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The Apabhraíša Poet Caturmukha
203
This can be translated as
'Here am I, Arjuna; there are you; and this is the battle.' If tumha is counted as two mātrā (for this there is enough sanction of standard Prakrit and Apabhramsa prosodists),21 this would be a pāda of 13 mātrās. Now with this compare the Ghattā of Svayambhū's Harivañía 67 11.
Kuru paccāriu Ajjunena, te tumhaim so hau eu ranu /
rakkhaho sisu Jayaddahaho, lai dharahu savya maim ekku khanu // which can be translated as 'Arjuna challenged the Kuru king : There are you; here am I: this is the battle. Try to save Jayadratha's head, if you can; come on ! Lct you all try to hold me, even for one moment!' The resemblance between Sc. IV 3a and the second pāda of this Ghattā is unmistakable. It is not without some significance that metrically the Ghattā has 13 mātrās in the odd pādas and 15 in the even ones.
17. Again Sc. VI 44.1 relating to the Bhārata narrative and given anonymously is to be considered on the same lines. It reads :
ekkal? u) ji Ajjunu, saggammi kahim(? ep)piņu / Doņu su-dukkhena, dara ruai punuppunu //
Translation : ‘Arjuna was the only one (who could have accomplished this:) but he is now in heaven : uttering such words Droņa was gently weeping, again and again, in deep grief'. If we consult Svayambhū's Harivañía, we find that the situation described in Sc. VI 58 relates to the Svayan vara of Draupadi, when one after another the famous princes, failing to string the bow as stipulated, return crest-fallen to their seats and then disguised Arjuna steps forth, strings the bow and prepares to pierce the target. This spectacle immediately stirs up in Drona's heart sorrowful memories of Arjuna, who could have easily performed that feat of archery but who had reportedly perished in fire at Vāraṇāvata along with his brothers and mother. The wording at one place in Svayam bhū's passage closely resemble that of Sc. VI 44.1 Harivañía 21 8 8b reads :
