10. CHAPTER III THE SO - CALLED SOURCES

CHAPTER III THE SO - CALLED SOURCES

Before proceeding to enquire into the merits and demerits of Kalāpūrņodayam as a Mahakāvya, it is necessary to examine whether its theme is onginal or borrowed. An answer to this question is of great importance to the subject of this essay. If it can be proved and established that the poem has a vertable source, the purport and significance of the poem can be deter- mined by the aim and object of the source. If the poet has made alterations and changes in the events borrowed, his object in making them becomes esay to discover. If, on the contrary, the poem proves to be orginal through and through, its significance and purport is to be arrived at purely on the basis of internal evidence. When this question of sources is answered satisfacto- rly, the problem where one should inquire for its purport be- 27 comes simplified. In this connection there appears to be some confusion between a source and an influence. A clear idea about them may make the problem simpler. So it may be roughly de- fined for this purpose that anything which is to be considered a regular source must provide more than one ncident, or episode, or character, or outlook. If none of them can be traced back, then surely one is at liberty to conclude that there is no source. If such be the nature of a source, it goes without saying that a literary work whose value depends entirely on its organic unity cannot be said to have a number of sources. If many works appear to claim it, it seems appropnate to regard them more as influences than sources. Viewed from this angle, how far can the works mentioned by critics be considered sources of the Kalapurnodayam ? Mr. Achuta Rao26, Pandit Sri Duvvūr Venkataramana Sastri27 and others mention the Kadambari, the Prabodhacandrodayam, the Lingapuranam, the Manucaritram, the Sn-kala-hastı-mahātmyam, the Paryjātapaharanam, the Markandeyapurānam, the Āscaryacūdamanı of Saktibhadra, the

G. V Knshna Rao

Mahabharata, the Setubandha and the Amuktamalyada as sources. There are one or two critics like Mr. Malladı Sūryanārayana Sastri who completely deny that the Kalāpurnodayam29 has any source. But the main question is whether anyone of the works mentioned above is to be consid- ered a source, and if so to what extent. This inquiry may be started with Bana's Kädambari which is an adaptation of the story of Sumanas to be found in Somadeva's Kathāsarıtsāgara. Sudraka, the King of Vidisa, received one day a parrot named Vaisampäyana, well-versed in all the sciences from a matanga kanya. Greeted by Vaisampāyana in human tongue, the king became curious and solicited the parrot for its story. Explaimng to the king how it lost its father and was saved by the son of Jabali, it gave the following account of its past history as heard from Jäbali narrating it to the sages.

28 Tarapida, the Kıng of Ujjayını, and hıs minister, Sukanāsa, were after a long time blessed with the birth of sons called Candrapida and Vaisampayana. In due course these two boys received education appropnate to their status and grew into tall and sturdy youths. When Candrapida attained proper age, he was anointed as the crown prince, whereupon he started on an expedition of world conquest along with his frend, Vaisampayana. Towards the close of this campaign the crown prince, mounted his invincible horse, Indrayudha, and followed by his friend and the army, reached Kailäsa. One day while he was resting there with his friend and army, he was attracted by a kinnara couple and pursued it on his horse. Thus led on, he reached at last the hermitage of Mahasveta, an extremely beautiful maiden, who had taken to austerties of penance. To his great relief, he received hospitality at her hands and so requested her to enlighten him with her story. Modest and good-natured, Mahasveta told him about her ternble misfortune. She was the only daughter of the gändharva couple, Hamsa and Gaur. One day she happened to meet Pundarka, the son of a sage, when she went to the lake of Acchoda Studhes in Kalapurnodayam

to bathe. He was so handsome that Mahasveta could not but fall in love with him. With great difficulty she left her lover, and went home only to hear from Kapinjala, the friend of her lover, that love-sickness had so effected his friend that he was in danger of life. By the time she reached hm, Pundarka was no more. When she was making preparations to commit sati, a divine being came down and carned away Pundarika's body into the moon giving her definite instructions not to die. She was also promised reun- ion with her lover. Kapinjala, who was on the scene, could not stay behind ; and so he followed the divine person. After this terrible event Mahasvēta, losing all other interests and values of life, took to penance. Kadambari, the intimate frend of Mahasvēta, and only daughter of Citraratha, coming to know of this tragic fate took a vow not to marry so long as the sorrow of her fnend continued. Mahäsveta was requested by Citraratha to dissuade hs daughter from carrying out this oath. Mahāsvēta, taking Candrāpida with her, went to Kādambar 29 on this mission. At first sight both candrapida and Kadambar fell in love with each other. After spending some days there, Candrapida took leave of Kadambari and reached Mahasveta's hermitage. Meanwhile his army was awaiting him, and before long he got a letter from his father asking him to return to the capital immediately. Requesting his friend Vaisampāyana to bring the army to Ujjayin he went to the capital. Vaisampayana, how- ever, dd not return to the city for a long while, whereupon Chandräpida was requested by Sukanasa to bring back his friend. The crown prince who was once again on his journey, met his returning army on the way and learnt that his friend had refused to come with it to the metropolis. Informing his parents and the prime minister of this news and obtamning their permis- sion, he hastened to the hermitage of Mahasveta only to learn that his friend had been changed into a parrot by her curse, as she did not know who he was, for his mproper behaviour. At this terrble blow Candrapida fell down dead. Just at that time Kadambanı, and Patralekha, the maid attending on the prince, appeared on the scene. Clauvoyance told Kadambari that her G V. Knshna Rao

lover was not dead and that she would once again live happily with him. Patralekha, who had got on the back of Vajrayudha, went to the moon, returned and took a deep plunge into the lake along with the horse: No sooner had this been done, than came out of the lake Kapinjala. Mahāsvēta enquired of him after her lover, and he told her the result of his efforts. When Kapinjala reached the moon, he was told by him how pundarika before his death had cursed the moon that he would be born twice on the earth devoid of the fruits of love. The moon also in his turn had cursed Pundarka that he would undergo the same fate with him in two births in the world. To save the body of Pundarika from decay it was carned into the moon. The moon advised Kapinjala to inform Svētakētu, the father of his friend, of this curse and get it removed. While Kapinjala was returning, a curse fell upon him that he would become a horse and serve

30 Candräpida. He was further informed that the moon and Pundarika who had cursed each other would be born as Candrâpida and Vaisampayana, and that he would regain his form when he plunged into water, after the death of Candrapida. Leaving this information with Mahasveta and Kadambarı, Kapmnjala went to Svetaketu to devise ways and means of getting his fnend, Pundarika, released from his miserable fate as soon as possible. Receiving no news from his son for a long time, Tarapıda and Sukanasa went to Mahasveta with their wives and stayed with her and learnt from her of the fates of their sons. Jabali told the sages that the parrot before them was no other person thatn Vaisampāyana cursed by Mahasvēta. On hearing this whole story, Vaisampayana regamed the knowledge ofhis past hfe and his love for Mahasveta. The parrot became restless and wanted to see her once again. Though it was not strong enough to undertake this fight, love for Mahasveta would not leave it in peace. The parrot was caught on its way and brought before Sudraka, the king. The king regained his knowledge ofhis past birth as Candrapida and before long he left Studies in Kalapurnodayam

