Description

About the Book

The Dasakumaracharita (Adventures of the Ten Princes) is a katha type of prose-poetic of romance written by Dandin. Avoiding the highly styled prose of Banabhatta, he found inspiration in the Brihatkatha to write on social themes embodying tales of adventure and romance of the ten princes, who are the heroes of this work. The framework of the narratives is simple. It relates to ten princes, sons of ministers included, who got sepa­rated with a plan to meet at Ujjayini again. Dandin shows in this romance great powers of characterisation as also he draws realistic scenes of life. His style is easy and unaffected and full of wit and humour. The work is imbued both with realistic portrayals of human vice and with supernatural magic, including the intervention of deities in human affairs.

About the Author

Sri Dandin (flourished late 6th and early 7th centuries, Kanchipuram, India) was an eminent Sanskrit writer of prose romances and expounder on poetics. He is reputed for his elegant use of words (pada-lalitya) and is the precursor of the Riti school which was developed by Vamana. His most outstanding contribution to poetics is the concept of Guna. Scholars attribute to him with certainty only two works: the Dashakumaracharita (Adventures of the Ten Princes) and the Kavyadarsha (The Mirror of Poetry). The Dashakumaracharita is a coming-of-age narrative that relates stories of each of the 10 princes in their pursuit of love and their desire to reunite with their friends. The Kavyadarsha is a work of literary criticism defining the ideals of style and sentiment appropriate to each genre of kavya (courtly poetry). Both works are a highly influential and are translated into several languages.