8. Metres used by Somadeva

No attempt is made here to analyse the metres used by Somadeva in his verses. He uses, as a rule, the ordinary metres employed in Kavya poetry, and it will be sufficient to point out a few special features, the most notable of which is the adaptation of certain Prakrit metres to the requirements of Sanskrit poetry. Duvai or Dvipadi is a Prakrit metre, of which each foot consists of one gana of six matras, five ganas of four matras, and one long syllable at the end; the second and sixth ganas may be gurumadhya (~~) or sarvalaghu (~~~~). The metre is frequently used in Apabhramsa poetry, and Somadeva employs it in several verses of Yasastilaka ( 1. 167, 169 ; 3. 9, 17, 18, 313, etc). For example, purvam sarasakarajarekhakrtiradhararucistato ravistadanu ca ghusrnapindakhandadyutirana cayacchavistatah | punarayamarunaratnamu kurasri hrdayati raganirbharaih kurvan kakubhi kakubhi bandhukamayimiva srstimamsubhih || 3. 17 satamakhadhama hemakumbhakrtirindrasamudra vidruma stamba stimita kantiraharutsava samaya suvarnadarpanah | udayati ravirudaraharirohanarucirucirotkaraih karairdigdayita mukhani pinjarayannarunitajaladhimandalah || 3. 18 suragiriramara sindhurambhonidhiravaniranurusarathih phanipatiramrtarociramarasca diso dasa yavadambaram | tavadasesa bhuvanacintamanicarita param mahotsavairutsavacaritacandra jaya jiva viraja ciraya nanda ca || 1. 167 satamakha dahana kala guha varuna samirana dhanada candramah prathitaikaikakumbhivibhavastadibhanavata prayatnatah | ityupadestukama iva hastamudancati viyati varano no cedibhavihinaracana bhavatam bhavita phtakini || 3. 313 It is certain that Somadeva is not the first writer to employ the Duvai metre in Sanskrit verse. The following verse occurring in Dasabhakti, a collection of Jaina devotional compositions in Prakrit and Sanskrit, is, for instance, composed in the Duvai metre; and the Sanskrit Bhaktis, it should be noted, are attributed to Pujyapada. jatijarorurogamaranaturasokasahasradipitah duhsahanarakapatana samvastadhiyah pratibuddhacetasah | jivitamambubinducapalam tadidabhrasama vibhutayah sakalamidam vicintya munayah prasamaya vanantamasritah || The Dvipadi or Duvai, or Doai, as it is also called in the Prakrta Paingala, is, properly speaking, a metre with two padas, and appears as such in 23

Apabhramsa works; but the Prakrit example of Dvipadi given in Hemacandra's Chandonusasana contains four feet; and the combined definition and example of the metre in the Prakrta Paingala, although apparently given in two verses of two feet each (1. 152, 153), is taken by some to represent one verse of four feet. Somadeva's Sanskrit verses in the Dvipadi metre consist of four feet. Mayanavayara or Madanavatara is another Prakrit metre used by Somadeva in a group of lyrical verses, in Book V, which describe the Karahata country. Each foot of this metre consists of four ganas of five matras, as pointed out by Hemacandra in his Chandonusasana, Chap. 4. Nanditadhya in his Gathalaksana³ calls the metre Camdanana. The verses in question are cited below (p. 162 ) : sasya sampatti samksiptasimabhuvah satravapipraparamaramyodayah sri vilasotsava skhalita surasamitayah pikavadhurutamanohari sarvartavah samarabhara bhagibhatabhavavadotkatah tyaga bhogaprabhavadbhutakhyatayah pravanasaranagatoddharana kulakirtayah sukrtaphalabhumayo gramavinivesikah pracurapathikapriyapanitapathivastavah | padminikhandatandavitatoyasayah | phulaphalapallavola sivanavrttayah | sakalasamsarasukhasevitagantavah | kheladunmadavrsotkhata tatinitatah | suddhavarnasramacaritavigatetayah santi dharmarthakamesu samanitayah | kamitaca sivijitamaroddesakah || Prakrit metres are also used in the three lyrical panegyrics, two in honour of king Maradatta in Book I ( verses 175-212) and one in honour of, the Arhat in Book VIII, section 37, consisting of 28 verses. Somadeva's scheme consists of an opening verse or verses in Arya metre which he calls Varna; one verse in Matra metre consisting of one line of 41 matras and 1 'idam ca vrttam dvipadameva na catuspadam, udaharananurodhaditi kecit | anye tu yadidam dvipadameva tarhi laksanam padacatustayena katham krtamiti idam catusyadameva, na codaharana virodhastasya caranadvayenapi sambhavat ' | See Comm. on verse 154 in prakrtapaingalam (B. I. ). 