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SAHRDAYĀLOKA We have to note here one point : While illustrating these three classes, the Brhatkathā, the Parvabandha and the Kāndabandha, Bhoja says : 'Story like that of Naravāhanadatta and others', 'Mahābhārata and the like', and 'Compositions like the Ramayana'. - "naravāhanadattā"deh caritam iva bịhatkathā", "mahābhārataprabhrti", and "rāmāyana-sannibho bhavati." From this we have to suppose that Bhoja had in mind other Brhatkathās, other Bhārata-like-works and other Rāmāyaṇas or Rāmāyaṇa-like works. He might have meant that such other works existed or that they are possible, or, as it is most likely, might have used the words 'iva', 'prabhști', 'sannibha', conventionally and for the sake of uniformity."
· No., Bhoja did mean works like the Rāmāyaṇa etc., for we know about the Jain Version of the Rāmāyana for sure, through the efforts of Dr. V. M. Kulkarni, our guru. Being closer to Gujarat, Bhoja must have been conversant with such
orks hardly depicted any originality in the field of poetry, they being mostly unimpressive imitations of the famous works of Vyāsa or Vālmīki, or any writer of eminence.
"Sargabandha' is not defined here by Bhoja, as perhaps it is a famous type. But he says :
“yasminn itihāsárthān apeśalān peśalān kaviḥ kurute, sa hayagrīvavadhā"di-prabandha
iva, sargabandhaḥ syāt.” Wherein historical theme which is not beautiful, is rendered as if beautiful by poets, such is a sarga-bandha as is hayagrīva-vadha and such other works. Elsewhere Bhoja has defined this type, the sargabandha or a mahākāvya in a like fashion as Dandin (pp. 480, ibid, Śr. Pra. XI. (End. portion)
Āśvāsaka-bandha is, according to Bhoja, a prākṣta composition in verse such as 'Setubandha' etc. Dandin calls this 'skandhaka-bandha', because the metre employed is the mātrā-cchanda such as “skandhaka”. Bhoja says:
"yaḥ sargabandhatulyo nibadhyate prākstena śuddhena, āśvāsaka-bandho'sau
vijñeyaḥ setubandhā"diḥ." Bhoja, for certain, had a vast literature in Sanskrit. Prakrita and Apa before him.
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