काव्यालङ्कार (आचार्य भामह - भारतीय काव्यशास्त्र एवं अलङ्कार-सिद्धान्त मूल महाग्रन्थ सटीक)

शिक्ष्याऽभ्यासः is set out in the next verse. Since अभि-
धानं is separately mentioned, शब्दः in the verse means
rules relating to the formation of words i.e., शब्दशास्त्रं
or the science of grammar. छन्दः Metres i.e., छन्दःशास्त्रं
the science of prosody. अभिधानानि Appropriate expres-
sions. अर्थाः Ideas. इतिहासाश्रयाः कथाः Stories from tra-
ditional epics like Rāmāyaṇa and Mahā Bhārata ;
stories with any historical background. लोकः The
ways of the world. युक्तिः Conformity with the rules
of न्याय, मीमांसा and the like ; conformity with Logic
and Exegesis. कलाः Fine arts like music, painting,
sculpture and dance. मन्तव्याः All these are to be cared
for. काव्यगैः By those engaged in poetry. The last
foot of the verse is obscured by a number of differ-
ent readings. In the place of काव्यगैर्ह्यमी the other read-
ings are काव्ययैर्वशी, काव्ययैरमी, काव्ययैर्ह्यमी, काव्यतैर्वेशी and काव्य-
वैखरी. Mr. D. T. Tatacharya gives the last foot as
मन्तव्या काव्यवैखरी. Mr. Naganatha Sastri has suggested
the reading काव्यगैर्ह्यमी, and we have adopted his read-
ing. Uttuṅgodaya while commenting on Lochana
reads मन्तव्याः काव्यहेतवः. While commenting on the
Dhvanyāloka passage—भक्तमाहुस्तमन्ये, Lochana refers
to Udbhaṭa's interpretation of the verse thus:—भाम-
होक्तं 'शब्दश्छन्दोभिधानार्थाः' इत्यभिधानस्य शब्दाद्भेदं व्याख्यातुं भट्टोद्भटो बभाषे
—शब्दानां अभिधानं अभिधाव्यापारो मुख्यो गुणवृत्तिश्च इति । (N. S. P.
edition, page 10). According to Udbhaṭa, अभिधानं
means अभिधाव्यापार The primary and secondary denota-
tions of words.

FIRST PARICCHEDA 9
शब्दाभिधेये विज्ञाय कृत्वा तद्विदुपासनम् ।
विलोक्यान्पानिबन्धांश्च कार्यः काव्यक्रियादरः ॥ १० ॥
10. One should engage in the composition of
poetry after knowing words and their meanings and
after serving under experts and after examining the
works of others.
10. In this verse the Kāvya Prakāś passage
—काव्यज्ञशिक्षयाभ्यासः is amplified. शब्दश्च अभिधेयं च ते शब्दाभि-
धेये विज्ञाय After knowing the correct words and mean-
ings. तद्विदुपासनं कृत्वा After undergoing training under
काव्यज्ञs. अन्यनिबन्धांश्च विलोक्य And after a study of the trea-
tises of other poets. This is for acquiring practice
through comparative study. काव्यक्रियादरः कार्यः One
should engage himself in the composition of
poetry.
सर्वथा पदमप्येकं न निगाद्यमवद्यवत् ।
विलक्ष्मणा हि काव्येन दुःसुतेनेव निन्द्यते ॥ ११ ॥
11. By all means a single faulty word should
be avoided. One is condemned by defective poetry
as by a bad son.
11. Cf. Daṇḍin's Kāvyādarśa—तदल्पमपि नोपेक्ष्यं
काव्ये दुष्टं कथंचन । स्याद्वपुः सुन्दरमपि श्वित्रेणैकेन दुर्भगम् ॥
नाकवित्वमधर्माय व्याधये दण्डनाय वा ।
कुकवित्वं पुनः साक्षान्मृतिमाहुर्मनीषिणः ॥ १२ ॥

10 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
12. Not being a poet does not conduce to sin
sickness or punishment. But being a bad poet, wise
men declare, is directly tantamount to death.
12. Not being an author does not entail any
evil. But being a bad author brings infamy. In the
place of नाकवित्वं at the beginning of the verse, Mr.
D. T. Tatacharya reads merely अकवित्वं perhaps
on better manuscript authority. But the inter-
pretation of the reading omitting न involves a good
deal of strain. Mr. Naganatha Sastri reads न at
the beginning. The citation in Kāmadhenu, com-
mentary on Vāmanālaṁkāra (I-iii-22) also reads न
at the beginning.
रूपकादिरलंकारस्तस्यान्यैर्बहुधोदितः ।
न कान्तमपि निर्भूषं विभाति वनितामुखम् ॥ १३ ॥
13. Its adornment like Rūpaka and others is
propounded by others in several ways. Even the
charming face of a damsel does not shine, stripped
of ornament.
13. Having dealt with the purposes & equip-
ment of poetry, the author proceeds to deal with
its adornment. In Verse 15 the author declares that
the classification of literary embellishments into
two classes viz., शब्दालंकार and अर्थालंकार is acceptable to
him. In fact these three Verses 13, 14 & 15 are
bodily quoted by Mammaṭa in his Kāvya Prakāśa,
Ullāsa VI to substantiate the twofold classification of