2 It will be seen that each verse has four feet and each foot twenty matras. Somadeva seems to follow Apabhramsa models. The metre is known also as Kaminimohana and occurs in the Apabhramsa poem Samvdesarasaksa ( verses 82, 83, 85 ). For example, vayana nisunevi manamatthasaravattiya, mayausaramukka nam harini uttatthiya| mukka diunha nisasa usasamtiya, padhiya iya gaha niya - yani varasamtiya || 83. The metre is discussed by Bhayani in his Introduction to the poem, p. 58, Singhi Jain Series, Bombay 1945. Samdesarasaka has been attributed to the twelfth century A. D. 3 Edited by Prof. Velankar in ABORI, Vol. XIV, pp. 1-38. There are five feet, and Somadeva's scheme is 15+11+15+12+15. The Matra is an Apabhramsa metre and employed in Samdesarasaka (verses 18, 19, 24, 25 etc ). In Apabhramsa poetry a Matra verse is often followed by a Doha, and the whole is called Radda. The Prakrta Paingala describes seven varieties of Fadda, that is,

another of 27; one or more verses with four feet of sixteen matras each, called by him Catuspadi; several verses in Paddhatika or Pajjhatika metre consisting of four feet of sixteen matras each, and each foot rhyming with the other and ending with a ja-gana (-) or sometimes four laghus; and a concluding verse called Ghatta. It may be noted that the Pajjhatika is a popular metre in Apabhramsa poetry. It is, for instance, the prevailing metre of Karakandacariu of Kanakamara; while it has been pointed out that of the three hundred and fifty-four Kadavakas (verse-groups) in Dhanapala's Bhavisayattakaha, almost all with the exception of about seventeen are either in Pajjhatika or in Alillaha metre, which is really a variety of Pajjhatika. As regards the Ghatta verse, in all narrative poems in Apabhramsa he concluding couplet of a Kadavaka is almost always called Ghatta. Pingala recognises a Ghatta metre of 62 matras (31+31), and Srutasagara saya in his commentary on 1. 212 that there are twentyseven varieties of Ghatta, and it consist of 60 matras and sometimes of 62 matras. Of the three Ghattas in our work, two (1. 187 and 8. 37) consist of 60 matras, and in each half the first two sections of 10 and 8 matras each have a caesura and rhyme with each other, so that each half of 30 matras corresponds to a pada of the Caupaia described and illustrated in Prakrta Paingala (1. 97 and 98). The remaining Ghatta (1. 212) is a two-foot Dvipadi with 28 matras (6+4+4+4 4+6) in each half. A reference to Apabhramsa poetry shows that a variety of metres may be used for the Ghatta verse. may 2 As regards Somadeva's scheme of arrangement, it seems to be based on Prakrit models. An arrangement, similar to his is, for instance, of Matra; and the composition of some of these resembles that of Somadeva's verse. For instance, the scheme of the Caruseni variety is 15+ 11+15+11+15; that of Bhadra is 15+ 12+ 15 +12+15; and that of Rajasena is 15+12+15+11 +15. Somadeva's scheme represents a slight variation of the Rajasena variety in respect of the number of matras in the second and fourth padas, the total number of matras (68) being the same. The following example of the metre is from Samdesarasaka (vorse 25 ) : phusai loyana ruvai dukkhatta, dhammillaumukkamuha, vijjambhai aru amgu modai | virahanali samtavia, ale 1. This is followed by two lines of Doha. The scheme followed here is 15+11+15+11+ 15 corresponding to the Caruseni of Prakrta Paingala. The Rajasena scheme of 15+ 12 + 15 +11+ 15 is also found in Samdesarasaka, as pointed out by Bhayani (op. cit.), p. 67. The Matra is believed to be a very old Apabhramsa metre, as it was known to Virahanka (Vrttajatisamuccaya, JBBRAS, 1929, p. 87) who describes four different varieties of it, Carunetri, Rahuseni etc. See Velankar: Apabhramsa Metres, Journal of the University of Bombay, November 1933, p. 50. 1 See Introduction to Gune's edition in G. O. S., p. 28. 2 See first definition of Dvipadi in Prakrta-Paingala.

