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98
PAUMACARIU
out a whole Sandhi different fancy metres are used to break the monotony of the narrative frame. Many Varnavrttas of the Sk. prosody especially those characterized by a recurrent structural unitare employed for this purpose. The language of all such passages in the Varņavsttas is more or less Prakritized. This practice of the Ap. epic poets is obviously based upon the similar practice found in Sk. Mahākävyas.
Four such variation metres are found in PC. L-XX.
(25). Ma da navatāra.
Scheme. 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 (= 20).
Occurrence. III 1, IX 12. Technically it is a Samacatuşpadi. Of course in the Kadavaka it appears in couplets. The last Gaņa always ends in a long. All the Gaņas show a pronounced amphimacer (-x-) tendency. This means that the forms x X X X X X and xxx are normally avoided. SC. VIII (3) treats this metre in a general way and illustrates it by citing PC. 24 2 1-2.
For other metrical authorities see Bhayani, 1945, 58-59.
The Madanāvatāra is several times used in MP. and appears to be a favourite of the post-tenth century Ap. poets. It is found in Devacandrasūri's Sulasakkhánu (2. Kadavaka), Jayadevamuni's Bhāvanāsandhi (2., 4., 6. Kadavaka), Nemināthadvatrimśika (almost throughout) etc. (26). Scheme. a. 4 tu-(or UUU (= 8).
b. 4 + 4 + 4 + U — (or uu) u (= 16). Occurrence. XVII 8.
Technically the metre is of the Antarasamă Catușpadi type. But a rhymed distich being the unit of the Kadavaka it appears in a two lined form with the rhyme scheme a/b that is usual in the Kadavaka.
The first Gaņa of the 8-moraic Pāda avoids V-U. Hence the odd Pāda corresponds with the Pādas of the Dvipadi Candralekhā' (4 + U-(or Uu) u ) described by Hemacandra.
The even Päda is that of the Paddhadiā. It can be easily seen that the odd Päda is identical in structure with the last eight moras of the Paddhadia-pāda. Looked at in this way the metre in question is just a combination of a truncated and a full Paddhadia-pāda. The metre of MP. 13 10 is just the reverse of ours. There a is equivalent to our b and vice versa.
(27) Vilasini.
Scheme. 3 + 3 + 4 + 3 + (= 16).
Occurrence. XVII 12 (XLVI 2).
All the lines satisfy the schemes of Vilāsini' and Bhúşana Galitaka (5 + 5 + 3 + 0-). So the structure cannot tell us which of the two is the metre employed in the present case. But in RC. 71 2 it is called Vilasini-chanda and Vilāsini belongs to that group
(1) ca-la-da-lāh Candralekha/ Ch. VII 65. (2) tau cah tau Vilāsini/ Ch. IV 60. (3) pau tau Bhūşaņā/ Ch. IV 37.
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