his unholy ghost behind only to wake up in the embrace of Kadamban. Pundarika also regaming his old form jomed his sweetheart, Mahasveta. Ths is the story of Kadamban when divested of the tilt and twist of phrase, the cadence of clause and the sonorous word- music. Now what are the common traits between the Kādambarı and the Kalapurnodayam ? At first sight, there seems nothing similar between these two except that in both the poems the po- etic canvas extends over three births and that an extensive use of curses is made to secure unity. While Kadambari is purely a romantic story, Kalāpūrnodayam possesses greater human in- terest. The curses employed in Kadambari are rather more arbi- trary and without artistic depth than those in the Telugu poem. Both these works make an extensive use of flash-back technique in presenting the story, and both are too mntricate to be easily remembered. But the greatest story-teller that he is, Surana employs a large number of devices and points of technique in the narration of the story. In some parts the author of the 31 Kalāpurnödayam mntroduces the characters like a dramatist and allows them to develop of their own accord through action and reaction, conflict and compromise; in some parts he makes one of the characters narrate the story to others; and in some, he directly takes up the threads into his own hands. This is not the method of Bana. As Prof P.V.Kane30 remarks in his introduction to Kadambarı, "we meet with a defect in constructive art, which is due to the device of weaving stories within stories ..... The fact that the greater part of the story is put in the mouth of a parrot is a senous drawback to the verisimilitude of the work." The learned professor nghtly adds .- "Bana seems to have had very little sense of proportion. In his descniptions of Mahasvêta and the temple of Candika he tries the reader by dwelling too much on every detail. The patience of the reader is exhausted by the overloading of single words with epithets and of the epithets to these epithets. It sometimes so seems that the poet cares only for the gorgeous descnption of the evening, morning, moonnse or the limbs of the heroine and leaves the plot to take care of itself." These blem- ishes cannot be found in the art of Surana as exhibited in the Kalāpūrņodayam.

G. V. Krishna Rao

It may be remembered in this context that the extension of the theme over three births and the utilisation of curses are in no way the innovations of Bana They are to be found in the story of Sumanas in the Kathasartsagara itself. That being so, how can anybody manintamn that Surana borrowed these two ideas only from Bana and not from the translations of Brhatkatha unless he has other evidences? So long as these evidences are not shown, one cannot reasonably give much weight to this statement :- "The Kadambarı may have suggested to hım (Surana) the remarkable idea of spreading the action of the story beyond a single life time of the hero and the heroine."31 On closer examination, some other faint resemblances, be- tween the two poems in point of characterisation may be seen. For example, there is only one parrot called Vaisampäyana in the Kadambarı while two are introduced in the Kalāpurņodayam. Of these two, one plays only a very minor part, whereas the other 32 assumes the role of the heroie in later births. But introducing parrots as characters cannot be said to have been borrowed from the Kadambari since this is found even in the purānas and other earlier literature. The next vague point of sımilarıty is Vajrayudha, the valiant horse of Candräpida, which finds its distant counter- part in the lion of Manistambha: while the former has an impor- tant role to play, the latter has none Some resemblance more striking than those considered already is to be found between Mahasveta and Abhinavakaumudi. Both of them are heroies belonging to the gandharva class and embodying purty itself. Their husbands die for them and they are reunited with them later on with this difference Mahasveta marnes Pundarika ater he is brought back to life, whereas Abhinavakaumudi marres Kaläpurna who is born with a different body. Both these heroines are chaste and do not permit any liberty to be taken with them. But there is a certain divinity, a sweetness, a supermundane aroma about Mahasveta which is quite absent in Abhinavakaumudı. The latter is more of a human being than a gandharvakanya. Affection and tender feelngs for fellowbeings are not to be found in her. If Surana had been in anyway influ- Studies in Kalapurnodayam

enced by the Kadambari, he would not have missed this point. In short, Bana's characters are only fanciful toy balloons let loose into the air of beautiful metaphor, simile and hyperbole, while those of Surana are creatures moving in human form amidst mortals. Even his gandharvas and raksasas appear as mainly human beings with a slight supermundane tendency about them. This is not, however, to underestimate the greatness of Bana. What is meant here is that they are worlds apart, that each is unnvalled in his own field and that Kadambari cannot be consid- ered at all a source of the Kalāpūrnodayam. Now to continue, the Prabödhacandrodayam can be taken up for discussion. This work of Krsna Misra is a drama present- ing the philosophy of Advaita. Its merts are more of histonc na- ture than of aesthetic value because it is perhaps the first of the now available Sansknt dramas to have santa as the main rasa. What are presented here are not characters in flesh and blood taken from society. They are mere abstractions of human pas- 33 sions and emotions, simple cancatures of castes and creeds. Anticipating the modern drama of ideas and problems, it depicts two kinds of conflicts, one internal and the other external. The first is delineated with great skill by showing clearly how the soul gradually overcomes the temptations and weaknesses and real- ises its own nature of ânanda. The second is developed through the fight with other schools of philosophy and religion like Bud- dhism, Jainism, Kapalika creed and the like. In this sphere the creative genius completely fails the dramatist because the frontal attack made against them loses the sympathy of those not in- clned towards Advaita. This defect may not be evident to staunch Advatins and to others who have no philosophical interest at all. But let it be presented to Buddhists, or Jains, or philosophers other than Advatins; and see the result. The very fact that so many dramas were wntten to advocate various religions and phi- losophies shows their unaesthetic nature. Any work of art true to its nature must attain universality, and must make the crtic or sahrdaya to whatever school he may belong, live again the life that is portrayed. So long as that is lacking it cannot be called a work of art. G. V. Knshna Rao

So the Prabodhacandrodayam is more a propaganda than a drama32. Now could any student of Telugu literature think of the Kalapurnodayam as having for its source Prabodhacandrodayam Surana's work, apart from its profound significance to be explained in later chapters, openly advocates Visistādvaita in many places. But does it wound or antogonise anybody? One may not be able to see eye to eye with the poet, but one has no complaint against hım. Narada, Kalabhāsını, Sugātri, Sarasvati, Manıstambha are not caricatures but concrete, full- blooded characters. The technique, the outlook and the form Surana adopts have nothing in common with those of the Prabodha candrôdayam. Even in point of rasa, tha Kalāpūmodayam completely differs from the earlier work: the prin- cipal rasa in the former is smgara, whereas it is just the oppo- site, 1e. sänta, in the latter. Hence, without the least hesitation, it may be affirmed that 34 the Prabodhachandrodayam could not have been a source at all of the Kalapurnodayam. The resemblance to be found in these two titles seems to be determined only by the preceeding words signifying the moon. In the first case the word udaya means only rise, butin the second it means prosperity also. Besides this, the first title has only denotatve significance while the second sug- gests a vast world.

THE MARKANDĒYA PURĀNA The next alleged source of the Kalapurnodayam is the story of Madalasa to be found in the second and third cantos of Telugu Markandeya Purana of Marana. This story when bniefly rendered runs as folows :- Gālava, a great sage, regularly molested by Patalaketu, a rakshasa, presented the prince Rtadhvaja with a valiant steed Kuvalaya by name, and requested him to kill the demon. The prince undertaking this mission, happened to meet this räkshasa, in the form of a bear, and pursued it. Shot by an arrow, the bear ran for its life and disappeared into a pitch-dark cave. With undaunted courage the prince entered the cave and at last reached a beautful city.

