कथासरित्सागरः — कथापीठं नाम प्रथमो लम्बकः | kathāsaritsāgaraḥ

॥ अथ कथापीठं नाम प्रथमो लम्बकः ॥

Summary AI Invocation to Gaṇeśa and the start of the Kathāpīṭha Lambaka.

Summary AI Parvatī asks Śiva to narrate a unique tale. Śiva recounts Pārvatī's past life to pacify a lover's quarrel. Puṣpadanta overhears the secret story and reveals it to his wife, earning a curse from the Goddess. Mālyavān intercedes and is also cursed. They are condemned to mortal births as Vararuci and Guṇāḍhya until the story is propagated.

१.२

द्वितीयस्तरङ्गः

The story of Vararuci.

Summary AI Vararuci travels to Vindhyavāsinī and meets the goblin Kāṇabhūti in the cremation ground of Ujjayinī. He recalls his past life and recounts the history of his friends Vyāḍi and Indradatta, and the rivalry between the scholars Varṣa and Upavarṣa.

१.३

तृतीयस्तरङ्गः

The founding of Pāṭaliputra.

Summary AI The narrative describes the mythical and historical origins of the great city of Pāṭaliputra.

१.४

चतुर्थस्तरङ्गः

Upakośā's wit and the Nanda dynasty.

Summary AI Vararuci's wife, Upakośā, outwits her suitors by trapping them in baskets. The narrative includes the history of the grammarian Pāṇini, the rise of King Nanda, and the Minister Śakaṭāla's intrigues.

१.५

पञ्चमस्तरङ्गः

Yogananda and Cāṇakya.

Summary AI The body of King Nanda is reanimated by a yogi (Yogananda). The story details the political maneuvering of Cāṇakya to destroy the Nanda line and install Candragupta. Includes the tale of the sage Śākaṭāyana.

१.६

षष्ठस्तरङ्गः

The birth of Guṇāḍhya.

Summary AI The backstory of Guṇāḍhya and the origin of Sātavāhana, the King of Pratiṣṭhāna. It recounts the King's embarrassment in the water-garden due to his ignorance of Sanskrit grammar.

१.७

सप्तमस्तरङ्गः

The Kātantra grammar.

Summary AI To help the King learn quickly, Sarvavarman receives the Kātantra grammar from Lord Kārttikeya. Guṇāḍhya loses a wager regarding the King's education and abjures Sanskrit, Prākrit, and local dialects.

१.८

अष्टमस्तरङ्गः

Burning the Great Tale.

Summary AI Guṇāḍhya writes the Bṛhatkathā in the Paiśācī language with his own blood. When King Sātavāhana rejects it, Guṇāḍhya burns the manuscript leaf by leaf in the forest. The King intervenes to save the remaining portion (this text).

॥ इति कथापीठं नाम प्रथमो लम्बकः ॥

Other texts to read

पञ्चतन्त्रम् विष्णुशर्मा

नीलकण्ठविजयचम्पूः नीलकण्ठदीक्षितः

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