लघुकथासंग्रहः Laghu Katha Sangrahah

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The present Anthology comprises of Sanskrit short stories written by ancient and modern story-writers, representing almost all regions of the country and presenting primeval as well as modern themes.

Story-telling is the most important aid in oral teaching in any language. It recognises the fact that language is primarily spoken and capable of conveying the desired object of the story-teller. In ancient days preceptors laid a lot of emphasis in telling didactic and pedagogic stories to their pupils in order to build their strong moral character.

Story-writing, a special mode of composition has its origin in that very hoary past when the Vedic literature saw the light of the day. Since then it has been assuming several forms and various styles in its journey. Formerly it adopted the form of an anecdote (Akhyāna or Upākhyāna). Afterwards it took the shape of a legendary traditional heroic history (Itihāsa). Gradually, it assumed the form of a Fable and Feigned story (Kalpita-Katha). In course of time it adapted a pattern of an ornate fiction, a well planned tale (katha) and a connected historical story (Akhyāyikā). Apart from them, there were also some other forms of the story-writing, like Parikathā,! Khandakatha, Sakalakathā, Sarikathā, and Kathanaka.

But for all these different types of narratives in Sanskrit, later on, the common names became kathā and ākhyāyikā or only one name kathā. Acārya Bhāmaha differentiates kathā from ākhyāyikā and gives different definitions for them. Bãņa, a celebrated writer of the prose romance, calls his historical novel Harşacarita ākhyāyikā and he refers to his romantic fiction Kadambarī as a kathā But Acārya Dandi does not hold this view. He does not accept any distinction between these two forms. In his Kāvyādarsa summing up this controversy, he has authoritatively settled this matter, saying kathā and ākhyāyikā, though having different names, both are the same and other varieties also are included in the same form of kathā. During this period this sort of narrative literature became very popular in the country.

About the importance and popularity of this type of narrative literature, Dr. M. Winternitz rightly says: 'Tales, fables and stories belong to the best productions of the Indian mind and they were elevated to the status of real literature in India earlier and in a much greater measure than among the other civilized countries.' As we have already seen above, they occupy not only a prominent position in the religious books of the Buddhist and the Jainas, but also in ornate poetry, they are not of an inferior standing. For the people of the West in many respects these tales, etc. are more valuable than all other branches of Indian ornate poetry.