The Origin and the Development of the Brhatkatha

原始文本的Brhatkatha(BK)归因于传奇诗人Gunadhya，已经丢失。这一著名的寓言集所剩下的是一些后来的节录，如布拉特卡塔·曼贾里、Kathasaritsagara、Slokasamgraha和Vasudevahinde。我在上述项目中对这些现存的BK版本进行的比较研究，充分揭示了Gunadhya的宏大故事的起源和发展，以及几种不同的BK文本的相互关系。在我看来，BK的最原始文本，或者至少是BK的所有现存版本的原型，已经被分为五个部分，即Pltha，Mukha，Patimukha，Sarira和Upasamhara。此外，第四部分称为Sarira，构成了整个作品的中心部分，似乎由大约26个被称为lambas的部分组成，每个部分都涉及那拉瓦哈纳达塔王子与一位特定的美丽少女的婚礼。在现存的BK版本中，Slokasamgraha和Vasudevahindi是我试图恢复Gunadhya作曲的原始框架的基本材料。

The original text of the Brhatkatha (BK) ascribed to the legendary poet named Gunadhya had, already been lost. What remains of this famous collection of fables consists of some later redactions, such as the Brhatkatha manjari, The Kathasaritsagara, the Slokasamgraha, and the Vasudevahinde. The comparative study of these extant versions of the BK conducted by me in the above-mentioned project has shed ample light on the origin and development of Gunadhya's Grand Story", as well as on the mutual relationship of several different textual tradictions of the BK In my opinion the most original text of the BK, or at least the prototype from which all the extant versions of the BK are descended, had been divided into five sections, i.e. Pltha, Mukha, Pratimukha, Sarira and Upasamhara. Further, the fourth section called Sarira which constituted the central part of the entire composition seems to have consisted of about twenty-six subsections called lambhas, each dealing with wedding of prince Naravahanadatta with a particular fair maiden. Among the extant versions of the BK it is the Slokasamgraha and the Vasudevahindi which served as the basic materials for my attempt to restore the original framework of Gunadhya's composition.