Stuches m Kalapurnodauam

There Rtadhvaja came across a lady, and silently following her, met a beautiful princess. The moment their eyes met they fell in love with each other. With the help of a lady, Kundala by name, they came to know about each other and got marned by Tumburu. Later on the prince killed the rakshasa and carnied Madalasa, the daughter of Visvävasu, to his capital. Tālakētu, the brother of Pātālaketu, wanted to wreak venge- ance on Rtadhavaja at any cost. One day when the prince reached the bank of the Yamuna on his daily routine of protecting the people, Talaketu approached him in the form of a sage and con- trived to get his necklace saying that he wanted it for performing a sacrifice. Leaving the prince in charge of his hermitage, the demon went to the prince's capital, and presenting the necklace told the king and Madalasa that Rtadhavaja had been killed in a flight with an enemy. On hearing this bad news Madalasa fell down dead. The old king performed the funeral rtes of both his son and daughter-in-law. 35

Talaketu returned to his hermitage, and thanking thé prince for his help, sent him away. On reaching the city, Rtadhvaja learned what had happened and henceforth life for him became meaningless. Stricken with gnef, the prince took a vow not to marry again. As time passed on, the naga Princes cultivated his friendship and began to spend most of their time in his com- pany. Their father, Asvatara, came to know about Rtadhavaja and wanted to make him happy. So he performed severe penance by which he got a boon from Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, whereby he became a greatly accomplished musician. With this gift in music he pleased Isvara and obtained in return Madālasa as his daughter endowed with all the knowledge of her past life and yôga. Asvatara arranged to invite Rtadhvaja to his palace and gave him back Madalasa. The prince once agan began to lead a very happy life with her. She gave birth to three boys one after another whom Rtadhavaja named Vikranta, Subahu and Satrumardana. But from their cradle the great mother brought them up in philosophy and taught them the futility of mundane life so that they renounced the world one after another. When the G. V. Knshna Rao

fourth son was born, the father again approached the cradle to give him a name. The mother laughed the serene laugh of a de- vout soul upon which he requested her to name the boy When Madälasa called him Alarka, he asked her why she called him so Thereupon she replied :-

Stuches in Kalapurnodayam

On hearing her explanation the king readily admitted that the name was appropriate, but urged upon her to bring him up as a prince, and she fulfilled it. Now what are the characteristics that are common to both the Kalapurnodayam and the story of Madalasa. Raksasa appear- ing in the form of a boar cannot be said to have been borrowed only from the Markandeya-purana since that is seen in a number of stories in other puranas. The heroines, Madalasa and Madhuralãlasa, are poles apart in temperament, character and antecedents. The former belongs to the gandharva class while 37 the latter is only a human being. Their very names suggest their inherently opposite natures. That the discussion on the appro- priateness of names might have inspired Surana to create the incident of Sarasvati and Brahma cannot be substantiated. The mention of Tumburu and the power of music also do not carry one anywhere. Hence it may not be unreasonable to say that the story of Madalasa is not a source at all of the Kalāpumodayam. There are more than three interesting episodes in the Mahabhärata in which a man or a woman changes his or her form or sex, and even bears children in some cases. One of these is to be found in the seventh canto of Aranyaparva33 wherein Adbhutagni is described as having fallen in love with the wives of the seven seers. Because of their un impeachable character he could not dare to express his feelings to them. Unable to bear the pangs of love he went into the forest. Svaha, the daughter of Daksayani, whom he had formerly refused to marry loved him so passionately that she wanted to get united to him at any cost. So she approached her lover in the form of one of the wives of the seven seers, and Adbhutägni could not detect her real identity. G. V. Krishna Rao

The conversation between the two is really very interesting and provides occasion for flights of poetic imagination But how far this incident mnspired Surana to conceive the idea of Salina lov- ing only a certain aspect of Sugatr's beauty and of Kalabhāsıı approaching Nalakubara in the form of Rambha cannot be deter- mined. It seems, therefore, more a conjecture than an ascertain- able fact. The second episode dealing with the transformation of sex is to be found in the fourth canto of Udyogaparvam of Tikkana's Bhärata34. This tells us how Sikhandın born as a girl later on becomes a youth with the help of a Yaksa The other episode of all depicts how a prince becomes a princess and gives birth to a boy. These two are of minor importance when compared with the fourth episode. It runs as follows :- King Bhangväsana had no child for long, and so he per-

38 formed a particular kind of sacrifice which was not liked by Indra As a result of this sacrifice, he had a hundred sons. The dis- pleased Indra was waiting for a chance to give vent to his anger. One day the king went into the forest on a hunting expedition. The king of Devas by his super natural power made him lose his way in the forest. Roaming hither and thither, Bhangvasana got tired and at last reached a lake. After his horse had drunk, he took a plunge in the water only to find himself changed into a woman. Great was his gnef, and greater was his hesitation to appear before his sons and ministers n that deplorable state At last he went to the capital, left the kingdom in charge of his sons and returned to the forest once more to perform penance. Later on, Bhangväsana happened to live with a sage and begot once more a hundred sons He or she took them to the elder sons and ordered them to share their power and nches with their younger brothers. Dutiful sons as they were, they obeyed the order. Great was the anger of Indra who could not bear the sight of Bhangvasana's prosperty, and he wanted to cause mis- chief. Disguised as a Brahmin, he approached the elder and the younger brothers in secret and sowed the seeds of mutual hatred with the result that both the parties were completely annihilated Studies m Kalapurnodayam

in the end. Bhangvasana, coming to know of their destruction, began to weep when Indra approached her and enquired for the cause as if he knew nothing at all. As she wept explamning the cause of her distress, Indra told her the truth and asked her out of sympathy to choose either the elder or the younger sons to whom he might grant life. She, without the slightest hesitation, requested him to restore the lives of the younger sons telling hm that a mother's love was greater than that of the father. Pleased with this answer, Indra was prepared to grant Bhangvāsana his former sex; but she preferred to remain a woman The cause of this preference, it is said, was that in sexual intercourse the pleas- ure a woman attained was greater than that of a man36. In what way does this story concern one in his study of theKalapurnodayam? Though this incident cannot be treated as a source of the poem, there are certain similarities between the two which suggest that the former must have exercised an influ- 39 ence upon the latter. Just as Bhangvasana loses his natural sex, becomes a woman and conceives, so also Manistambha becomes a woman and gives birth to Kalapurna. If these are the only simi- larties, one can no more regard this story as a source of inspira- tion than the three episodes mentioned already. The very reason which Bhangvasana gave to Indra for preferring to remain a woman finds its echo in Manstambha when he says :

3€

This probably shows that the story of Bhangvasana had some influence on Surana. Moreover, by the underlined word ata in the stanza the poet appears to acknowledge indirectly his indebt- edness.3 Really one should pay a high tribute to him for his hon- esty and his poetic suggestivity. It may be argued that the poet did not directly name the source, but in reply to it one may refer these critics to the stanzas in which he pays his homage. G. V. Knshna Rao

When considering the sources of the Kalāpurnodayam, one cannot ignore the Lingapurana in which the story of Nārada is presented. The credit of tracing this story to its source goes really to the learned pandit Sri Duvvūri Venkataramana Sāstri, who contributed an article to Bharati 39 on this issue. In that article he says that Pingali Surana borrowed this incident, and, avoid- ing what is inappropriate, beautifully summarised this episode. He goes a step further and forecasts that the source of the epi- sode of Sarasvati and Caturmukha may be discovered in any one of the puranas in the near future. As this is mainly a matter of criticism and not of astrology, one can neither deny nor affirm this conjecture. But Mr. Malladi Sūryanārayana Sästri, replying to the above pandit in an article contributed to Bhrati40 says :- "Even if these thirty-nine stanzas (2nd Canto Vs. 66-105) are deleted after inserting a single sentence to provide the link, the basic story of the Kalāpurnodayam does not suffer in the least. 40 When such is the case, we may say that the story dealing with Narada's confict with Tumburu in the Lingapurana may be a source to the episode of Narada in the Kalāpūrnodayam. But by this it cannot be said that the Lingapurana is the source for the Kalāpurnnodayam." He goes further and conjectures that this particular episode might have been Sanskritised from the Kalāpurnodayam and inserted into the Lingapurāna. Unfortu- nately he does not advance any proof of his theory except that Vasucaritra was translated into Sanskrit. But this reply appar- ently cuts no ice. Before one pronounces his judgment on this issue, he should examine the so-called source as is found in the Lingapurana. This story occurnng in the first, second and third chapters of the latter part of the Lingapurâna runs as follows :- "Surrounded by Deväs and taking along with him the sages Kausika and others, Lord Hiranyagarbha went immediately to the world of Visnu. There he saw that Lord Visnu was attended upon by eighty-eight thousand divine persons all jnanayogēswaras, siddhas and devotees of Visnu. All of them breathed piety, each having four hands bearng the symbols of Visnu. Divine lustre and purty shone about them and they were Studies ın Kalapurnođayam

