ocean of story / (v.3 of 10 v.)
| Title | ocean of story / (v.3 of 10 v.)
being C.H. Tawney’s translation of Somadeva’s katha? sarit sa?gara; or, Ocean of streams of story. |
|---|---|
| Original title | Katha?saritsa?gara. |
| Author | Now edited with introd., fresh explanatory notes and terminal essay by N.M. Penzer. |
| Publication | Motilal Banarsidass |
| Size | XXIV, 365p |
| Language |  ENG |
| ISBN | |
| Topics |
Tales--India Folk literature Mythology--Hindu |
| Notes | Plot [Wikipedia] : The ocean of story. === Attributed to 8th-century Sanskrit sage Bhavabhuti, the legendary King Vikram, identified as Vikram?ditya (c. 1st century BC), promises a vamachara (a tantric sorcerer) that he will capture a vetala (or Baital), a vampire spirit who hangs from a tree and inhabits and animates dead bodies. King Vikram faces many difficulties in bringing the vetala to the tantric. Each time Vikram tries to capture the vetala, it tells a story that ends with a riddle. If Vikram cannot answer the question correctly, the vampire consents to remain in captivity. If the king answers the question correctly, the vampire would escape and return to his tree. In some variations, the king is required to speak if he knows the answer, else his head will burst. In other versions, the king is unable to hold his tongue if he knows the answer, due to his ego. Regardless of the reason, he knows the answer to every question; therefore the cycle of catching and releasing the vampire continues twenty-four times. On the twenty-fifth attempt, the vetala tells the story of a father and a son in the after-math of a devastating war. They find the queen and the princess alive in the chaos, and decide the take them home. In due time, the son marries the queen and the father marries the princess. Eventually, the son and the queen have a son, and the father and the princess have a daughter. The vetala asks what the relation between the two newborn children is. The question stumps Vikram. Satisfied, the vetala allows himself to be taken to the tantric. The vetala reveals the sorcerer's plan to sacrifice Vikram, beheading him as he bowed in front of the goddess. The Sorcerer could then gain control over the vetala. The vampire suggests that the king asks the tantric how to perform his obeisance, then take advantage of that moment to behead the sorcerer himself. Vikram?ditya does exactly as told by vetala and he is blessed by Lord Indra. The vetala offers the king a boon, whereupon Vikram requests that the tantric's life be restored and that the vetala would come to the king's aid when needed. |
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