Somadeva  (English, Paperback, Somadeva)

Tales From The Kathasaritasagara by Somadeva is a collection of stories which have been retold from the eighteen books of the original Kathasaritasagara.

Summary Of The Book

The original Kathasaritasagara or “ocean of the streams of stories”, is a collection of over 22,000 shlokas, taken from 18 books and 124 chapters, composed into verses. The content of these slokas comprises of Indian legends, folktales, and fairy tales. According to legends, it was composed by Somadeva for Queen Suryavati, who was the wife of King Ananta Deva, who ruled Kashmir during the 11th century. The original text was compiled in 1070 AD, and was derived from the Brhat-Katha by Gunadhya.

Tales From The Kathasaritasagara, is a translation provided by the author Arshia Sattar. Unlike the texts of its time, the collection of stories featured in this book do not offer any moral principles or rules of adherence. Instead, the stories are presented as a celebration of life on earth.

Readers will enjoy reading about Naravahanadatta who was the prince of vidyadharas. There is also the story about sky dwellers who are bestowed with magical powers which is the main narrative used as a framework for the remainder of the stories in the text. Other tantalizing tales include stories about married women who are promiscuous, clever courtesans, incompetent Kings, imbecile Brahmins, wise ministers, holy ascetics, wicked mendicants, men with boons, cursed men, non-human evil beings, and friendly magical beings.

The text was originally composed between 1063-1081 AD. Tales From The Kathasaritasagara was published in 2007.

About Somadeva

Somadeva was a Kashmiri Saivite Brahmin. Somadeva’s collection of stories was intended for Queen Suryamati’s entertainment. Since then, his stories have gained acclaim all around the world.