sımılar to Lord Narayana. Waited upon by ourselves, Nārada, Sanaka and others, by vanous Bhutās and by the damsels of heaven, Visnu sat on a beautiful multicoloured seat in the divine car (uimana) which was miles and miles wide. This uimana was studded with beautiful gems and had a thousand gates. Lord Madhava was conducting the affairs of the world. At that time came in Brahma surrounded by Kausika and others and bowed to Hım. Whereupon He talked with affection first to Kausika and then to the others in their order. When that meeting took place, there was wonderful applause. Lord Narayana told Brahma that, because the citizens of Kusasthala helped Kausika, because they heard the songs sung in praise of the Lord and thus knew com- pletely the real nature of knowledge, those Brahmins were made sadhyas and that he should always grant access to other places also as it was done in bringing them to Lord Naräyana. Then he conferred ganādhupatya upon Kausıka. ... At that moment approached Lakshmi smiling sweetly She 41 was adorned with various beautiful ornaments. Experts in han- dling unas and other instruments of music sang melodiously about her. On all sides she was surrounded by billions of ladies On seeing this sıght, ganadhıpās havıng bhusundis and panghās in their hands threatened Brahma and others, and threw out the sages and the gods. All were driven out including Brahma. At that juncture the great sage Tumburu was sent for; and he approached the Lord when he was in the company of Laksmi. He gave them a performance on his vina at the end of which he was presented with beautiful ornaments studded with vanous kinds of jewels and with auspicious and divine garlands. When Tumburu came out so honoured, other seers and Devas saw him. Having seen Thumburu going out thus honoured by Han, Narada was struck with envy and sorrow; he became almost paralysed with gnef. "In what way can I get into the presence of Han and Lakshmi? Tumburu is lucky enough to enjoy it whereas I am denied it. Away with this unlucky fool. While he was able to get into their presence, I was sent out by the Bhutas. After this dis- grace, how can I live and where can I spend my days?" Thus G V Knshna Rao

thinking, the sage began his penance, his mind fixed on Visnu, and continued it for one thousand years of Devas. He was all the while thinking of the honour bestowed upon Tumburu. Thinking of the honour earned by Tumburu and beng pained by it, Närada performed penance even giving up breath- ing for one thousand years of Devas. Then clauvoyance advised him to go to Ganabandhu, an owl, living on a mountain to the north of the Manasa lake, immediately if he wanted to become an expert in music. He did as he was directed, and was received with great honour by Ganabandhu. Narada told him everything and requested him to teach him music. Ganabandhu told him the story of the king. Bhuvanesa who had performed a thousand horse sacrifices and bestowed billions of cows, horses, cars, elephants, girls, clothes, etc., on Brahmins and ruled his kngdom. But the only thing he prohibited in his

42 dommnion was singing about Visnu. When he came to know that a certain Brahmin named Harimitra was regularly doing it, he deprived the poor devotee of everything he had and then expelled him from his kingdom. For this misdeed Bhuvanesa was given a terrible punishment. He had to live in a dark cave eating his own dead body and at the same time suffering from severe thirst and hunger for one whole manvantara. On the other hand, Harımitra was given the highest postion of honour. On seeing this with his own eyes, Ganabandhu realised the importance of singing about Vinu and learned it after labouring for many thousands of years. He definitely told Narada that music could not be learnt through simple penance but only through his personal instruction. Ganabandhu received Narada as his pupil and taught him everything he knew, the principles to be followed and the blun- ders to be avoided. After finishing his education in music Narada granted his guru a boon by which he would have the status of Garuda. Then Taking leave of him, he directly went to Svēta Dvipa, the abode of Visnu, and sang before the Lord. The Lord plamnly told him to approach him again when he would be born on the earth as Sri Krsna. Only then, he was informed, he could hope to learn the fine subtleties of music and excel his rival Tumburu. Stuches m Kalapurnodayam

Before the time the Lord should be born, the sage visited the courts of Devas, Iswara and Brahma sınging about Vısnu. Later on he visited the house of Tumburu and taking his vin he played upon it only to realise the exquusite superionty of the notes ema- nating from it. He left the place at once and learned once again music at various places. Later on he approached Krsna and re- minded him of the promise given to him by the Lord. Krsna asked Jambavati to teach him music. After being taught for a year by her, Närada was again entrusted to Satya who instructed him in that art for another year. He was then taught by Rukmin and her attendants for three years at the end of which Krsna person- ally trained him. At last he was told that he excelled Tumburu in music." Now the question is whether this story is the source of the Kalāpūrnodayam. It is true that the incidents depicted in the part of the poem beginning with the sixty-eighth stanza and end- ing with the hundred and first of the second canto are to be found in this story occurring in the Lingapurana. But can one say that 43 this is the source of the Kalapumodayam ?. Given this story, can anybody who has not read the kalapurnodayam sketch even the rough outline of the poem? So one must agree with Mr. Mallādi Sūrya nārāyana Sastrı when he says that this incident in the Lingapurana may be considered as a source only of Nãradã's confiect with Tumburu described in the poem but not of the whole of the Kalapumodayam. But even in admitting this, one may have his own reservation because the poet unlike other wrters seems always to recognise even his minor indebtedness at least by way of suggestion. This has been pointed out before and is going to be shown hereafter when the occasion comes. In the present mn- stance the poet openly says that this incident is his own creation when he makes Manikandhara say :- " It is known now by these words that you are anxious to excel Tumburu in music."4' If it 1s not so, the poet could have easily omitted this statement without the slightest change of meaning. If it is his own, as he suggests, how is one to account for this parallelism ? Either the poet was not conscious of this indebtedness when he was describing the incident, or that this was purely a coincidence. Anyhow, this is only a conjecture. G. V. Knshna Rao

Now to resume the enquiry, one critic42 says that " there is also indubitable evidence to show that Surana had before him some Telugu poems also to furnish him with material for his plot by way of comparison and contrast." He mentions the Manucarıtra, the Parijatapaharanam and the Amuktamālyada as providing that matenal. To substantiate his statement in con- nection with the first poem he points out firstly, Varuthini get- ting united with the gandharva under a misconception; secondly, the hero being of gandharva class and thirdly, Manorama being pursued by Indivaraksa. To talk of these incidents as providing material for the Kalapūrnodayam is rather strange. This critic seems to forget that the Manucartra is only an adaptation of the story to be found in the Markandeyapuräna and not an orginal creation of Peddana. This statement is not meant to belittle this poet. What is meant is that the Kalapurnodayam owes nothing specially to Manucaritra, or to Parijatapaharanam, or Amuktamālyada. 44 Another writer states that Brahma's love affair described in the second canto Srı-kāla-hastīmahatmyam of Dhūrjati44 is a source of the Kaläpurnodayam. Except that the names of the hero and heroine are Brahma and Sarasvati there is not even the faintest resemblance between these two episodes. The story in the Sri-kala-hastimahatmyam only tells the reader that Brahma requested his sweetheart to assume a hundred forms, and that he lived with all of them forgetting everything with the result he begot thirty-six thousand demons. It is extremely difficult to prove that this was the source of the Kalapurnodayam. In considering the problem of sources of the Kaläpurnodayam one is reminded that there are certain incidents and episodes in Kathasartsāgara of Somadeva which deserve mention Though not regular sources, they seem to have influ- enced the poet alike in his matter and his technique. Before one undertakes to settle the issue one way or the other, it behoves one to examine what they are. The Kathasarıtsägara, explaining its origin, gives the fol- lowing story narrated by Siva to his beloved wife Parvati in cam- era posting Nandin at the gate so that none may enter the private apartment45 :-

