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composition i.e. a mahākāvya should be:
alamkṛtam a-samkṣitaptam
rasa-bhāva-nirantaram, sargair anati-vistīrṇaiḥ śravya-vṛttaiḥ susamdhibhiḥ. (I. 18)
sarvatra bhinna-vṛttāntair
upetam loka-rañjanam,
kāvyam kalpāntara-sthāyi
jāyate sad-alamkṛti." (I. 19)
This means that the mahākāvya should abound in various figures of speech (and such other devices), should be of a large proportion, or that it should be decorated, (alamkṛtam) by descriptions of cities, seasons etc. as noted above, in abudance. It should be rich in narration of emotions and feelings that are object of relish. The sargas should be of reasonable length i.e. containing verses in a reasonable number. The metres should be pleasing to the ear. This means that they should be in keeping with the rules laid down in works on metrics such as suvṛttatilaka and the rest. In short, the metrical composition should not be technically faulty and should be having excellences such as mādhurya. The mahākāvyas should also be graced by pleasing junctures (= susamdhibhiḥ yuktam). Also, the idea is that end of the earlier sarga should be well-knit with the beginning of the next, as observed in the S.D. VI. 321 viz. "sargánte bhavi-sargasya kathāyāḥ sūcanam bhavet." The Prabha observes that by some 'samdhi' is explained as connection of vovels and consonants also. This also should be pleasing to ears and should not sound harsh. Read Prabhā (pp. 22, ibid, on K.D. I. 18):
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SAHṚDAYALOKA
"kecit tu samdhi-padam aj-jhal - samdhi-param vyākhyāyanti. tena -
"urvy asav atra tarvālī
marvante carv avasthitiḥ,
nātrarju yujyate gantum
śiro namaya tan-manāk." - ityādi śruti-katu-samdhi-parihāraḥ kriyate."
End of a sarga has to be drafted in a metre other then the one attempted in the whole of the sarga. Normally one metre is followed in a sarga, but Prabha observes that at times in a single sarga a poet attempts different metres also, as in the fourth sarga of Śiśupālavadha or the fifth sarga in Kirātárjunīya.
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