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VI. DVĀŚYRAYAKĀVYA : A MAHAKAVYA
Like his predecessors, Hemacandra also tried his best to fulfill all the characteristics of a Māhākāvya in the Dvyāśrayakāvya. Undoubtedly his poem is different from those of other poets (e.g. Bhāravj and Māgha) both in subject and motif. Although he has followed the Bhattikāvya in motif, yet he has not adopted the conventional banal theme which was chosen by the former. Hemacandra took his theme from his contemporary history ; adopted the conventional exuberant style of expression and had grammatical examples as a recourse. Restrained by the historical facts and figures and controlled by the systematic illustrative vocabulary, Hemacandra could not write in frolic fashion and fancy He described the conventional natural phenomenon only in its outer apparent physique. His motif is a great obstacle in the vividness of the expression of sentiments and accordant diction.
The Dvyāśrayakāvya is divided in twenty eight cantos. Twenty cantos are written in Sankrit and eight cantos in Prakrit. The cantos of the Dvyāśrayakāvya are lengthy. The largest (canto I) has 201 verses and the shortest canto XIV contains 74 verses only.
The poem begins with an auspicious Jain word Arham? which is a synonym of Jina and Brahmā. The Kumārapālacarita also begins with Atha, an auspicious word.
The theme of the poem consists of the history of the Chaulukyas of Gujarat. It begins with Mülarāja who was the proper originator of the dynasty and having described the
1. Dy. I, 1.
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