कान्हड़दे प्रबन्ध (कवि पद्मनाभ - जालोर चौहान वीरगाथा, अलाउद्दीन खिलजी से युद्ध व जौहर इतिहास)

INTRODUCTION I The Kānhaḍade Prabandha is perhaps the most valuable treasure in Old Gujarātī or Old Western Rājasthānī, as it is called by Dr. TESSITORI. It is an epic of a glorious age and there is nothing to compare with it either in Old or Modern Gujarātī. It can easily stand comparison with the celebrated Pṛthvīrāja Rāsā in Old Hindi. There are various reasons why the Kānhaḍade Prabandha has attained this unique position. In the first place, it is a text of supreme importance for a study of the development of the Gujarātī language. Composed as early as v. s. 1512, it represents an important landmark in the evolution of the Gujarātī language. It embodies a stage when Gujarātī and Rājasthānī were just beginning to evolve their distinctive characteristics from the common source—the post- Apabhraṁśa. While the morphology and the general character of the language are unmistakeably Gujarātī, its phonology reveals several Rājasthānī traits. It is a rich mine of typical Old Western Rājasthānī words, many of which are rarely met with in other Old Western Rājas- thānī works. Besides being a gifted poet the author was an erudite scholar. His work, therefore, faithfully reproduces the standard form of the language current at the time. This text, fortunately, has been handed down by learned scribes who have taken care to preserve its linguistic peculiarities with great fidelity. The result is that we get from this work a clear picture of the Old Gujarātī language or Old Western Rājasthānī as it prevailed in the middle of the 15th century A. D. And herein lies the value of this work because the works of eminent mediaeval poets like Narasiṁha and Mīrābāī, although belonging approximately to the same age, have considerably suffered in the process of transmission in later times. From the historical point of view, also, the Kānhaḍade Prabandha is without a parallel in the entire Old Western Rājasthānī literature. It is perhaps the only OWR Prabandha that gives an accurate account of historical events. There is hardly any doubt that the poet has drawn at first-hand on court-records and chronicles as well as the current historical traditions of Rājasthān. His references to the contemporary geography of India are always accurate. The value of this work as a source-book of the history of the period, therefore, must be rated very high indeed. Moreover, the work is a mine of information on the social customs and manners *