Tales From The Kathasaritsagara

The Vast Ocean Of Stories That Influenced Storytelling The World Over The Kathasaritasagara Is Said To Have Been Compiled By A Kashmiri Saivite Brahmin Called Somadeva In Ad 1070, Although The Date Has Not Been Conclusively Established. Legend Has It That Somadeva Composed The Kathasaritasagara For Queen Suryavati, Wife Of King Anantadeva Who Ruled Kashmir In The Eleventh Century. The Stories In This Book Are Retold From Ten Of The Eighteen Books Of The Original Kathasaritasagara. The Most Remarkable Feature Of The Kathasaritasagara Is That Unlike Other Texts Of The Time, It Offers No Moral Conclusions, No Principles To Live By And Is Throughout A Celebration Of Earthly Life. The Tale Of Naravahanadatta, The Prince Of The Vidyadharas, The Sky-Dwellers With Magical Powers, Comprises The Main Narrative And Is Used As An Outer Frame To Introduce The Stories In The Text. Promiscuous Married Women And Clever Courtesans, Imbecile Brahmins, Incompetent Kings And Wise Ministers, Wicked Mendicants And Holy Ascetics, Cursed Men And Men Who Are Granted Boons, Evil Non-Human Creatures And Friendly Magical Beings, All Jostle For Attention In Arshia Sattar S Masterful Translation Of This Timeless Collection Of Tales.

Literally translated as "ocean of the sea of stories, " the Kathasaritasagara is a collection of stories of the ancient Hindu world. It was written by Somadeva in the 11th century. Unlike those more familiar classics, this work contains no hidden moral lessons. Instead, it is an uninhibited and beautiful celebration of earthly life.

Plunging the Ocean engages with the voluminous content of the Kathāsaritsāgara, a text meant for courtly entertainment, locating the various points of its retelling. The volume weaves gender as the discursive mesh with various themes such as caste, class, occupations, control and flow of resources or wealth, religious practices, sexuality and power structures to highlight the discourse of the text itself. In their creation and negotiation with the past, the narratives are seen as crucially demonstrating the importance of 'social space'; in the organization of space itself and in the reflection of social relations of production and reproduction. The conclusion highlights the contradictions inherent in the characters and plots, in the folk antecedents and monarchical elite appropriation of the kathās, in conformity and subversion. The structures of power that create systems of knowledge are essentially projected as ominously omnipresent in the 'Ocean of Stories'.

Fantastic Fables and Where to Read Them Pssst... come here. A little closer. Yes, yes, right here. Now, what sort of story are you looking for? One with action and adventure, wily villains and valiant warriors? Or something that will make you laugh till your stomach hurts? Or perhaps you’d prefer a tale with some good old-fashioned magic? Well, whatever it is, you’ll find it all here – in this delightful trove of stories picked from one of India’s oldest classics, Somadeva’s Kathasaritasagara (The Ocean of the Streams of Story), dusted and polished for a new generation of readers. Go on, step in, but be careful – the shape-shifters aren’t quite what they seem (obviously), the tricksters are always looking for someone to fool, and don’t be shocked if you meet a talking animal. Oh, and one last thing – make sure you ace the vetala’s quiz. Or else ...