Gunadhya

Guṇāḍhya (Sanskrit: गुणाढय) was the author of Brihatkatha , which is a large collection of tales and which fact is attested by Dandin, the author of Kavyadarsha , Subandhu, the author of Vasavadatta and Banabhatta, the author of Kadambari , who existed in the 6th century A.D. Scholars compare Gunadhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long lost Brihat Katha in Sanskrit language; the loss of this text is one of the greatest losses of Indian literature. Presently available are its two Sanskrit Kashmiri recensions – Brihatkathamanjari by Kshemendra and Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva.

The earliest reference to Vikramāditya is traced in the lost Brihatkatha. Gunadhya could have flourished during the reign of a Satavahana king of Pratishthana who ruled in the first half of the first century B.C. or during the reign of the Imperial Satavahanas of the 3rd century A.D. Gunadhya describes the great generosity, undaunted valour and other qualities of Vikramaditya, which qualities are also mentioned by Satavahana king Hala or Halavahana, a predecessor of Salivahana in his Sattasai also known as Gathasaptasati; Gunadhya and Hala lived close to the time of Vikramaditya.

Gunadhya was at the court of Satavahana of Pratishthana, modern Paithan in Maharashtra. He wrote Brihatkatha in Paishachi, the language of common people of the border area of the north-west region, now known as Pushtu. Dandin asserts the fundamental importance of Brihatkatha and states that it was written in prose and not in poetic form suggested by the three known Kashmiri rescensions Haracaritacintamani of Jayaratha included. Brihatkatha must have been a storehouse of tales about heroes and kings and gods and demigods and also about animals and birds; this work was in Prakrit language and not in Sanskrit but all its known adoptions are in Sanskrit. Kshemendra’s Brihatkathamanjari must be a faithful summary of the original which too was in eighteen Books called Lambakas. The earliest version must have been the Śloka-sangraha of Budhasvamin, which complete work has not been found.

Gunadhya must have lived a glorious life; he must have been a versatile writer, a master of literary art capable of weaving into his story of romantic adventures all the marvels of myth, magic and fairy tale. The stories forming Brihatkatha had a divine origin which origin is recounted by Somadeva. Since King Satvahana has been identified with Salivahana, Gunadhya must have lived around 78 A.D. Gunadhya is perhaps the only author of a well-known text who speaks in the first person. His story is told from his point of view, not by an unseen, omnipresent narrator as in the case of Vyasa and Valmiki.