Sambodhi 1972 Vol 01

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 21

On Some Specimens of Carcart
442 a, b) too gives out the Prakritic source of the metre We can therefore take this song as a Carcart with a Dvi padi structure
THE SONG AT PRABHAVAKACARITA, P60 14 In the Vrddharadi-prabandha of the Prabhavakacarita, Viddhavadın is described as composing extempore a Rosaka song in Prakrit and giving a dance perfomance on the basis of that song, before a group of cowberde The actual song is also givenle (p 60 11 11-15) This incident la narrated also in the Prabadhakosa (p 16) with some variation Thoro the song 19 said to be in Ghindint metre No metre of this name can be traced in the available manuals of Prakrit metres. Actually the metre of the stanze can be identified as Chittaka (with some irregularity in the third line) And we know that the second Carcart of the Kuvalayamala is in this very metre, which is also found in one of the Apabbramga songs in the fourth act of the Vikramorvattya and is treated by Virahanka 19 So we see that for using the metro Chittaka for Carcai7 songs there was a well establis bed tradition
THE CARCARI DESCRIPTION AT
CAUPANNAMAHĀPURISACARIYA, P 191 15 So far we have considered some passages which either contain a Carcart song 80 specified or a song that was used in the Rasaka dance Besides these, we have to note a few passages which Indirectly throw somo light on the character of the Carcarı songs Theso passages purport to describe the performance of a Carcari dance or simply a Carcart at a spring festival, but the mode of description seems to have implications that aro useful for our present purpose 16 First we take up the description of Carcari occurring at Caupannamahapurisacariya, P 191 (st 143 and 144) This forms a part of the description of the Spring Festival for which purpose the author bas commonly used the Gatha metre, but as a significant variation, twice (la st 137 and 139) he has used Duipad 120 and in the two stanzas under discussion, ho haa used a special Samo-Catuspadt metre of twentyfour Matras per line The language of these stanzas is mixed with Apabbramga From the available works on Apabhramsa metres I have not been able to identify this metre But it seems to be a varlation of the Rasaka with two Matras added in the beginning and with the final syllable lengthened The general structure and rhythm is very close to those of the Rasavalaya (21 Matras per line divided as 6+4+6+- www with some variations, which was the standard metre of the Apabbramsa Rasabandha and wbich 18 also used by Jinadattasari for his Jinavallabhasar Carcari in Old Gujarati, composed in the beginning of the twelfth century