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INTRODUCTION
1. Vṛttajatisamuccaya of Virahanka is a very important and old work on Prakrit Prosody. It consists of six chapters called Niyamas, and is written in the Präkrit language except the 5th chapter which defines and illustrates by the definitions themselves a few Sanskrit Varṇa Vṛttas and is wholly composed in Sanskrit. The opening Sloka contains cbeisance to Goddess Sarasvati and to two or three predecessors of his in the field of Prakrit Prosody. These predecessors of his bear names which are similar to his own; they are Sadbhāvalāñchana and Avalepacihna. Pingala is of course mentioned by the author here; but about the two others we do not have any knowledge whatsoever, though the commentator tries to explain that the first was the author's Guru and the second was a distinguished poet. As regards the name of the author, its significance is altogether lost to us; nor does the commentator seem to know anything about it. He refuses to discuss whether the name is Rūḍha or Yaugika, as it was not likely to serve any useful purpose. After the opening Mangala Śloka, the author promises to define and illustrate by the definition itself the two kinds of metres, namely, the Mātrā Vṛttas and the Varna Vṛttas, which were known and current at his time (vv. 2,3). The words are addressed to his beloved by Virahānka, who may be supposed to have composed the treatise during the period of his viraha from her; or what is more likely, this beloved may have been an imaginary one, just a sort of pretext to fill the gaps of his illustrative definitions of metres. For our author employs whole stanzas of metres to define them instead of single lines as is done by Jayadeva and those who followed him, or Sutras as is done by Pingala and Hemacandra. Nevertheless, it is evident that Virahanka was possessed of a romantic bend of mind, from his love for Prakrit poetry and the adjectives which he heaps upon his beloved in his address to her, together with the variety of expressions which he employs for the Mātrā Gaņas, the Varņa Gaņas, as well as the individual letters or Varņas. The definitions of the Dvipadīs in chapter III are also interesting from this point of view. In modestly referring to his own ability he compares his intelligence with the almost invisible woolly growth on the cheeks of a lovely lady.
2. The first chapter enumerates the Präkrit metres which are defined in the sequel. The enumeration contains the names of all the Prakrit metres so defined except the 52 varieties of the Dvipadi given in chapter III and the Sanskrit Varna Vrttas given in chapter V. The enumeration
