Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of Story)
by Somadeva | 1924 | 1,023,469 words | ISBN-13: 9789350501351
This is the English translation of the Kathasaritsagara written by Somadeva around 1070. The principle story line revolves around prince Narav膩hanadatta and his quest to become the emperor of the Vidhy膩dharas (鈥榗elestial beings鈥�). The work is one of the adoptations of the now lost B峁沨atkath膩, a great Indian epic tale said to have been composed by ...
The ten stages of love-sickness
Note: this text is extracted from Book III, chapter 15.
鈥淪o he took her in his arms and wept over her, and immediately the vital spirits left his body, which was on fire with the flame of grief, as if they were afraid to remain. So that married couple perished by mutual separation, and therefore we must take care that the king is not separated from the queen....鈥�
Among the Hindus death was the tenth, and final, stage of love-sickness.
痴腻迟蝉测腻测补苍补 in his 碍腻尘补-蝉奴迟谤补 (circa a.d. 250) gives the ten stages as follows:鈥�
- love of the eyes鈥� i.e. pleasure in seeing the beloved one;
- attraction and dwelling of the mind;
- the birth of desire for union;
- loss of sleep;
- emaciation;
- total indifference to other objects;
- loss of shame;
- distraction and madness;
- fainting, and
- death.
This list was repeated in rather more detail in the 础苍补峁単补-搁补峁単补; see the 碍腻尘补 Shastra Society edition, 1885, pp. 87, 88, and my Annotated Bibliography of Sir Richard Burton, pp. 161-173.
In Arabian fiction the favourite stage appears to be the ninth, and nearly every hero faints for love on the slightest provocation. There are, however, cases of death. See the Nights (Burton, vol. v, p. 134), where three unhappy people die through love of each other. Cf. also the story of 鈥淭he Mad Lover鈥� on p. 138 of the same volume. In Europe the favourite form of the motif was for one of the lovers to die naturally or unintentionally, whereupon the other would either commit suicide or die of grief鈥攖he consequence being that they were buried together in the same tomb. See, for example, Decameron, day 4, novs. 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9; Straparola, night 9, nov. 2; Bandello, part i, nov. 33; Heptameron, day 7, nov. 70. Cf. also the ballad of 鈥淔air Margaret and Sweet William鈥� (Percy, Reliques, iii, p. 125) and 鈥淟ord Thomas and Fair Annet鈥� (op. cip., iii, p. 234). For numerous imitations of the tale in the Decameron, day 4, nov. 8, reference should be made to Lee, The Decameron, its Sources and Analogues, pp. 140-143. 鈥攏.m.p.