The Text
Most extant texts of Dashakumaracharita are composed of
- Purvapithika (पूर्वपीठिका, Prologue) divided into 5 Uchchhwasas (उच्छ्वास: chapters);
- The Dsc. proper, divided into 8 Uch.;
- The Uttarapithika (उत्तरपीठिका, Epilogue), without any subdivisions.
Some text at the beginning and the end of Dsc. proper has been lost; thus it contains only eight of the ten narratives, and furthermore, the stories of Rajavahan and Vishruta are incomplete. The 1st and the 3rd parts seem to have been added later by various authors (some of whom have tried to mimic the style of the original); indeed, there are several disparate versions for these parts in existence.
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