Setubandha

Author(s): Krishnakant Handiqui
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 95

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INTRODUCTION It may be added that Mudamalla in his gloss on Setu 2.27 quotes a definition of the Upagalitaka metre in Prakrit, which is imperfect in our copy; but the three words that are clearly legible (taïa-cchattha....mupagaliam) seem to show that it corresponds to Hemacandra's Sanskrit definition of the metre.
Lambitā
The Lambitā metre consists of twentytwo mātrās. Acc. to Virahānka 4.96, each pada should contain an initial Dvimātra followed by five Caturmātras of which the second and the fourth should be madhyaguru. Acc. to a general rule laid down by Virahānka 4.107, it is permissible to use a sarvalaghu in place of a madhyaguru wherever it is prescribed. There are several perfect examples of this metre in the Setubandha : 6.48, 53, 56 ; 7.45, 47, 49, 51, 60; 8.65; 9.88. Two other examples (8.61, 63) contain slight irregularities. Kumudini
The Kumudini metre, described by Virahānka 4.98, is similar to the Lambita, with twentytwo mātrās consisting of five Caturmātras and a long letter at the end of a pāda instead of a Dvimātra at the beginning. The fourth Caturmatra should be madhyaguru. Setu 6.68 is a complete example of Kumudinī, which seems also to be employed in 6.59; but in the latter verse the fourth Caturmātra is madhyaguru in the first and second pādas only. Lalitā
The Lalitā metre, described by Virahāňka 4.93, has twentyfour mātrās in each pada distributed in the following order : two Caturmātras, one Pañcamātra (madhyalaghu), another Caturmatra, another Pañcamātra like the previous