The King who Lacked Learning and Other Stories

Ancient and medieval Indian history is full of stories. Many of the characters are real and the incidents are said to have happened. But there are hardly any historical records about them. It is difficult to say how much of it belongs to actual history and how much to tradition and local folklore because it all happened so long ago. Both have blended to create these fascinating legends available in several versions. True or not they are interesting and portray Indian culture and happenings of a forgotten era. Many of them are mentioned in standard works of history and important literary works. I found a few in Tod’s Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan Kalhana’s Rajatarangini Somdeva’s Kathasaritsagara and folk literature of various states. Wherever there is more than one version of the stories I have selected the ones I liked the best. The legends deserve to be remembered for the values they symbolize. How did king Shatavahana react when one of his queens insulted him by calling him him uneducated? Was he able to live down that insult? How did Shiladitya the son of a humble temple attendant become the first Suryavanshi king? How far would a king of Kashmir go to prove himself just and fair-minded? What were the adventures faced by Jayapir Vinayaditya the dashing king of Kashmir? Why did the poet-king Matribandhu give up his throne? These are some of the legends portrayed in this collection.