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ii
AVANTISUNDARI KATHA SĀRA
North Travancore. When the bundle was untied and the leaves
examined, one of them was found to contain the colophon:
"इत्याचार्यदण्डिना कृता अवन्तिसुन्दरी समाप्ता ।"
The other leaves of the bundle were scrutinized with added
zest; all the leaves pertaining to the one that contained the
colophon were grouped together; and a fairly large fragment of
the manuscript of the Avantisundari was made out. The first
few leaves could not be traced and many in between and at the
end. The folios appeared to have long been exposed to smoke
and dust and many were broken. Besides gaps and errors in
abundance, there were blanks in the leaves left by the
scribe, a fact evidencing the imperfect state of the original
from which the present copy was made. The contents of the
last leaf showed that Dandin's story had advanced as far as
the episode of Kalambari contained in the tale of Mandakini
(or Kälindī according to the current Purvapiṭhikā). The
colophon mentioning the work as complete is evidently a mis-
take made by the copyist who, not having the continuation, took
the portion for a complete work. From the neglected condition
of this fragment and of the smaller one, both of which were
unearthed from Kerala, it appears that Dandin's Avantisundari
or whatever portion of it that he wrote was broken to pieces
long ago, and the earlier portion shelved in a corner of
Kerala. This view is strengthened by the fact that, while the
Dasakumara has been quoted by many writers after the
twelfth century A.D., there have been only two references¹
to the earlier portion. One of them is the stanza ''
an invocation to Vyasa in the metrical prelude of the Avanti-
sundari, and it is quoted as Dandin's in the anthology Sukti-
ratnahāra by Kālingarāya Sürya (1400 A. D.).2 The other
reference is the passage:
"निरस्तापल्लवेषु' काश्ची नाम नगरीव्यवन्तिसुन्ददरीये दण्डिप्रयोगात् । "
1. They were brought to light by Dr. V. Raghavan; vide his
papers in the Journal of Oriental Research, Madras Vol. XIII,
p. 294, and in the Annals of Oriental Research, University of
Madras Vol. V, part, 2.
2. TSS. 1+1, p. 4, Śl. 17.
3. Here निरस्तापल्लवेषु seems to be a variant of 'नयसम्भावनानाप-
ày (g)' in the p. 8, where the second 'q' seems to have
been omitted by the copyist taking it for a repetition; Cf.
"qgalarų Bēgor" (The Panamalai Rock Temple Inscrip-
tion of Rajasimha, I.A. 48, p. 231).
AVANTISUNDARI KATHA SĀRA
North Travancore. When the bundle was untied and the leaves
examined, one of them was found to contain the colophon:
"इत्याचार्यदण्डिना कृता अवन्तिसुन्दरी समाप्ता ।"
The other leaves of the bundle were scrutinized with added
zest; all the leaves pertaining to the one that contained the
colophon were grouped together; and a fairly large fragment of
the manuscript of the Avantisundari was made out. The first
few leaves could not be traced and many in between and at the
end. The folios appeared to have long been exposed to smoke
and dust and many were broken. Besides gaps and errors in
abundance, there were blanks in the leaves left by the
scribe, a fact evidencing the imperfect state of the original
from which the present copy was made. The contents of the
last leaf showed that Dandin's story had advanced as far as
the episode of Kalambari contained in the tale of Mandakini
(or Kälindī according to the current Purvapiṭhikā). The
colophon mentioning the work as complete is evidently a mis-
take made by the copyist who, not having the continuation, took
the portion for a complete work. From the neglected condition
of this fragment and of the smaller one, both of which were
unearthed from Kerala, it appears that Dandin's Avantisundari
or whatever portion of it that he wrote was broken to pieces
long ago, and the earlier portion shelved in a corner of
Kerala. This view is strengthened by the fact that, while the
Dasakumara has been quoted by many writers after the
twelfth century A.D., there have been only two references¹
to the earlier portion. One of them is the stanza ''
an invocation to Vyasa in the metrical prelude of the Avanti-
sundari, and it is quoted as Dandin's in the anthology Sukti-
ratnahāra by Kālingarāya Sürya (1400 A. D.).2 The other
reference is the passage:
"निरस्तापल्लवेषु' काश्ची नाम नगरीव्यवन्तिसुन्ददरीये दण्डिप्रयोगात् । "
1. They were brought to light by Dr. V. Raghavan; vide his
papers in the Journal of Oriental Research, Madras Vol. XIII,
p. 294, and in the Annals of Oriental Research, University of
Madras Vol. V, part, 2.
2. TSS. 1+1, p. 4, Śl. 17.
3. Here निरस्तापल्लवेषु seems to be a variant of 'नयसम्भावनानाप-
ày (g)' in the p. 8, where the second 'q' seems to have
been omitted by the copyist taking it for a repetition; Cf.
"qgalarų Bēgor" (The Panamalai Rock Temple Inscrip-
tion of Rajasimha, I.A. 48, p. 231).