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(3) The poem should be able to win the hearts of the people of all types - Samastalokarañjakatva. This and many of the above points arise from the principle of propriety or Aucityā.
(4) It is to have expressions adorned by good figures of speech or Alamkaras.
(5) The sense of propriety in regard to place, time, movement, characters in the story etc. must be scrupulously
observed.
(6) It may have other minor incidental stories introduced. (7) It should resort to the two styles of composition or Margadvaya (of Daṇḍin).
Varieties of the Mahakāvya
Hemachandra also cites examples of Mahākāvya compositions in Sanskrit, where it is called Sargabandha, e.g. Hayagrivavadha etc.; in Prakrit, called Asvasakabandha, being divided into cantos called Aśvasakas, e.g. Setubandha etc.; in Apabhransabhāṣa, called Sandhibandha, being divided into cantos called Sandhis, eg. Abdhimanthana; and in folk Aprabramsabhaṣā or rustic tongues or dialects, called Avaskandhabandha, being divided into cantos called Avaskandha, e.g. Bhimakāvya etc. Definition of Mahākāvya: Not too Rigid
Explaining the significance of the word 'Prayah' in the definition of the Mahäkävya, Hemachandra remarks that there is no harm in calling the cantos of a Sanskrit Mahākāvya as Aśvāsaka, as, for instance, it is found in Hariprabodha and others. Again, Prayaḥ also allows the use of one and only one metre throughout the poem. Without any change, in long poems such as Ravaṇavijaya, Harivijaya and Setubandha.
2. The Akhyāyikā Form
The second type of the
Sravyakavya is the Akhyāyika. It is an autobiographical work of some outstanding personality who is, of course, the hero of the story. It is narrated by the
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