Studies in Kalapumodayam

"While Siva was thus speaking to his consort, there arrived a favourte dependent of Siva's, Puspadanta, the best of Ganas, and his entrance was forbidden by Nandin, who was guarding the door. Curious to know why even he had been forbidden to enter at that time without any apparent reason, Puspadanta im- mediately entered, making use of his magic power attained by devotion to prevent his being seen, and when he had thus en- tered, he heard all the extraordinary and wonderful adventures of the seven Vidyädharas being narrated by the trident-bearing God and having heard them, he in turn went and narrated them to his wife Jaya; for who can hide wealth or a secret from a woman? Jaya, the doorkeeper, being filled with wonder, went and recited it in the presence of Pärvati. How can a woman be expected to restrain her speech? And then the daughter of the mountain flew into a passion, and said to her husband, "Thou didst now tell me any extraordinary tale, for Jaya knows it also." The lord of Uma, perceiving the truth by profound meditation, thus spoke :- " 4? Puspadanta, employing the magic power of devotion, entered in where we were, and thus managed to hear it. He narrated it to Jaya;no one else knows it, my beloved." " Having heard this, the Goddess, exceedingly enraged, caused Puspadanta to be summoned, and cursed him, as he stood trembling before her saying : ' Become a mortal, thou disobedient servant.' She cursed also the Gana Malyavan who presumed to intrude on his behalf. Then the two fell at her feet together with Jaya and entreated her to say when the curse would end, and the wife of Siva slowly uttered this speech ; " A Yaksa named Supratīka, who has been made a pisaca by the curse of Kubera, is residing in the Vindhya forest under the name of Kanabhuti. When thou shalt see him, and calling to mind thy ongin, tell him this tale : then, Pushpadanta, thou shalt be released from this curse. And when Malyavan shall hear this tale from Kanabhūti, then Kanabhuti shall be released, and thou, Malyavän, when thou hast published it abroad shalt be free also." Having thus spoken, the daughter of the mountain ceased, and immediately these Ganās disappeared instantaneously like flashes of lightning."

G. V Knshna Rao

Now the similarities between this tale and that of Sarasvatı and Caturmukha can be easily perceived. Both Siva and Caturmukha tell tales to their wives in privacy. In the first, Puspadanta reveals it to his wife whereas the pet parrot imparts it to Rambha in the second. In both the stones the unfortunate creatures are cursed by the goddesses, Parvati and Sarasvatı. But the differences are more numerous than the similarities. The episode of Caturmukha does not start with the avowed intention of telling a tale. It is only a by-product of Brahma's suppressed love; moreover, it weaves all the details of their love-making into a beautiful tale while those of Siva deal with extraneous things. Of course the object of both the heroes is only to please their sweethearts. In the episode of the Kathasaritsagara there is a scene of overhearing which is not to be found in the poem. The curse in the former affects three individuals whereas it affects only one in the latter. Besides this, these curses are different- 46 one is a curse simple and pure, and the other is a blessing in disguse for mortals. Thus any number of differences and subtle- ties can be shown. Hence it may be said that this particular episode in the Kathäsartsägara is not a regular source of the episode of Sarasvati and Caturmukha. But when one says that this might have influenced Surana, there is no positive proof to deny it altogether. * This last statement is backed by many positive grounds of which the following is one 46 :- Kālanēmi, a Brahmana, propitiated the goddess of fortune with burnt offerings. And the goddess being satisfied appeared in bodily form and said to him : " Thou shalt obtain great wealth and a son who shall rule the earth : but at last thou shalt be put to death like a robber, because thou hast offered flesh in the fire with impure motves." When she had said this the goddess dısappeared. Kālanemi in course of time became very rich ; after sometime a son was born to him. He was called Sridatta. In course of time Sridatta grew up, and though a Brahmin, he became matchless upon earth in the use of weapons, and in boxing and wrestling. Studies in Kalapurnodayam

One day as he was going along, he saw in the middle of the Ganges a woman being dragged under by the stream, looking like the goddess of Fortune in the middle of the sea. And then he plunged in to pull her out of the water. Then that woman, though he seized her by the hair. sank deep in the water ; and he dived as deep in order to follow her. And after he had dived a long way, he suddenly saw a splendid temple of Siva, but no water and no waman. After beholding that wonderful sight, being wearied out, he paid his adorations to the God whose emblem is a bull, and spent that night in a beautiful garden attached to the temple. And in the morning that lady was seen by him, when she came to worship the God Siva, like the incarnate splendour of beauty en- dowed with all womanly perfections. And after she had worshipped the God. the moon-faced one departed to her own house, and Sridatta tollowed her. Then he saw that palace of hers resem- blng the city of the gods; the haughty beauty entered it hurnedly in a contemptuous manner And without deigning to address 47 him, the graceful lady sat down on a sofa in the inner part of the house, waited upon by thousands of women. And Srdatta also took a seat near her. Then suddenly that virtuous lady began to weep. The tears fell in an unceasing shower on her bosom, and that moment pity entered into the heart of Śridatta. Being strongly persuaded by him, she told him how her grandfather Bali was imprisoned, her father killed in a wrestlng match by Visnu and she impnsoned in that city guarded by a lion. Then she re- quested him : "Subdue that lion, our enemy : it was for that reason that I enticed you here. And when you have overcome him, you will obtain from him a sword named Mrganka, by virtue of which you shall conquer the world and become king." There- upon Sridatta overcame n wrestling that haughty lion. He being freed from his curse assumed a human form, and out of grati- tude gave his sword to the man who had put an end to his curse, and then disappeared together with the burden of the sorrow of the great Asura's daughters. Then the dattya maiden gave Śridatta a ring that destroyed the effect of poison. Then that young man, remaining there, fell in love with her. And she cunningly said G. v. Knshna Rao

him : " Bathe in this tank, and when you dive in, take this sword to keep off the danger of crocodiles." He consented, and diving into the tank rose upon the very bank of the Ganges from which he had plunged in. Now does not the story of Sridatta remind the reader of any incident in the story of the Kalapūmodayam ? Has not Salina who plunged himselfin the lake of the Satataladaghna some thing in common with Sridatta who acquires a sword ? The very fact that the former reminds one of the latter shows that the poet might have been influenced by the former. If this is considered a simple coincidence, another example may be cited. There is a story of The Unfathful Wife in Kathāsarıtsāgara.17 It tells how the son of a merchant has to go to a forest with his wife and lead a hard life. One day he saves a maimed man from the river and gives him shelter. As days pass, his wife who hap-

48 pens to fall in love with the maimed man conspires with her lover and gets her husband thrown into the river The poor husband, however, manages to escape from death and stays under a tree taking rest. Then the story runs thus :- 48 " Now it happened that at that time the king of that city had just died, and in that country there was an immemorial custom, that an auspicious elephant was driven about by the citizens, and any man that he took up with his trunk and placed on his back was anointed king The elephant wandering about came near the merchant's son and, as if he were providence-pleased with his self-control, took him up, and put him on his back. Then the merchant's son, who was an incarnation of a portion of Bodhisattva was immediately taken to the city and anointed king by the people." 49 This incident naturally reminds one of Sugraha once again under the name of Satvadätman becoming king. Though such an incident is common to many a story in purana, it seems better to trace it to the Kathasarıtsagara because the orginal Paisācika text of the latter is older than the puranas and many other sımi- lar incidents are to be found theremn.

