[1] 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.

[1] Somadeva's most famous work, "Katha Sarit Sagara," is a vast compilation of stories and folktales drawn from various sources, including earlier Indian texts, oral traditions, and the literary heritage of Kashmir.

[2] 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 by the help of patronage from Ananta and were composed for Queen Suryamati, a princess of Jalandhara and wife of King Ananta of Kashmir.