work is conceived, the aesthetic unity is never seriously disturbed.

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