Studes m Kalapurnodayam

There is another interesting passage in the story of Suryaprabha telling how he attained sovereignty over the Vıdyädharās.50 One of the wives of Suryaprabha explains to the co-wives why kings marry many wives in this way :- "The good qualities of lovely women are different, varying with their native land, their beauty, their age, their gestures, and their accom- plishments, so no one woman possesses all the good qualities. The woman of Karnätaka, of Lata, of Saurastra and Madhyadēsa please by their peculiar behaviour of theirvarious countnes. Some far ones captivate by their faces like the autumn moon, others, and others by their full breasts, round and firm like golden ew- ers, and others by their limbs charming in their shapeliness. One has lımbs yellow as gold, another is dark lıke a priyangu, an- other, being red and white, captivates the eyes as soon as seen. One is of budding beauty, another of full-developed youth, an- other is agreeable on account of her maturity, and distingushed by increasing coquetry. One looks lovely when smiling, another is charming even in anger, another charms with her gait resem- 49

bling that of an elephant, another with swan-like motion. One, when she prattles, rngates the ears with nectar, another is natu- rally beautiful when she looks at one with graceful contraction of the eyebrows. One charms by dancing, another pleases by sing- ing, and another fair one attracts by being able to play on the lyre and other instruments. One is distinguished for good temper, another is remarkable for artfulness, another enjoys good for- tune from being able to understand her husband's mind." This passage might have inspired the poet to conceive of the peculiar erotic complex of Salina. This, however, cannot be positively ascertained for it is more a conjecture than a fact. Another interesting passage is the dream of Suryaprabha who tells it to his followers ·- "Hear the strongest, wonderful vision that I have had. I remember I saw, towards the end of last night, that we were all carned away by a great stream of water, and while we were swept away we kept dancing; we did not sink at all. Then that stream was turned back by a contrary breeze. Then a certain man of G. V. Knshna Rao

fiery brightness drew us out and threw us into the fire, and we were not burnt by the fire. Then a cloud ramned a stream of blood, and that blood filled the whole sky; then my sleep came to an end with the sight." "When he said this Suvaskumara said to him: "This dream indicates success preceded by struggle. The stream of water is battle, it is due to valour that you did not sink, but danced, and were carried along by the water; the wind, that turned back the water for you, is some saviour to whom men resort for protection, and the man of fiery brightness, who drew you out of it, is Sıva in bodily form. And that he threw you into the fire means that you are cast into a great war, and that cloud arose, that means the returning again of fear, and the rain of a stream of blood, that means the destroying of fear, and the filling of all the quarters with blood, that means great success for you." This passage, though differing both in content and in mean- 50 ing, may remind the readers of the Kalapumodayam of Brahma's story and of Sarasvati's interpretation. Both these incidents fore- tell the future and both contain a story and an interpretation. While the former has not much significance and beauty, the lat- ter has. Apart from these influences there are certain supernatural phenomena in the stories of the Kathasartsagara and these seem to have been exploited to the greatest extent possible in the Kalāpūrņodayam. For example there is more than one story in the former, wherein a Vidyadhara maiden changes her form into that of the wife of the hero whom she happens to love and man- ages to marry him in the end. This strange principle is met with in the Kalapürnödayam when Kalabhäsini assumes the form of Rambha, gets united with Manikandhara who in his turn as- sumes the form of Nalakubara and marries him in the end though in the next birth. But there is this fundamental difference to be noted. Both the heroine and the hero assume altogether different forms from their own and get united. Such an interesting situa- tion as this is not to be found anywhere in the whole of the Kathasaritsagara. Only a mention of a similar situation is to be found in Jayadeva's Gitagovinda and Kadırıpari's Sukasaptati. Studes in Kalapurnodayam

The second principle is that a man or woman who falls or happens to fall into a nver, lake or sea gets swallowed by a fish or crocodile, and reaches the shore alive and later on meets his or her relative. This principle is exploited by Surana more than once when Sugätr is devoured by a cocodile and later on disgorged by it on the shore of the Satatäladaghna. The same is the case with Yajnasarman's wives who leap into the sea. They are first drawn into the stomach of a big whale along with water and then exaled with such a force that they fall alive on an aeroplane passing by. As a matter of fact, the whole episode of Yajnasarman - his pas- sion for charity, his separation from his wives, their conception and giving birth to four chidren who later on become purohitas and their reconciliation with their father - appears for all practi- cal purposes to have been borrowed in toto from the Kathäsarıtsägara. The atomosphere, the incidents, the charac- ters and the technique are sure to strengthen this opinion. But this episode is completely an independent and original creation of Sürana. Such is his creative faculty that, if this is inserted into 51 the kathasantsagara, no one, however great an expert he may be, can probably detect the interpolation. The third principle is the propitiation of God, or Goddess, or a demi-God with terrible adventure, or homicide, or suicide, achieving thereby supernatural powers or desired objects. In many a story in the Kathasantsägara the hero ultimately falls back on ths device and achieves his object. One finds a similar charac- teristic in the Kalāpūrnodayam also when Manistambha, Sumukhāsatti, Kalabhāsıni, Maņikandhara, Alaghuvrata, Salyāsura and Abhinavakaumudi attain their respective ends in the temple of Mrgendravahana. Manistambha acquires the two supernatural powers of duradrsti and dūrasravana - 'sakti by his ternble sacrifice. Sumukhäsatti regains her lost youth in addi- tion to that power by which her very word becomes true. Maņikandhara becomes an emperor by sacrıficing Kalabhāșini. The rest also achieve their objects described in the previous chap- ter. But even here Surana's darng originality astounds the reader. None of the stories in the Kathasaritsagara contains the incident where a character attains any one of the supernatural powers of ditrasravana, duradrsti and avitathavāk. G. V. Knsnna Rao

The fourth principle is the extensive use of curses and boons of Gods, demi-Gods or seers and the spreading of the story over more than one life. The story of Sumanas which is already men- tioned as a regular source of the Kädambar, is a concrete exam- ple. How this principle is utiised in the Kalāpurnodayam need not be explained here, as it has been already dealt with at length in connection with the question of Bana's work as a source. Apart from these similanties, there are other reasons to believe that kathäsartsagara might have influenced Surana. The former work in delineating the story generally, adopts the flash-back tech- nique and often weaves a story within a story. It deliberately avoids elaborate and tedious descnptions, brings in strange but inter- esting incidents and gains tempo by rapid narration. Generally speaking, these stones and episodes belong to the realm of ad- venture - adventure on land and sea, earth and heaven. Not only this earth, but the worlds above, and the worlds below are also

52 brought into the picture. Vanous types of love, adventure, disappoinment, and wonder attract the reader and carry him to the highest pitch of imagination. The same is true of the Kalāpūrnōdayam. As already pointed out, Sūrana adopts this flash - back technique and weaves a story within a story to a moderate extent when he begins the poem with the introduction of Kalabhāsını, Nārada, Manıkandhara, Rambha and Nalakūbara instead of a description of the love episode of Sarasvathi and Caturmukha. When the story continues, the poet makes Manistambha narrate the wonderful episode of Rambha and Nalakubara and their conflict with their respective nvals. While Manikandhara narrates the story of Sälina and Sugatr, the baby in the cradle tells the stones of Sarasvati and Caturmukha, the birth of Kalapurna, the episode of Abhinavakaumudi and the rale of Yajnasarman and his wives. Madhuralālasa reveals the past history of Satvadätman. How the story gains momentum at each step need not be discussed here. That the very temple of Mrgendravahana is the abode of adventure and surprise is well known to the readers of the story of the Kalapurņodayam. Manıstambha, Manıkandhara, Salyasura, Sugātrı, Kalabhāsıı, the wives of Yajnasarman, and Satvadätman with their deeds of Stuces in Kalapurnodayam

