Simhasana Dvatrimsika Thirty Two Tales of The Throne of Vikramaditya

Classic tales of courage and compassion the fabled monarch Vikramaditya is considered a model of kingly virtues and his reign a golden age. These famous stories narrated by the thirty-two statuettes of nymphs supporting the magic throne of Vikramaditya extol his courage compassion and extraordinary magnanimity. They are set in a framework recounting the myths of his birth accession adventures and death in battle after which the throne remained concealed till its discovery in a later age. A fascinating mix of marvelous happenings proverbial wisdom and sage precepts these popular tales are designed to entertain as well as instruct. Many have passed into folk literature. The original author of the Simhasana Dvatrimsika is unknown. The present text is dated to the thirteenth century AD. It exists in four main recessions from which extracts have been compiled together for the first time in this lively and faithful translation of this celebrated classic by a renowned Sanskritist. About the Author Aditya Narayan Dhairyasheel Haksar is a well-known translator of Sanskrit classics. Educated at the universities of Allahabad and Oxford he was for many years a career diplomat serving as the Indian high commissioner in Kenya and the Seychelles minister in the United States and ambassador in Portugal and Yugoslavia. His translations from the Sanskrit include The Shattered Thigh and Other Plays Tales of the Ten Princes Hitopadesa Simhasana Dvatrimsika Subhashitavali Kama Sutra and Three Satires from Ancient Kashmir all published as Penguin Classics.