The Ocean of Story, Vol. 7 of 10

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Excerpt from The Ocean of Story, Vol. 7 of 10: Being C. H. Tawney's Translation of Somadeva's Katha Sarit SagaraThe Brihat-Katha, or Great Story collection of Gunadhya, as well as the supposed excerpt from it, Somadeva's Ocean, are pretty nearly unique both in size and in the wealth and welter of story-telling. If I am not mistaken, even Somadeva's Ocean has no equal or superior in these respects in the fiction literature of the world, yet it is by no means a complete expression of what we might call the fiction genius of India. There are many other Brahmanical collections of importance, as well as equally impressive Buddhist and Jaina collections - Jatakas, Avadanas, Charitras, Kavyas and Kathanakas - known all over India and the Asiatic countries which, chiefly owing to the spread of Buddhism, have become intellectual tributaries of India. In a paper the part-title of which is, "On Recurring Psychic Motifs in Hindu Fiction, " I have sketched very briefly the scope of this literature, as far as India is concerned. The total of fiction contained in these books is enormous, it reflects both fancy and fact, though incidental sketches of and allusions to real life render Hindu fiction a scarcely less valuable record of Hindu life than the more schematic treatises which deal with customs, manners and institutions.Suggestions as to Encyclopædic TreatmentI am sure that the idea of a complete catalogue or clearing-house of these stories and the organic motifs which enter into their composition has flitted across the mind of many readers and students of this fascinating subject.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.