Indian Antiquary Vol 42

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 203

JULY, 1913.)
INDIAN INSORIPTIONS AND THE KAVYA
191
Last of all, the phrase - CarrataTIT feat Gerrar (. 5) is a hard nut to crack. No full-fledged classical poet has taken the liberty in this way. On the other hand, a similar phrase is more frequently met with in the epios.65 The many points of similarity with the epice, which the language of the Girnar práasti exhibits, could have led to the supposition that the author had cultivated himself exclusively by the reading of epics and that a kdvya proper was not at all known to him. But such a supposition is contradicted, first of all, by the general impression, which his composition makes. Whoever reads it attentively would feel that in the matter of the development of the style, it shows a stage considerably in advance of the epics. Farther the supposition is contradicted by several particulars leading to a similar conclusion, especially the important passage in l. 14, wherein the author enumerates the attributes of a good composition, prevalent in his time.
As for the points of affinity with the kávya style proper, which this prasasts exhibits, it is to be first of all noticed that the author knew very well the canons laid down by Dandin as common to all schools, according to which ojas or samisa-bkůyastpa, the frequency and length of compounds, is the principal feature of a prose composition. In the prasasti also, the compounds occur more frequently than single words, and the compounds themselves often exhibit a conspicuous length. Thus in the very first line, there is a broken compound which consists of nine words with twenty-three letters. Such compounds and others extending over between ten and twenty letters are numerous Orice in the description of the king (1. 11) the gathor goes to the extreme of having a compound word which comprises seventeen words with forty letters. As compared with Harishena's performance, that of the Gujarati author is by all means a modest one, though the latter far surpasses what the epic poets have been capable of doing or have regarded as permissible. As with Harisbeņa, & rhythmical arrangement of letters in the longer compounds is often noticeable, as for instance, in 1l. 6 and 9 ff. Hand in hand with the length and number of compounds, goes the length of the sentences. The prasasti apparently contains only five sentences with forty-nine grantha, of which the fourth Bentence alone consists of more than twenty-three grantha, Harisbeņa surpasses the Gujarati writer, in this point also, and this is an important point, because his whole kdvya, though longer in extent, contains only one sentence. Of the Sabddlashk dras, we have only the Anuprása, and the repetitions of parts of words, more seldom of whole words, as well as of single letters producing a similar sound, are very frequently met with. The specially remarkable instances are:
T&T ZURİT TRT (1.4), quitar (1.5), atat rat (1.6), rietaryo (1.10), qaiat Pargaritat (111), arrari Perri ( ibid. ), ferraraileani (1.12 ), R aufarha (1.13), orarurari fearai (ibid.), Terror (ibid.),
TATITTAT (ibid.), 1990° ( 1.14 ), ATTAramt ibid.), TRATTAT OFITEAT (1.15).
Ti (1.16 ), T TT (1.18), wife (1.19 ). The Varndnuprdeas, which do not strike us at first sight, but which are, nevertheless, not less characteristio, are specially numerous in गिरिशिखरतरुत्तटाहालकोपतल्पहारशरणोच्छ्य विध्वंFETT (1-6), where the repetitions of consonants and vowels are linked together very skilfully. Thus it is quite evident that the author took great troubles with these word-ornaments and attached great importance to them. His use of these far surpasses what the epic literature can present, and stands pretty on a level with what we have in Harishen. The word ardhigarraffrontert is just exactly in the Kdvya style, for the compound arjitorjita is very much favourite with the later court-poets. As for the Arthdlankdras, our author uses them but very rarely. Thus there are only two Upamás to be noted. In 1. 1-2, it is said that the lake or rather the embankment thereof is parvrata-pratisparddhi, resembling a spur of a mountain'; and in L. 8, the dried-up lake is spoken of as maru-dhanva-kalpam, resembling Bandy desert. In the former instance, the expression pratispardlhi is quite characteristic of the Kdoya style. We have an Utprekshd in the already mentioned passage, Tora
Of. for instance, Nela XII, 28, AT m er and also the quotations onder in the Petersborg Lexicon