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3S 15-16 ]
सवृत्तिकः कविदर्पणः
there can be no doubt that the Dandaka was originally a Tāla Vṛtta sung to the accompaniment of a time-keeping instrument or of a regular rhythmic dance as in the case of the Dandaka in the 5th Act of the MalatiMadhava of Bhavabhūti. It was sung in the Tāla of 8 or 10 Mātrās according as the particular Akṣara Gana contained 4 or 5 Mātrās in it.16 The Seşa Vṛttas are merely hinted at by our author; but they are more fully described by Jayakirti at JK. 2.262-275; by Hemacandra at Chandonuśāsana 2.381-386 and Svayambhu at SB. 1.135-139. They appear to belong to the tradition of the Jain prosodists. Pingala, Jayadeva (who closely follows Pingala) and Kedāra do not mention them at all. Ratnamañjūṣā mentions only the Aticchandas; but the Jänäśrayi mentions none at all.
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16. Kavidarpana defines in the fourth chapter 109 Varna Vṛttas of the Sama Catuşpadi type including the Dandakas, 8 Ardhasama Catuspadis and all the four different groups of the Vişama Catuṣpadīs, viz., the Vaktra, the Padacatururdhva, the Udgata and the Upasthita-pracupita. Of these last four, the author discusses the Vaktra group in greater details in vv. 118-127, while the remaining three are disposed of in a single stanza each. The Sama Catuṣpadīs are distributed over 26 classes called Jatis which contain from 1 to 26 Akşaras in each Pāda. The names of these 26 Jātis are given in chapter 3; they begin with Uktā and end with Utkṛti. Among these, the class called Anuṣṭubh has 8 Akṣaras in each Pada of the metres belonging to it. Kavidarpana defines 6 metres of this class and in Sūtra 19 states that any other metre of this class should be called Vitana. The position of this Sūtra makes it absolutely clear that 'any other metre' of this same class, i.e. the Anustubh, is meant by the author; yet the remarks of the commentator are rather obscure, particularly so the words vakṣyamanebhyo anya-sama-vṛttam, which must be taken to mean that Vitāna signifies any Sama Vṛtta belonging to any one of the 26 classes mentioned above. Our commentator, however, is not the original culprit, since he has almost copied out the words of Hemacandra's own commentary on his Chandonusasana 2.67-68 (NSP. edition p. 5a, line 4 ff.) which are: uktad vakṣyamānāc ca anyat sama-vṛttam chando vitānasamjñam: 'Any metre other than those that are already defined and those that are yet to be defined is called Vitana'. Jayakīrti in his Chandonusāsana 2.67-68 considers Vitāna as an alternative name for Citrapadā; perhaps he has followed an older tradition represented by Virahanka, VJS., 5.11. But it is more likely that he has adopted this definition and name in view of Halayudha's criticism of Jayadeva's definition
16. See notes on Sutras 105-109 for the different kinds of the Dandakas, below.
