GADYA-SAAHITYAANI - PROSE LITERATURE IN SANSKRIT

 

Prose is called GADYAM ‘gaVma\’ . Its difference from poetry is in it not having metrical lines. It is defined by Dandin as APAADAF PADASANTHAANO GADYAM = ‘Apad: pdsantanaao gaVma\’. The history of prose literature can be traced to the Brahmana portions of Yajur Veda. The Upanishads also contain prose. The best specimen of prose of pre-classical age is seen in the commentary ‘mahaBaaYyama\’ (Mahabhashyam) of ‘ptHjaila:’ (Patanjali), a commentary of Panini’s ‘AYzaQyaayaI’ (Ashthadhyayi). There have been some 20 odd prose passages seen in the text of Mahabharatam. Later in the ‘saU~’ (Sutra) literature a tradition of writing commentaries in prose is witnessed. In the classical age the poets wrote most of their works only in the poetical form. It was not easy for them to compose the prose work. Hence the saying "Gadyam kaveenaam nikasham vadanthi" ‘gaVM kvaInaaM inakYaM vadint’. Prose is the touchstone of the poets. Very few writers have attempted to write a prose work.

‘baaNa:’ - (Bana):

‘baaNa:’ is the earliest prose writer. He is the writer of ‘hYa-cairtma\’ (Harshacaritam) and ‘kadmbarI’ (Kadambari). He was a court poet of King ‘hYa-:’ (Harsha). He belongs to the first half of the 7^th Century A.D. It is learnt from ‘hYa-cairtma\’ (Harshacaritam) that Bana was the son of ‘ica~Baanau:’ (Chitrabhanu) of  ‘EaIva%sagaao~ma\’ (Srivatsagotram). He lost his parents at a very early age and after his education he gained much wisdom and experience by wandering throughout the country in the company of his friends. After his return to his village he wrote ‘hYa-cairtma\’ (Harshacaritam) partly autobiographical and partly biographical.

          Of the two prose works of Bana, ‘hYa-cairtma\’ (Harshacaritam) must have been the earlier composition. It has eight chapters. Having given an account of himself Bana traces Harshavardhana’s ancestry to a King called Prabhakaravardhana. He then deals with the life of Prabhakaravardhana and his two sons Rajyavardhana and Harshavardhana and his daughter Rajyashri. The work abruptly ends with Harshavardhana placing his widowed sister under the care of a Buddhist monk and leaving the place to wreak vengeance against the King of Gowdas, the killer of his brother. What made Bana desist from proceeding further from the story is not known. Death would not have been responsible for this as the other work Kadambari is found to be later production. This abrupt ending may be because of Harsha’s leanings to Buddhism was not tolerated by Bana or the defeat inflicted on his patron by Pulakesin II, was not desired to be recorded. Bana must have referred to this if he had completed the work. This is only a conjecture not supported by any external evidences.

          Kadambari is a romance treating the life of two couples namely Kadambari and Chandrapida and Mahasvetha and Pundarika. As a literary work, Kadambari is superior to Harshacharitham. On Kadambari in particular, Bana has spent all his wealth of observation and fullness of imagery. Through his work is based on Brhatkatha by Gunadhya, the author has a full scope to display his talent. Bana’s style is referred to as ‘paHcaalaI’ (Panchali) style. He exhibits great skill in characterisation. He has used to perfection not only the well known figures of speech like ‘]pmaa’ (Upama), ‘$pkma\’ (Rupakam), ‘]%p`oxaa’ (Uthpreksha) etc., but also difficult ones like ‘ivaraoQaaBaasa:’ ( Virodhabasa), ‘Aaxaop:’ (Akshepa), ‘vaËaoi>:’ (Vakrokti), etc.

          The Western scholars have criticised Bana’s style in the following manner :-

“Bana’s prose is an Indian wood where the undergrowth must be cut away to render the passage possible and even then wild beasts in the form of unknown words lie in wait for a stranger”. But for traditional Pundits who have acquired a good grounding in Sanskrit language have appreciated in the following manner.

