Somadeva

Somadeva, also known as Somadeva Bhatta, was an 11th century writer from Kashmir. He is best known for his work Kathasaritsagara.

Somadeva is believed to have lived in Kashmir, a region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, during the 11th century CE. He was a Shaivite Brahmin scholar and a court poet, serving in the court of King Ananta of Kashmir. The work is divided into 18 books (or lambakas), each containing a series of interconnected stories within a larger narrative framework. Most of his work was composed under Ananta's patronage and were composed for Ananta's queen, Suryamati, a princess of Jalandhara.