Brihatkatha

Bṛhatkathā 

by Guṇāḍhya
Probable relationship between versions of the Brihatkatha
Language	Paisaci
Form	epic

Bṛhatkathā (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work is no longer extant but several later adaptations — the Kathasaritsagara, Brihatkathamanjari and Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha in Sanskrit, as well as the Peruṅkatai and Vasudevahiṃḍi in vernaculars — furnish tantalizing and often contradictory clues to its nature.

The date of its composition is uncertain. According to testimonials by later Sanskrit poets like Daṇḍin, Subandhu, and Bāṇa, the Bṛhatkathā existed in the 6th century AD. According to other estimates it predates that period by several more centuries. For example, if the Story of Udayana by poet Bhāsa (and also later by Harsha in Ratnavali) was inspired by Brihatkatha, it had to be older than the time of Bhāsa — itself uncertain, but before the 3rd century AD.

The earliest extant reference to the Bṛhatkathā seems to be that of Subandhu (5th or 6th century AD?) in Vasavadatta.Bāṇa (7th century) refers to it in his romances Harshacharita and Kadambari. A reference by Daṇḍin in his Kavyadarsha is problematic because it describes the Bṛhatkathā as being marvelous and as composed in the vernacular of the bhūtas (evidently Paiśācī). However, the information appears to be second-hand. A fuller reference is provided in Daśakumāracarita, whose author is possibly not the same Daṇḍin. Later references include the Daśarūpa of Dhanamjaya, Nalacampū of Trivikramabhaṭṭa, and Āryāsaptaśatī of Govardhanācārya. A Cambodian inscription (c. 875) expressly mentions Guṇāḍhya and his aversion to Prakrit. The earliest extant Kannada work on grammar and poetics, Kavirajamarga by Nripatunga (c. 850), mentions a now-lost Sanskrit version of Bṛhatkathā by the author Durvinita. We can safely assume the existence of a romantic work by Guṇāḍhya before AD 600.