A History of Sanskrit Literature c19.s1.1

c19.s1.1

THERE is no doubt that one of our really serious losses in Indian literature is the disappearance of the *Bṛhatkathā* of Guṇāḍhya,¹ a work which ranked beside the *Mahābhārata* and the *Rāmāyaṇa* as one of the great storehouses of Indian literary art. Its existence is asserted first definitely by name in the seventh century when Subandhu, Bāṇa in both his romances, and Daṇḍin in his *Kāvyādarça* attest its fundamental importance. Later references are not rare; we have both the text and the comment of the *Daçarūpa* of Dhanaṁjaya as evidence of its existence, it is mentioned by Trivikrama in his *Campū*, and by Somadeva Sūri in his *Yaçastilaka*, both works of kindred type, while Govardhana celebrates it in his *Saptaçatī*. A Cambodian inscription (*c.* 875) expressly mentions Guṇāḍhya and his aversion to Prākrit, and we cannot doubt for a moment the existence before A. D. 600 of a romantic work by Guṇāḍhya.