FIRST PARICCHEDA 11
Alaṃkāras. Alliterations and other charming ar-
rangements of sound come under the head of शब्दालंकार
which is dealt with in the 2nd Paricchheda of this
book. उपमा, रूपक and other figures of speech dealt
with in Paricchhedas 2 & 3 of this book come under
the head of अर्थालंकार as they relate to the sense, not to
the sound. From the 1st half of the verse it is known
that rhetoricians before Bhāmaha had accepted fi-
gures of speech. रूपकं आदि यस्य सः रूपकादिः अलंकारः. रूपकं is
identified with metaphor. Ancients have mention-
ed elaborately about रूपक, उपमा and other अर्थालंकारs.
They are in fact an adornment of poetry. This idea
is substantiated by an analogy set out in the 2nd
half of the verse.
रूपकादिमलंकारं बाह्यमाचक्षते परे ।
सुपां तिङां च व्युत्पत्तिं वाचां वाञ्छन्त्यलंकृतिम् ॥१४॥
14. Others say that Rūpaka and the like em-
bellishments are external. They deem the proper
forms of nouns and verbs as an adornment.
14. A different school of thinkers hold that
figures of speech are बाह्य extraneous i. e., not intrin-
sically connected with poetry. According to them
the grammatical forms of words constitute a good
composition. That is because according to them काव्यं
consists of words that can be read, heard or under-
stood. They perhaps think that sense is beyond the

12 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
pale of poetry. This view is entirely wrong. For
words and meanings together really constitute poe-
try. Mammaṭa representing the Siddhānta says—
शब्दार्थौ काव्यं. The view set out in the 1st half of the
verse that figures of speech are not an adornment
of poetry raises the question, ‘Then what else?’ ac-
cording to their school. The answer for the same
is furnished by the 2nd half of the verse. They
think that a proper formation of nouns and verbs
constitutes literary adornment. सुप् means a suffix
added to noun-stems and तिङ् is a suffix added to roots.
सुप् is used here in the sense of सुबन्त or a noun and
तिङ् in the sense of तिङन्त or a predicate. This verse
is cited by Mammaṭa in Kāvya Prakāśa, 6th Ullāsa
and by Premachandra in his commentary on Kāvyā-
darśa I—1.
तदेतदाहुः सौशब्द्यं नार्थव्युत्पत्तिरीदृशी ।
शब्दाभिधेयालंकारभेदादिष्टं द्वयं तु नः ॥ १५ ॥
15. Thus they prefer the proper formation of
words. But the proper presentation of ideas is not
the same as that. We prefer a combination of both
viz., elegant words and elegant ideas.
15. Bhāmaha condemns the school of thinkers
referred to in the previous verse. What they aim
at is no literary excellence but only सौशब्द्यं or gram-
matical correctness of words, but here in poetics we

FIRST PARICCHEDA 13
are concerned with the excellence of ideas. अर्थव्युत्पत्तिः
न ईदृशी An investigation of the sense is no mere gram-
matical correctness. In the 2nd half of the verse
Bhāmaha states that he cares both for the adorn-
ment of words and adornment of meanings. But be
it noted that the adornment of words which has a
bearing on sounds and falls within the purview of
शब्दालंकार is not the same as the grammatical correct-
ness of the discarded school of thinkers. Verse
cited in Kāvya Prakāśa, 6th Ullāsa.
शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं गद्यं पद्यं च तद्द्विधा।
संस्कृतं प्राकृतं चान्यदपभ्रंश इति त्रिधा ॥ १६ ॥
16. The word and its meaning together con-
stitute a Kāvya. It is of two kinds—Prose and
poetry. There is also a threefold classification
into Sanskrit, Prākrit and the other one—Apa-
bhraṁśa (colloquial language).
16. शब्दश्च अर्थश्च शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं Words and mean-
ings together constitute a काव्य or literature. This-
is more or less the definition of काव्य. Based on this
is the definition given by Mammaṭa in Kāvya Pra-
kāśa viz., अदोषौ सगुणौ सालंकारौ शब्दार्थौ काव्यं. The defini-
tion given by Sāhityadarpaṇa is वाक्यं रसात्मकं काव्यम् and
the one given by Rasagaṅgādhara is रमणीयार्थप्रतिपादक-
शब्दः काव्यम् or more fully चमत्कारजनकभावनाविषयार्थप्रतिपादक-
शब्दः काव्यम्. After defining काव्य Bhāmaha proceeds to

