Author: V A K Ayer
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 275
ISBN/UPC (if available): N/A
Description
Oldest collection of folk-tales centering round the personality of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain are retold in English for the modern man.
The original authorship of these stories is unknown, even as their date; but they are generally believed to have originated during the period of 11th to 13th centuries. First written in Sanskrit, a number of slightly differing versions are extant in all the major languages of India. The stories are most interesting.
The main purpose of these stories is to illustrate the generous deeds of a model king and emphasize moral lessons. In this light they are didactic, but in their ingenious plots, dramatic situations, portrayal of real life and correct appraisal of human character, they are superb. As a reader can easily notice, human nature has not changed a whit even after thousand years.