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Classification of Poetry
817 In the third chapter of his śộngāra prakāśa (= sp. pra), after discussing the topic of vākya and prakarana, Bhoja picks up ‘prabandha', which he defines as "vidhinised hávagatihetuḥ mahāvākyam prabandhah.” i.e. Prabandha or a major composition is a ‘mahāvākya' having injunction or negation as its objective. It is said to be three-fold viz. padya i.e. verse, gadya or prose and miśra i.e. a mixture of both verse and prose. Padya or verse is also three-fold viz. aksara-cchahdas - i.e. vedic verses, mātrā-cchandas and gana-cchandas. All these three are again each three-fold such as sama, ardha-sama and visama. Bhoja illustrates all these varieties (pp. 121, Edn. Josyer). He says that all these three types of verse are seen in mahākāvya, itihāsa, śruti, etc.
'gadya' or prose is defined as collection of words not arranged in a metr cchandah pada-santāno gadyam. This is three-fold viz. vrtta-gadhi, cūrnam and utkalikāprāyam. The first one is such which is sprinkled by verse formation-padyagandha-vad vrtta-gandhi. This we had seen in Vamana also. This is again three-fold such as sama-ardhasama-visama-bhedāt. In the same way mātrá-kşara-cchanda also can be traced in vștta-gandhi.
Curņa is explained as : (pp. 122, ibid) : anāviddha-lalita-padam cūrņam - It is that type of prose writing which has words that are not of involved construction and are charming. This again is three-fold viz. one having 'guru' letters to a greater extent i.e. gurubahulam, or laghu-bahulam and miśra having both guru and laghu equally divided.
Utkalikāprāya is : "a-lalitā”viddham” i.e. one having harsh letters and involved construction. This again is three-fold : “lalitáviddha-pada-vākya-bhedāt” i.e. one intercepted by lalita letters or by a-viddha i.e. non-involved pada, or by noninvolved vākya. Bhoja observes that all these varieties of prose are seen in ākhyāyikās, kathās and madhu-mallik, etc. : tad etat trividham ākhyāyikāsu, kathāsu, madhumallikā"dișu drśyante (pp. 122, ibid).
Miśra is defined as-gadya-padya-vyāyogo miśram (pp. 122, ibid). 'Mixed' has both verse and prose in it. It is three-fold such as padya-pradhāna or having a major portion in verse, gadya-pradhāna or having a major portion in prose and tulyarūpa or having both verse and prose in an equally balanced proportion. Padyapradhāna is again three-fold as due to sajātīya (padya), vijātīya (padya) and ubhābhyām (i.e. by both sajātīya and vijātīya padya. The first is seen as in itihāsa, subhāsita and koşa etc. the vijātīya is seen as in prasthāna, setubandhana, vivarana etc., and the third is as in Bharata's ten types or rūpakas.
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