‘baaNaaoicCYTM jaga%sava-M’‘kadmbarIrsa&anaaM Aaharao|ip na raocato’

Not only the works of Bana are very popular as the best compositions but have also eclipsed the prose works written prior to him like Harshacharitham. Kadambari is also an incomplete work. It was completed by his son ‘BaUYaNabaaNa:’ (Bhushanabana).

‘diNDna\’(Dandin) :

         He is the author of ‘dSakumaarcairtma\’ (Dasakumarachariham). He is said to have lived in Kanchipuram. The date of Dandin is yet an open question. The Pundits have tried to fix his date in the 7^th century AD. He is known for his excellent use and placement of words – ‘diNDna: pdlaaila%yama\’. He is also credited with the works of ‘kavyadSa-:’ (Kavyadarsha) and ‘CndaoivaicatI’ (Chandovichiti). The Dasakumaracharitham as we have it, is incomplete. It deals with the stories of 10 princes. Prince ‘rajavaahna:’ (Rajavahana), the hero of the story is the son of the King ‘rajahMsa:’ (Rajahamsa) of Magadha and he is born during his parents’ life in the forest. Two other princes ‘Apharvama-‘ (Apaharavarma) and ‘]pharvama-‘ (Upaharavarma) and seven other young lads who were the sons of three ministers overthrown by the King of Magadha constitute the group of 10 princes born under the shadow of misfortune. They came together by accident and later started in quest of their fortune. On the way Rajavahana parts from his friends and follows a Brahmin who seeks his help to ‘patalalaaok:’ (Pathalaloka). The other 9 princes left behind, wandered in different directions in search of their lost leader. Each one of them after meeting Rajavahana after many years narrates the romantic experiences of his adventure during his wanderings. Such is the structural outline of ‘dSakumaarcairtma\’.

          The main body of ‘dSakumaarcairtma\’ narrates the story of 8 princes but it has a ‘pUva-pIizka’ (Poorvapitika) and ‘]<arpIizka’ (Uttarapitika) both attached to the beginning and the end respectively of the main body. But the events described in these two do not seem to be genuine portions of ‘dSakumaarcairtma\’. But generally speaking the episodes depicted in this work reflect a complex state of society with vulgar and indecorous thieves and ardent lovers abound in the course of the narrative. Language has been simple and graceful. His skill in carrying quick and unimpeded narration, his varied and powerful characterisation marked the qualities of a great work.

NOTE: ‘AvantIsaundrIkqaa’ (Avanthisundarikatha)- This is another prose romance attributed to Dandin. It is presently available only in fragments. The author narrates in it the story which is almost identical with that of the ‘pUva-pIizka’ of ‘dSakumaarcairtma\’. The repetition of the narrative makes it impossible that Dandin wrote both. Moreover it mentions in its preface Bana, Subandhu and Mayura as earlier poets. If that is so Bana must be earlier to Dandin which is not the case. Hence the work must be assigned to some other poet of the 7^th or 8^th century AD.

'saubanQau:’(Subandhu):

          He is the author of ‘vaasavad<aa’ (Vasavadatta) a prose romance dealing with the story of the heroine of that name. Bana pays high tributes to Vasavadatta in his Harshacharitham. This helps us to decide that Subandhu could not have been later to Bana. The story in Vasavadatta is quite different from the popular story of the heroine of that name who figures in the tales of ‘]dyana:’ (Udayana) or ‘va%saraja:’ (Vatsaraja). The hero ‘kndp-kotu:’ (Kandarpaketu) and the heroine dream of each other’s beauty. Meeting with great difficulty they elope together to the Vindhya mountains with the help of a magic horse. Soon Vasavadatta is transformed into a stone for her intrusion into the peaceful garden of an ascetic. After a long search the casual touché of the lover’s hand brings her back to life and they marry.

The style of Subandhu is called as ‘gaaODI’ (Gaudi) type which reveals in extraordinary puns and long compounds. His vocabulary is vast and abounds in words of double meanings. This often confounds and tires the reader. It tests the patience of the reader and so his style evoked the usual denunciation of all western critics.