The Kathasaritsagar was composed in Sanskrit in Kashmir around 1070 CE by Somadeva. Its name, which means ‘the ocean of the rivers of story’, is no idle boast, for it contains more than three hundred and fifty tales told in some twenty thousand slokas or stanzas. In the introductory chapters of the work, we learn that the text is based on Gunadhya’s Brihadkatha, a now lost and possibly legendary repository of stories.

Somadeva states in his epilogue that he composed the work for the entertainment of Queen Suryavati, wife of King Anantadeva of Kashmir, to distract her mind from its usual occupation of “worshipping Shiva and acquiring learning from the great books.” Though Somadeva is regarded as the ‘author’ of the Kathasaritsagar, he is more accurately a re-teller or compiler of the tales. He has drawn liberally and lavishly from older sources including the Buddhist Jataka tales, the Panchatantra, and the Puranas. He also makes brief references to stories and incidents from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Also contained within the Kathasaritagar is the immensely popular Baital Pachisi, or Twenty-five Tales of a Vampire. Somadeva’s genius is evident in the manner in which he has threaded these separate, often unrelated, stories together, to create a work that engrosses and enchants from the very beginning.

The Kathasaritsagar, as it is available to us today, is divided into eighteen distinct books. The first of these is the Kathapitha, in which Somadeva sets the stage for the rest of the work, explaining how the Brihadkatha was heard and then written down by Gunadhya, how it was nearly lost, and how its last and seventh part was saved and salvaged at the eleventh hour by King Satavahana, and became the source for the Kathasaritsagar.  The stories proper begin with the second book, the Kathamukha, and, as in many Indian texts, they are held within a frame narrative – that of the story of Prince Naravahanadatta, future emperor of the vidyadhars. In his introduction, Somadeva declares that it is the individual stories that are important, rather than the holding narrative, which he has used “only so that the different stories may be easily remembered.” But as the stories grow, and the characters within stories begin to tell other stories, we find rising about us an enchanting lattice of tales, with each inner story perfectly carrying with it each and every frame, right through to the end of the text.

The world of the Kathasaritsagar is rich and vibrant, full of clever women and fearless men, of kings, thieves, conmen, merchants, and courtesans. There is war and romance, intrigue and heroism, wit and, sometimes, even wisdom. Like Vishnusharma’s Panchatantra, the Kathasaritsagar is concerned with life and living, but unlike the fables of the Panchatantra, the stories of the Kathasaritsagar teach no moral lessons. Nor are the tales bound by any dominant theme, religion or point of view, but ramble without plan or any purpose except entertainment through their magical world. This makes the work unique in Sanskrit literature.

 The Kathasaritsagar is astounding in breadth and scope, and the appeal and popularity of its tales remain undiminished over the centuries. Its stories are found all over the world, including in the more or less contemporary Arabian Nights as well as in collections such as the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Its influence is evident even upon much later literary works such as Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio’s Decameron. In continuing to inspire modern writers such as Salman Rushdie with his novel, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, it remains one of the most influential non-religious works of Sanskrit literature.

Coming soon!

Watch this space for enchanting tales from this immortal work!