Some Doubtful Readings in the Kuvalayamala

Summary

Some Doubtful Readings in the Kuvalayamālā addresses unresolved textual problems in the eighth‑century Jain Prakrit narrative poem by Uddyotanasūri. Although a critical edition of the Kuvalayamālā exists, several passages remain uncertain. Anantalal Thakur selects problematic words and phrases and proposes emendations based on manuscript variants, linguistic analysis and contextual clues. For instance, he discusses a description of a warrior practising with sword and shield where the printed reading “paṭṭalāku” makes little sense; comparing other manuscripts he suggests the reading “maṇilaṅku,” which in Prakrit means ‘shield,’ making the passage coherent. In another example the edited text reads “kaṭithallinaṃ,” translated as ‘smooth‑skinned,’ but Thakur finds a variant “kaṭithammaṇaṃ,” meaning ‘having no chest hair,’ a descriptor echoed in ethical texts to depict a wicked person. He analyses compound words like “mahāmāsāhire,” showing that scribes accidentally merged “mahāmāsa ahire” and that the intended sense is ‘afflicted with severe fever.’ Thakur explains the phonetic processes of metathesis, assimilation and Prakritisation that often led scribes to miscopy consonant clusters. By consulting Jain commentaries and parallel passages in Sanskrit and Prakrit, he demonstrates that many obscurities are products of transmission rather than authorial intention. The article also emphasises that editors must account for the oral performance context of Prakrit literature, where homophonous words and alliteration invited scribal mistakes. Thakur’s proposed corrections clarify narrative details and character descriptions, contributing to a more accurate understanding of the Kuvalayamālā and its portrayal of social and moral themes. His work exemplifies the painstaking philological labour required to produce reliable editions of medieval Indian texts.