A History of Sanskrit Literature c20.s1.1

c20.s1.1

THE fame of the *Bṛhatkathā* has resulted in comparatively few other tales being preserved in works of early date. The *Vetālapañcaviṃçatikā* was doubtless originally part of a distinct cycle, but it is preserved for us in its oldest form in Kṣemendra's *Bṛhatkathāmañjarī*¹ and Somadeva's *Kathāsaritsāgara*.² We have several other recensions, of which that of Çivadāsa³ is in prose and verse, which may represent the original form of the tales, though that is mere speculation, and a verse original has been claimed.⁴ One recension of an anonymous author⁵ is no more than a prose version based on Kṣemendra, and Kṣemendra's verses have here and there found their way into the codices of Çivadāsa. The late recension of Jambhaladatta⁶ has no verse maxims, and it has been suggested that its form of the tales is in some respects older than that shown by the other recensions, but this is by no means clear. An abbreviated version by Vallabhadāsa⁷ is also known, and the text has been freely rendered into modern Indian vernaculars and also exists in the Mongolian Ssiddi-Kür.