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Jain Literarture and Performing Arrs
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as illustrations of the song-texts for the Prabandhas in Someśvara's Mānasollāsa.27
(a) The Dhruvā Song
Various types of Dhruvā songs were used in Sanskrit drama23. Conventions about the use of various languages (Prakrits like Sauraseni and Māgadhi, Sanskrit, etc.) in the Dhruvā are given in the thiry-second chapter of Bharata's Nātyaśāstra. But all the illustrations of the Dhruvā given there are in Sauraseni only. The Dhruvās in the Vikramorvasäva are either in Mahārāstri Prakrit or Apabhraíśa. This shows that language conventions for the Dhruvā changed in course of time.
From Bharata's description and illustrations, as also from the later tradition it is quite clear that thematically the Dhruvās were symbolic i.e. they were generally Anyoktis. They referred to a dramatic character under the guise of some animal, natural object etc.
There are some indications in a ninth century Jain work on Prakrit prosody that Dhruvās in Apabhramśa were in vogue around that period. In the Siapambhūcchandas of Svayambhū (c. 880 A.D.) the illustration of the Antarasamā Catuspadi Dhruvā29 called Rāvanahastaka (VI 13. 1) is a Gaja-Anyokti. It is comparable to Vikramorvasiya, IV 43. The illustration of Makarandikā (VI 17, 1) is a Cakravāka-Anyokti. This is comparable to Vikramorvasiya IV. 4. So also Svayambhūcchandas, VI 37, 1 is possibly a Varāha-Anyokti and IV 15, 1. a Karabha-Anyokti.
(b) The Akşiptikā Song
From the description given by Bhoja and Ranganātha, we know that Akşiptikā was a type of song. We have two references to the singing of Ākşiptikās from the Kuvalayamālā of Uddyotanasūri30. From these we come to know that this type of songs was popularly sung in the temples of Rudra, Rşabha etc. by Saivas and Jainas. An Akşiptikā song is actually given in that text.
