The ghostly figures in the Kathāsaritsāgara’s Somaprabha and related tales
- Date of account
- 11th century CE; based on earlier story collections
- Location
- Kashmir literary milieu
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
Somadeva’s Kathāsaritsāgara contains numerous encounters with pretas, vetalas, corpse-haunting beings, enchanted cremation grounds and apparitional figures. These episodes are useful for comparing how South Asian narrative literature classifies the dead and distinguishes ghosts from demons, yakshas and other supernatural beings. The collection is a Sanskrit literary compilation rather than an eyewitness archive, and many stories derive from older, now partly lost materials. Individual episodes require identification by canto and translation before comparison. [AI-recalled; source quality 5; corroboration 0.]
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