Prabandha-Chintamani
| Author | Merutunga |
|---|---|
| Original title | प्रबन्ध चिन्तामणि |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject | Collection of biographical legends |
| Genre | prabandha |
Publication date | c. 1304 CE (1361VS) |
| Publication place | India |
Prabandha-Chintamani(IAST:Prabandha-cintāmaṇi) is an IndianSanskrit-language collection ofprabandhas(semi-historical biographical narratives). It was compiled in c. 1304 CE, in theVaghela kingdomof present-dayGujarat,byJainscholarMerutunga.[1]
Contents
[edit]The book is divided into fiveprakashas (parts):[2]
- Prakasha I
- Prakasha II
- Prakasha III
- Prakasha IV
- Kumarapala
- Viradhavala
- Vastupalaand Tejapala
- Prakasha V
Historical reliability
[edit]As a work of history,Prabandha-Chintamaniis inferior to contemporary historical literature, such as the Muslim chronicles.[3]Merutunga states that he wrote the book to "replace the oft-heared ancient stories which no longer delighted the wise". His book includes a large number of interesting anecdotes, but many of these anecdotes are fictitious.[4]
Merutunga finished writing the book in c. 1304 CE (1361Vikrama Samvat). However, while narrating historical incidents, he does not give much importance to contemporary period, of which he possessed direct knowledge. His book contains historical narratives from 940 CE to 1250 CE, for which he had to rely on oral tradition and earlier texts.[4]Because of this, his book ended up becoming a collection of unreliable anecdotes.[3]
Several contemporary or near-contemporary works of Gujarat do not mention any dates while narrating historical incidents. Merutunga perhaps realized that it was important to mention exact dates in writing history, and provides several dates in hisPrabandha-Chintamani.However, most of these dates are wrong by a few months or a year. It appears that Merutunga knew years of historical incidents from the earlier records, and fabricated the exact dates to make his work more believable.[3][5][6]The text also features instances ofanachronism;for example,Varahamihira(6th century CE) is described as a contemporary of aNandaking (4th century BCE).[7]
Since the work was composed in Gujarat, it portrays the rulers of Gujarat positively, in comparison to the rival rulers of the neighbouring kingdom ofMalwa.[1]
Critical editions and translations
[edit]In 1888, Shastri Ramachandra Dinanatha edited and publishedPrabandha-Chintamani.In 1901,Charles Henry Tawneytranslated it into English at the suggestion ofGeorg Bühler.Durgasankar Shastri revised Dinanatha's edition, and published it in 1932.Muni Jinvijaypublished another edition in 1933, and also translated the text intoHindilanguage.[3]
References
[edit]- ^abCynthia Talbot 2015,p. 51.
- ^Vishnulok Bihari Srivastava 2009,p. 279.
- ^abcdA. K. Majumdar 1956,p. 418.
- ^abA. K. Majumdar 1956,p. 417.
- ^Rajyagor, S. B. (1982). "Chapter II: Source Materials of History of Gujarat".History of Gujarat.New Delhi: S. Chand & Company Ltd. p. 17.OCLC12215325.
- ^Sewell, Robert (1920). "The Dates in Merutunga's" Prabandha Chintamani "".The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland(3): 333–341.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25209623.
- ^Moriz Winternitz 1996,p. 500.
Bibliography
[edit]- A. K. Majumdar (1956).Chaulukyas of Gujarat.Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.OCLC4413150.
- Cynthia Talbot (2015).The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781107118560.
- Moriz Winternitz (1996).A History of Indian Literature: Buddhist literature and Jaina literature.Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN978-81-208-0265-0.
- Vishnulok Bihari Srivastava (2009).Dictionary of Indology.Pustak Mahal.ISBN9788122310849.
External links
[edit]- The Prabandhacintamani, or Wishing-stone of Narratives,composed by Merutunga-Acharya, translated into English by C. H. Tawney