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The 'Brihatkatha' of Gunadhya, a lost collection of stories that inspired later Sanskrit story collections, was originally written in:
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Answer: Option A — Paishachi
Detailed Solution
The "Brihatkatha" ("Great Story") of Gunadhya was originally written in the Paishachi language, a form of Prakrit.
About the Brihatkatha:
- It is believed to have been composed around the early centuries CE, perhaps during the Satavahana period.
- It was a huge collection of stories, but the original work has been lost.
- It is known only through its later adaptations in Sanskrit and other languages.
- According to legend, Gunadhya was a minister of a Satavahana king.
- He took a vow not to use Sanskrit, Prakrit or the local language, after losing a wager with a rival scholar about how quickly the king could learn Sanskrit.
- He then went to the forest and wrote the Brihatkatha in Paishachi, the language of the "Pishachas" (goblins), in his own blood, according to the legend.
- When the king refused to accept it, Gunadhya began burning it page by page, reading each story aloud to the animals of the forest; only a part of it was saved.
About Paishachi:
- It was one of the Prakrit languages mentioned by ancient grammarians.
- It is believed to have been spoken in north-western India, or by certain groups of people.
- Very little literature in Paishachi has survived.
Later adaptations of the Brihatkatha:
- "Brihatkathashlokasangraha" by Budhasvamin (Sanskrit).
- "Brihatkathamanjari" by Kshemendra (11th century, Kashmir).
- Another famous Sanskrit collection from Kashmir, written for a queen in the 11th century.
- "Perunkathai" in Tamil, by Konguvelir.
- "Vaddakatha" in Kannada.
- These collections contain the story of Udayana, his son Naravahanadatta, and many other tales.
The influence of the Brihatkatha:
- It is considered one of the great sources of Indian storytelling, along with the epics.
- Its stories have influenced literature across India and beyond.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Sanskrit was used for later adaptations.
- ✗Pali was the language of Theravada Buddhist texts.
- ✗Ardhamagadhi was another Prakrit language.
Quick tip
Remember: Brihatkatha (Gunadhya) = Paishachi (lost; Satavahana period legend); adaptations = Brihatkathashlokasangraha (Budhasvamin), Brihatkathamanjari (Kshemendra).
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This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.