found at the beginning of Dhavala's Harivamsapurana composed in Apabhramsa verse, as can be seen from the extracts from that work given in Hiralal's Catalogue of Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts in C. P. and Berar (pp. 716 and 763). We have here a group of eulogistic verses beginning with a Vanni (i. e. Varna I. 188-90 ) followed by a Matra (I. 191) and other verses (Catuspadi I. 192, Paddhatika I. 193, 210-11 ) ending with a Ghatta (I. 212). One of the panegyrics addressed to Maradatta is reproduced below to illustrate the above scheme of arrangement followed by Somadeva. As we have already pointed out (see Chap. 1), there was a considerable output of Apabhramsa poetry in and before Somadeva's time; and he has clearly borrowed Apabhramsa metres and applied them to Sanskrit verse for the sake of novelty. varnah || laksmiramanangah sapalakula kalavikramottungah | kirtivilasatamangah prataparangasciram jayatu || utsarita risarpah saranagata nrpaticitta samtarpah | laksmilalamakurpastapatu ciram nrpatikandarpah || bhuvanaja sarastaranirdharmamrtaharanirudayatarudharanih | sriramanira tisaranirmandalikasikhamanirjiyat || matra || kuvalayotsava candra nrpatindra laksmivara kirtisaradamrtavrstipallavita budhavana | abhuvanamabhimanadhana dharyasadana jaya vihitasadavana || catuspadi || nrpa mahati bhavati kimcidvirapi vaktum gunamakhilam nottarami | diptiryumaneravanisa yatra ka saktih kacamanerhi tatra || paddhatika || jaya laksmikarakamalatapatra dharmarthakamasamavrttacitta keralamahila mukhakamalahamsa colastri kucakumala vinoda kuntalakantalakabhanganirata sarasvatarasanisyandapatra | tirtharthi manorathavartivitta || vangivanitasravanavatamsa | pallavaramanikrtavirahakheda || malayangananganakhadana nirata | vanavasiyosidiksanavimugdha karnatayuvatikaitavavidagdha | kurujangalalalanakucatanutra kambojapurandhritilakapatra || ghatta || nrpanrpatisvara bhuramanisvara yadidamakhilagunasamsraya | uktam kimcitravatstutikrticittaccitram na mahodaya || Among comparatively rare Sanskrit metres employed by Somadeva may be mentioned the Mattebhavikridita used in 2.229. The metre of the following verse ( 1. 127 ) is uncertain. na dainyat prananam na ca hrdayaharinasya rataye na darpadanganam na ca karanakarino'sya madanat | vidhavrttih kim tu ksatamadanacaritasrutavidheh pare hetau mukteriha munisu na khalu sthitiriyam || The verse is composed in a metre corresponding to the Krida metre described by Hemacandra in his Chandonusasana, chap. 2, but in that metre the 12 th and 13 th syllables are heavy, whereas they are light in Somadeva's verse.