The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c7.s7.86

v1.c7.s7.86

¹ ‘Paiśācī is one of the oldest Prākṛts; it is mentioned by the Prākṛtaprakāśa by the side of Mahārāṣṭrī, of Māgadhi and of Śauraseni, but it is not, by far, so well known as the other three’ (Prof. Felix Lacôte, Essay on Guṇāḍhya and the Bṛhatkathā, p. 36). Somadeva records in his Kathāsaritsāgara a legend regarding the origin of both the Kātantra and the Bṛhatkathā: While a Sātavāhana king was bathing in the company of his wives in a tank in his garden, he threw water at one of them. She asked him not to do so (modakaiḥ paritādaya mām). The king mistook the phrase modakaiḥ for a single word meaning ‘pieces of sweetmeat’, got them at once, and began to throw them at her. Thereupon she laughed at his ignorance of the phonetic rules of Sanskrit grammar. Then the king felt ashamed and consulted his ministers. Guṇāḍhya promised to teach him grammar in six years, while Sarvavarman undertook to do so within six months. The latter produced the Kātantra grammar with supernatural help and fulfilled his undertaking. Guṇāḍhya retired to the Vindhyan forests. Here he learnt the Paiśācī and wrote the Bṛhatkathā in that language and presented it to the king.