adventure and sacrifice carry the readers really to the land of horror and wonder. They are presented not with a single incident taking place in a simple country, but with a multitude of events happening in different worlds, one in Brahmaloka, another in Svarga and yet another on the earth. Added to these, there is a vivid picture ofvarious types oflove. The love between Nalakubara and Rambha, between Manikandhara and Kalabhasıņi, Kalabhāșiņi's approach to Nalakūbara, Salyāsurā's craving for Abhinavakaumudı, the love between Sugatri and Salina, between Sarasvati and Caturmukha, between Madhuralalasa and Kalāpurna, the lustful longıngs of Manistambha for Kalabhāsiņi and the aspirations of Satvadatman for Sumukhasatti are really astonishing alike in the their range of erotic expenence and in- sight into the working of the human heart. So far everything appears in order. Surana may be sad to have been influenced by the Kathäsartsägara. But what is the positive proof to say that the poet has ever read this book? At the 53 very begining of the poem he praises the authors of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata of Sanskrit and Telugu versions. In the avatarika he mentions only fourteen puranās by their names and includes the remaining four in the word, adi As he has al- ready been pointed out, Sürana generally acknowledges his in- debtedness at least by way of suggestion. He has nowhere di- rectly or indirectly mentioned either Kathāsaritsagara or its au- thor Somadeva. Hence, this question demands an answer. Is there any room for such a conjecture as putforth here? What is meant here is that Surana might have read the Kathasantsagara. That it is highly probable can be supported by varous reasons because Brhatkatha was translated by Somadeva as early as the 11th century. Moreover, there are concrete grounds for assuming that the same Sanskrit text or probably the orginal was known to Telugu scholars of the 12th century. Fragments of the Telugu version of the Vetalapancavimsatı, which forms a part of the Kathäsaritsägara and which is said to be written by the Teluga poets of the 12th century, are available. Added to this, there is ample evidence of its being read by the poets of the 16th G. V. Knshna Rao

century. Though not mentioned, Kandukuri Rudrayya used the story of the Bold Gambler Thinthakarala to be found in the Kathäsartsagara52 as a regular source and wrote his poem, the Nırankusopakhyanam Apart from these circumstantial evidences, Sürana is well acquainted with the Alankarika treatises of the Käshmiri writers. This point, as it is going to be discussed elabo- rately in some other chapter, need not be stressed here. Given that Surana had gone through these works, there is no ground for believing that he had missed particularly this important book. Hence it can be safely asserted that there is no positive proof to show that he was not acquainted with the Kathasarıtsagara. On the other hand, as shown above, there is greater scope for putting forth the theory which is here advocated. Before closing the question of sources, another point needs discussion. Some critics have maintained that the Āscaryacūdamani of Saktibhadra is one of the sources of the 54 Kalapurnodayam. This is not an altogether baseless assertion provided all are generally agreed on considering it a source of inspiration rather than a regular source. The story as it is re- lated by Saktibhadra, runs as follows :- While Räma was staying at Pancavati with his brother Laksmana and hıs wife Sita, Sürpanakha, Ravana's sıster, hap- pened to see them, and fell in love with both the brothers. She assumed the form of a beautiful gurl and approached Rama who directed her to Laksmana. The latter plainly explained to her his position and vow, but this served no purpose. She again met Rama, and once again he sent her to his brother. When he re- fused her love, she assumed her real form, and carrying him forcibly on her shoulders, flew into the air with the sole object of gratifying her passion on a mountain. Undaunted by this sud- den attack, Laksmana managed to cut off her nose and ears and she dropped him to the ground in her terrible agony. Later on, to wreak vengeance on them, Sürpanakha's broth- ers Khara and Dūsana, attacked Rama and Laksmana and were finally killed. The sages, thus being relieved of their nuisance, sent a magic ring and a crest jewel as presents through Laksmana Stuces m Kalapumodayam

to his brother and his sister-in-law. These two articles had the peculiar power to enable the wearers by their touch to force per- sons assuming new forms to appear in their true colours. En- raged by the death of her brothers, Sürpanakha persuaded her elder brother, Ravana to take action aganst Rāma. Ravana first sent Marica to draw away Rāma and Laksmana from Sita, and then he proceeded to the cottage in his charot with his sister. As he came near the cottage, he and his chariot driver assumed the forms of Räma and Laksmana. They approached Sita when she was alone and informed her that their presence was required at Ayödhya, for their brother Bharata was threatened with an inva- sion by their enemies. Credulous woman that she was, Sita be- leved them and their words and got into the chariot only to be carried away. On their way, Rävana who had fallen in love with Sita, touched her hair with the result that his assumed form dissolved into his natural one. Though she was able to under- stand the deceit and the real situation in which she was involved, she could not help being carned away to Lanka. 55 Räma also was prevented from coming to her receue, for Sürpanakha, assuming the form of Sita, met him on the way while he was returning. He was not able to detect the fraud and car- ned on a conversation with her as if she were Sita When he saw tears in her eyes, he wanted to console her. Naturally he wiped them with his nnged finger. To his great surprise and disgust, her assumed form immediately disappeared thus revealing her true nature. Laksmana, losing his temper at her treachery, wanted to kill her on the spot ; but his brother dissuaded him from it. Thus she managed to escape from the jaws of death. The rest of the story runs as it is in the Ramayana but with slight changes which do not count much in this context. This episode depicted in the first four acts of the Ascaryacudamani is said to be the source of the Kalapurnodayam. No doubt there 1s some similanty between this and the episode of Maya Rambha and Māya Nalakubara. In both the episodes a man and a woman assume the forms of others that are loved and thus create an interesting situation. In the Ascaryacudamanı, this is brought about by the inherent power of Râksasas whereas in the Kalāpūrodayam it is due to a boon in the case of Kalabhāsını G. V. Knsnna Rao

and to the power of penance in the case of Manıkandhara. But this similarity fades into insignificance when differences are taken into consideration. Surpanakha in the form of Sita meets Rama and achieves her real object of preventing him from saving his wife. But it is quite different with Kalabhasinı who assumes the form of Rambha and gets united only with Manikandhara who happens to be in the form of Nalakubara. It is true that she has love for Manikaridhara but her immediate object is the union with Nalakubara but not with the former. Whereas Rāvana un- der the guise of Rama carries away Sita and achieves his object, Manikandhara partly succeeds and partly fails in his object, for, firstly, he meets the real Rambha and later on the Maya Rambha. Besides these, there are other differences in character and situa- tion which make the episode in the Kalapūrnodayam all the more subtle and intricate. Technically speaking, the principal rasa in the episode of Ascaryacudamani is adbhuta having karuna as ıts

56 accessary. In the episode of the Kalāpurnodayam the principal rasa is hasya attended by adbhuta and smgara. Of course it cannot be denied that there is a tinge of karuna There are also häsya and vira present. The driving force in the first is revenge whereas in the second it is love and nothing else. that is why one cannot regard it as a regular source of the Kalāpūrnodayam. Even granting that the former is a source, it is so only so far as Maya Rambha and Maya Nalakubara are concerned and not of the whole poem. At best it can be considered as one of the many influences that acted upon Surana in relation to the Kalāpūrnodayam. Even to this conjecture, objections may be raised and positive proofs demanded. But these do not and cannot have any weight be- cause Surana himself seems to recognise it by way of suggestion when he makes Kalabhasını say :-

