Brihad Katha is a very large collection of stories believed
to have been told to Goddess Parvati by Shiva. Kathasaritsagara is a small
portion of the Brihat Katha and is the most popular part of the book. The
stories in the Brihat Katha are believed to be the first stories in the world.
It is said that the stories in the Brihat Katha were told by
Shiva to entertain Goddess Parvati who was bored in the snow falling Himalayas . The stories were narrated to Goddess Parvati
in one of the caves in the Kailash.
Human beings would not have got to hear the stories were it
not for a small bird that survived in the cave. The bird heard the stories that
were narrated to Goddess Parvati.
This bird then told the stories to a fish. The fish shared
it with a Gandharva. The Gandharva narrated it to a Yaksha. Finally it reached
the ears of first human.