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Guņāścaiva, .. etc." (Nātyaśāstra C.S. XVII. 100). But the other recension of Bharata's verse describes Samatā as an even collocation not too full of soft, simple, words or words without much meaning or words difficult to understand. Only the needed words should be used, avoiding superfluity; but clarity is necessary. "Nāticūrņapadairyukta ... etc." (Nātyaśāstra XVI. 101).
Dandin objects by saying, "How can Alamkāras and Guņas beautify each other when their substrata differ ?" Besides, Śleșa, Yamaka and Citra generally function devoid of Guņas. Even Anuprāsa is frequently used thus. So, Samam is evenness of composition (K.Ā. I. 47). This evenness is soft, hard and medium in composition as it arises from the sequence of Praudha, Mrdu and Madhya letters. Thus, Samatā is even collocation and has three varieties : all-soft, all-harsh (Sphuţa or Praudha) and/or soft and harsh mixed.
But Vāmana criticises this concept of Samatā as not different from the Vịttis. He, therefore, states that Samatā consists in not giving up until the end the specific Ritis with which the composition has begun. This holds in the case of Muktakas as well as Prabandhas (VKAS 3.1.12-13). Thus Samatā is Mārga-abheda or Uniformity of style. Three verses are given to illustrate each of the three styles kept up uniformly. The author of the text remarks that those critics who should know better about the art of composition do not at all times consider Samatā as striking. In fact, in the example (Verse 419 from the Hanumannāțaka VII. 44), giving up of the soft style is actually a Guņa. Hence Samatā is no Guņa.
As for Samatā as an Arthaguņa, it is defined by Vāmana as avoidance of (the Doşa) Vişamatā (Avaişamyam Samatā) (VKAS. 3.2.5). It is explained as absence of the Doşa called Prakramabhanga or Prakramabheda. Sometimes, however, the Prakrama may be breached. So Prakramabheda is Vaişayam and Avaisamyam.
Thus, it is absence of Doșa, not a Guņa.
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