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SAHṚDAYALOKA
Locana talks of two major types of prose compositions such as the ākhyāyikā and katha. The former is arranged in chapters called ucchvāsas and contain verses in vaktra and apara-vaktra metres. The katha has none of these qualifications. The Agnipurāṇa gives five types of prose composition which have khaṇḍakathā, parikatha and kathānikā over and above the two enumerated above. The vṛttikāra Anandavardhana has used a dvandva compound for katha and akhyāyikā, to suggest that both these types are available in prose compositions. The use of 'adi' is to include a variety called 'campu'. The Locana quotes Dandin suggesting the form of Campu mixed with both prose and verse: "gadya-padyamayī kācic campur ity abhidhīyate." We may add that by 'adi' all newer and newer forms of literary writing i.e. kāvya or sahitya that are being practiced even to-day in various languages all over the world could be included. Thus absured theatre and absurd poetry also could be included by 'adi'.
Thus the Dhv. and the Locana name a number of types of major and minor compositions both in prose and verse. All these forms could be primarily subdivided into gadya, padya and abhineya. The types beginning from muktaka to sargabandha fall under padya i.e. verse formation. In these types the five beginning from muktaka to kulaka are not rich in story element (i.e. katha-tattva), or narration. So, types other than these are long narratives-while muktaka and the rest may be taken as śuddha-bhedas. We may arrange these types in a tabular form as under -
kāvya
śuddha (padya) (minor compositions in verse)
muktaka sandānitaka kalāpaka kulaka
prabandha (major) (compositions)
padya
(verse)
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abhineya (to be enected)
paryayabandha parikathā khaṇḍakathā sakalakathā
sargabandha rūpakas
uparūpakas
kathā
äkhyāyika
Next to Anandavardhana. We have Bhoja who discusses literary forms in great details.
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gadya (prose)
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