Mudrarakshasa (literary study)
by Antara Chakravarty | 2015 | 58,556 words
This page relates ‘Use of Pushpitagra metre’ of the English study on the Mudrarakshasa: an ancient Sanskrit dramatic play (Nataka) authored by Vishakhadatta which deals with the life of king Chandragupta. This study investigates the Mudra Rakshasa from a literary perspective, such as metrics, themes, rhetorics and other poetical elements. Chandragupta ruled the Mauryan Empire during the 4th century BCE, hence this text can also be studied as a historical textbook of ancient India.
2.17. Use of Puṣpitāgrā metre
[Full title: The Chandas employed in Mudrārākṣasa (17). Puṣpitāgrā]
Gaṅgādāsa defined Puṣpitāgrā chandas as:—
ayuji nayugarephato yakāro yuji ca najau jaragāśca puṣpitāgrā/[1]
When in the odd quarters of a meter there remains na, na, ra and ya gaṇas; and in the even quarters there are the gaṇas present, viz, na, ja, ja, ra and ga that is Puṣpitāgrā meter. Thus it is a Viṣamavṛtta type of meter having 12 syllables in the odd quarters and 13 syllables in the even quarters. This meter has been used once in the Prastāvanā portion of Mudrārākṣasa:
| na | | | na | | | ra | | | ya | | | na | | | ja | | | ja | | | ra | | | ga |
| ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | | | ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | | | - ⏑ - | | | ⏑ - - | | | ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | | | ⏑ - ⏑ | | | ⏑ - ⏑ | | | - ⏑ - | | | - |
vahati | jalami |yaṃ pina |ṣṭigandhā|niyami |yamudgra|thate sra|jo vici |trāḥ|
musala |midami |yaṃ ca pā|takāle | mahura|nuyāti | kalena | hūṃkṛte| na ||[2]
Now, we have scanned the verse in the above and got the above said gaṇas in both the odd and the even quarters respectively. Therefore, it is none but the Puṣpitāgrā meter.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Chandomañjarī, III.5, p.184
[2]:
Mudrārākṣasa, I. 4