Haksar - Simhāsana Dvātriṃśikā: thirty-two tales of the throne of Vikramditya

V ikramaditya is a famous figure in Indian folklore. He is represented as a great and good king whose reign was a golden age of righteousness, peace and prosperity. This image has persisted in popular memory for at least a thousand years.

The aura of virtue, might and splendour surrounding the persona of Vikramaditya was such that many Indian rulers assumed this name as a title. Boys today continue to be named Vikram, Vikrama, or Bikramjit, if not given the full appellation which means, literally, the sun of valour. An era bearing the kings name, which was already current in India when the Central Asian scholar Alberuni visited the country at the turn of the millennium, remains in use to this day. And Ujjain, a town in the state of Madhya Pradesh identified with Vikramadityas fabled capital Ujjayini, still has several sites associated with him, apart from being the seat of a new Vikram University.

Myths and traditions often contain kernels of actual history, and many scholars consider that behind the legends of Vikramaditya there must be a historical figure who ruled at Ujjayini and founded an era. Some historians tried to identify him with the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II, who had the title Vikramaditya, and whose reign was one of the high watermarks of ancient Indian culture; but this monarch lived some four hundred years after the commencement of the Vikrama Era in 58-57 BC. Another academic opinion holds it possible that later rulers who for the original calligraphed document of the Constitution of modern India. His depiction there has been reproduced on the cover of the present volume.

The numerous stories about Vikramaditya form a considerable literature in Sanskrit, from which some of them passed into other Indian languages. In turn at least one was rendered into Sanskrit from Mahrashtri Prkrit. The Sanskrit works still extant date mostly from the medieval period. They include: the Mdhavnala Kath of nanda, about the adventures of two lovers eventually united with each other through the kings chivalrous efforts; the Vikramodaya, in which he appears in the guise of a wise parrot; the Panchadanda Chhatra Prabandha, containing tales of magic and witchcraft; and the Vra Charitra of Ananta, which begins with Vikramadityas final war, and continues with his successors. The latter, presented here, has received comparatively less attention.

The Vetla tales are essentially stories ending in riddles, told to King Vikramaditya to test his wisdom. The Simhsana tales, on the other hand, are stories about the king himself. They describe his merits and exploits, his birth, accession, rule and death. They are, moreover, intended to edify as well as to entertain. The king is depicted as a paragon of virtue, and his deeds as models of noble and heroic, magnanimous and courageous conduct.

The Simhsana Dvtrimik has a colourful setting of adventures and miracles. At its centre is the royal throne or simhsana of Vikramaditya, supported by dvtrimat or thirty-two statues of celestial nymphs. The first six frame stories narrate the circumstances of Vikramadityas accession after the abdication of his half-brother; his receiving the magic throne from the king of the gods; and his last battle and death, after which the throne was hidden as there was no one worthy of occupying it. The later frame stories describe the subsequent discovery of the throne by King Bhoja of Dhr and his attempts to ascend it, which occasion the thirty-two tales of the throne.

Each time Bhoja starts to mount the throne, one of the thirty-two statuettes comes to life and interrupts him with a tale of the deeds of Vikramaditya, illustrative of the latters virtues, especially his heroism and generosity. Each tale ends with the admonition that Bhoja may sit on the throne if he can match the merits of the earlier king. After thus restraining him thirty-two times, the nymphs explain in the epilogue how they came to be transfixed to the throne as the result of a curse from which they are now released. Bhoja then installs the throne in a shrine as an object of reverence.

Though full of miraculous happenings, the stories also describe various human predicaments. A king is cuckolded (II)helping his rival (tale 24). There is a recurring pattern of Vikramaditya obtaining some priceless gift as a result of his extraordinary heroism, and then giving it away in a supreme gesture of generosity or compassion. A sequence of changing backgrounds provides rich variety to this constant theme. The scenes of individual stories shift from a coronation ceremony (tale 1) to a pleasure park in springtime (tale 6); from a great temple (tale 8) to a courtesans house (tale 9); and from occult rituals (tale 17) to the royal routine (tale 23). For additional colour there are battles with ogres (tale 12), human sacrifices (tale 28), divine dancers (V., tale 19), a magic show (tale 30), and the heros visits to other worlds (tale 18, 19). Two stories (IV, tale 31) interestingly recapitulate the plot of the