Studies in Kalapumodayam

This incident mentioned in the underlined lines obviously refers to the mischief played by Surpanakha. This is admitted by Mr. Malladı Süryanarayana Sastri“4 in his commentary. This inci- dent is not to be found either in the Valmıki Ramayana or other Ramayanas in Telugu.55 It is obvious from Valmiki's work that Surpanakha has craved only for the love of Rama and Laksmana. There is not even a single hint to be had about her direct partici- pation in the plot to bring about the separation of Rama and Sita. If that is so, to what incident do these lines refer ? Let the problem be approached from another angle also. Assuming, for the time being, that there is such an incident in Vālmılkı Rāmāyana, what purpose does it serve when the poet uses the two words uinabaducunundu ? Has he used them only to complete the line ? No one who is acquainted with Sūrana's mode of expression can admit it. so the reference to some other work than that of Valmiki in which Surpanakha is portrayed as having played this specific role seems inevitable. Then it must be either 57 Saktıbhadra's Ascaryacudamanı or some other work depicting Rävana and Surpanakha assuming the forms of others. There are other grounds for suggesting this interpretation. If one takes the above lines as alluding to the incident in the Ramayana, he will be tempted to say that the poet has not read it at all. Morover, the poet will be considered not only ignorant of the law of asso- ciation but also quite incompetent in handling the language and the metre. On the other hand, if the above lines are taken to refer to the incident in the third act of Ascaryacūdamani, or to that similarly treated in another work, they will tend to enhance the beauty of the poem to a greater extent. The incident referred to will anticıpate the episode of Maya Nalakubara. Of course the poet has already suggested it in the first canto itself,$6 but by the time the reader reaches the 188th verse in the third canto, there is every likelhood of his forgetting the first suggestion. By this prompt allusion the readers' anticipation and cunosity gain more in intensity. Every word and letter, then, becomes all the more significant. The poet also can be said to acknowledge his indebt- edness to his predecessor. G. V Knsnna Rao

And now, as all the so-called sources have been examined, what is the conclusion ? Is the theme of the Kalapurnodayam orginal, or borrowed ? There is no dearth of evidence to show that the Kalapurnodayam is the product of the poet's own imagina- tion. The so-called sources can be interpreted in different ways but it can be maintained that they cannot be called regular sources. At the most, some of them may be considered as having influenced the poet in the construction of one of the world's best stonies ; and those influences of which he is consciously aware hàve been duly acknowledged by him by way of suggestion. If doubt still persists as to its originality, the following points may be considered :

58 XEoRO. 57

Requested by Kalabhasini Narada tells her :-

58

Nor only Surana used the word aprva but, also makes his readers understand that the episode dealing with Sugatri and Salina was described by Sarasvati and handed over to the citi- zens of Saradäpitha. If it was not original, and if he did not feel it to be very beautiful, he would not have attrbuted it so Sarasvatı.59 Moreover, if he had any partıcular source for his Kalapurnodayam, he would have certainly mentioned it as he had done in the Prabhavatipradyumnam. Such mention is not found anywhere in the Kalāpurnodayam. Secondly, tradition mentions Rämaknshna as having ut- tered this line :-

Though it attnbutes unintelligibility to the poem, it definitely ad- mits it to be an orginal work. Stuches m Kalapurnodayam

Thirdly, the Kalapürnodayam presupposes the Räghavapändaviyam, and therefore it could not have been writ- ten by any other person than Surana. This statement certainly requires elaboration. What is meant by it is that the technique adopted in the Kalapurnodayam is simply that of the Raghavapāndaviyam, but it has gained more in subtlety, depth and aesthetic insight. Had he not written the Räghavapandaviyam, he could never have produced the Kalāpurnodayam. This clearly imphes that it could not have been written by any other poet than Surana and it is sui generis. In writing the Räghavapändaviyam, the poet himself says61 that he has adopted the following devices : firstly, use of such words which when taken as those of Sansknt orgin give one meaning, and when taken as of Telugu origin give a different meaning; secondly, adoption of the peculiar structure of words which can be split up in more than one way so as to give different meanings; thirdly, exploitation of the secondary meanings of 59 words; fourthly, creating situations which bestow different senses upon the words; fifthly, exploitation of the anvaya of words which gives more than one meaning; sixthly and lastly, exploitation of all or some of the above devices in combination. These same devices are followedun the construction of the story of the Kaläpurnodayam. Every reader of the poem poem will admit that without the episode of Sarasvati and Caturmukha there can be no Kalāpürņödayam. The full growth and development of this particular episode has resulted in the poem62, and if this is removed, it will become only a bunch of incidents without much significance. And this episode which is the soul of the Kalāpūrņödayam cannot be conceived by any other creative gen- ius than one well-versed in the technique described above. Just as the poet in his Raghavapandaviyam brought together the sto- nes of the Rämayana and the Bharata in one poem, so also he has brought together the dalliance of Sarasvati and Caturmukha and the seeds of the plot of the whole poem in one episode. Of course there is a fundamental difference : the former remains as a dvyarthi kavya while the latter becomes the best dhvani kāvya. G. V. Knshna Rao

The second concrete example of this technique is Närada's boon without which the Kalapurnodayam could not have come into existence. This boon bestowed upon Kalabhäsini63 carries two meanings, one that she would be united with Nalakubara and the other that she would be united with one having the form of Nalakubara. The third instance is that of Prathamagama and others get- ting into the service of Madasaya64. Of course this is not so im- portant as the boon of Närada, but without it the story will cer- tainly be defective. The technque used here is of the first type which reveals the remarkable command of the poet of the two languages, Sansknt and Telugu. And finally, the fifth device mentioned above is amply ex- ploited on many an occasion in the poem. The story of Sugatri and Salina, narrated by Manikandhara appears for the first time only as an illustration of a certain tendency in a character but 60 later on becomes an integral part of the story. The charges and counter charges, abuses and counter abuses exchanged between Nalakūbara and Māyā Nalakūbara on the one hand, and between Rambha and Maya Rambha on the other hand, and that too in the presence of Rambha or Māya Nalakubara or Narada, pulsate with more than two meanings. Really this is an unprecedented situation not only in Telugu literature but also in the whole realm of Sanskırt. Apart from its unexampled technical excellence, there 1s another important factor which makes one think that the poem is onginal through and through. The aim and outlook of the poet, as it will be explained in a subsequent chapter, is umque. He wants to depict the relation between life and art, to propound his theory of beauty. Just as Ibsen and other modern writers have taken social, cultural, political and psychological problems for their themes, so also Surana took aesthetic problems as the regu- lar theme of his poem. Because his problems and the solutions he gives are not mere echoes of previous history (ofliterature and philosophy), but are his own, his poem is original and unique. This appears to be generally ignored by many critics perhaps due Studies in Kalapurnodayam

to their conscious or unconscious belief that knowledge is abso- lute and changeless, that there can be nothing new that is not mentioned in Vedas, and that even Brahma, the Lord of of the universe, cannot create anything new which is not in accord with that of the previous kalpa. If this is not so, it is diffcult to follow critics who say that the Kalapurnodayam is as original as Kalıdasa's Sakuntala65. Anyone who has read either the Padmapurāna or the Mahabharata can give at least a rough sketch of the Abhijnana Sakuntala. But can anyone who has not read the Kalapumodayam give even an outline of its theme after going through its so called sources? Certainly one cannot; yet it is amaz- ing that, these are being confidently asserted as its sources. Now to summarse the result : None of the purānas or kāvyas in Sanskrt or Telugu seems to have any claim to be regarded as a regular source. The episode of Narada in the Lingapuräna, the incidents in the third and the fourth Acts of the Ascarya chudamanı, and the story at the very beginning of 61 Kathasarıtsägara may be considered as influences. But even to give a complete account of even these influences is practically an impossible task. The reasons are many. The first is that the his- tory of 16th century in its true sense is yet to be wntten. Sec- ondly, leaving alone the biography, the actual dates of the poet and the complete list of his writings are not available. Even if his complete biography is obtainable, all the influences cannot be exhausted, becuse even the latest discoveries in psychology leave a large part of the human mind yet unrevealed. Even Surana, were he to come back to life, might not be able to tell us all the things that influenced him. So what may be reasonably said in this connection is that he might have been influenced more by the Kathasartsagara than by the puranas Even Mr. Umakantam, who was well known for his puritanical outlook, admitted the originality of the poem66. So this question may be closed with the following epitaph :- "The structure of the story of the Kalapurnodayam is unique. We have not read or heard of another of its kind existing. Such a beautiful construction is so far neither probably seen nor heard of in any country, or in any part of a literary work."67 G. V. Knshna Rao