14 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
give several divisions of काव्य. First he gives a
twofold classification, then a threefold, both in
this verse, then a fourfold classification in the next
verse and a fivefold classification in the next after
that. The twofold classification of काव्य is into गद्यं and
पद्यं Prose and poetry to which Daṇḍin adds a third
one—मिश्रं Mixed Prose and poetry under which are to
be included the नाटक literature and the चम्पू literature.
The threefold classification is made from the point
of view of the language into संस्कृत, प्राकृत and अपभ्रंश
to which also Daṇḍin adds a fourth one viz., मिश्रं.
संस्कृतं lit., the perfect, is the language of the gods,
scientifically regulated by great sages like Pāṇini
and Patañjali. प्राकृतं is directly descended of and a
corruption of Sanskrit. अपभ्रंश is the dialect of cow-
herds, shepherds, huntsmen and barbaric tribes, a
still more gross corruption of Sanskrit. मिश्रं men-
tioned by Daṇḍin is a mixture of one or more of the
above languages. For a clearer idea of this clas-
sification note the following extract from Daṇḍin’s
Kāvyādarśa :—
तदेतद्वाङ्मयं भूयः संस्कृतं प्राकृतं तथा ।
अपभ्रंशश्च मिश्रं चेत्याहुरायाश्चतुर्विधम् ॥
संस्कृतं नाम दैवी वागन्वाख्याता महर्षिभिः ।
तद्भवस्तत्समो देशीत्यनेकः प्राकृतक्रमः ॥
महाराष्ट्रियाश्रयां भाषां प्रकृष्टं प्राकृतं विदुः ।
सागरः सूक्तिरत्नानां सेतुबन्धादि यन्मयम् ॥

FIRST PARICCHEDA 15
शौरसेनी च गौडी च लाटी चान्या च तादृशी ।
याति प्राकृतमित्येव व्यवहारेषु संनिधिम् ॥
आभीरादिगिरः काव्येष्वपभ्रंश इति स्मृताः ।
शास्त्रे तु संस्कृतादन्यदपभ्रंशतयोदितम् ॥ I-32 to 36.
वृत्तं देवादिचरितशंसि चोत्पाद्यवस्तु च ।
कलाशास्त्राश्रयं चेति चतुर्धा भिद्यते पुनः ॥ १७ ॥
17. Again there is a fourfold classification
thus--that which relates the past history of the
gods and the like, that whose plot is conceived of
by the poet, that which relates to arts and that
which relates to sciences.
17. The fourfold classification of काव्य proceeds
from the point of view of the topic dealt with. वृत्तं
यत् देवादीनां चरितं तच्छंसि Giving the past history of the
gods and the like ; literature with a historical back-
ground. उत्पाद्यं वस्तु यस्य उत्पाद्यवस्तु Containing a plot
entirely conceived of by the poet ; fiction.
कलाश्रयं Relative of arts. शास्त्राश्रयं Literature based on
sciences.
सर्गबन्धोऽभिनेयार्थं तथैवाख्यायिकाकथे ।
अनिबद्धं च काव्यादि तत्पुनः पञ्चधोच्यते ॥ १८ ॥
18. Again there is a fivefold classification—
that which is constituted of a number of cantos,
that which can be staged, an Ākhyāyikā, a Kathā
and sporadic poetry.

16 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
18. सर्गबन्धः Constituted of a number of sargas
or chapters. This is equated with Mahākāvya. अभिने-
यार्थ Whose contents can be staged. The whole Nā-
ṭaka literature comes under this class. आख्यायिका and
कथा are two species of prose works dealt with later
on. अनिबद्ध is sporadic poetry or stray verses not run-
ning into a chapter. In the place of काव्यादि in the
2nd half of the verse Mr. D. T. Tatacharya suggests
a better reading-काव्यज्ञैः. The five classes of काव्य men-
tioned in this verse are explained in order in 12
verses beginning from the next. सर्गबन्ध or Mahā-
kāvya is dealt with in Verses 19 to 23, अभिनेयार्थ in
Verse 24, आख्यायिका in Verses 25 to 27, कथा in Verses
28 & 29 and अनिबद्ध in Verse 30.
सर्गबन्धो महाकाव्यं महतां च महच्च यत् ।
अग्राम्यशब्दमर्थ्यं च सालंकारं सदाश्रयम् ॥ १९ ॥
मन्त्रदूतप्रयाणाजिनायकाभ्युदयैश्च यत् ।
पञ्चभिः सन्धिभिर्युक्तं नातिव्याख्येयमृद्धिमत् ॥ २० ॥
चतुर्वर्गाभिधानेऽपि भूयसाऽर्थोपदेशकृत् ।
युक्तं लोकस्वभावेन रसैश्च सकलैः पृथक् ॥ २१ ॥
19. That which is constituted of a number of
Sargas is called a Mahākāvya. It is big among big
poems, consisting of decent words and decent ideas,
provided with embellishments and relative of a
noble hero.

FIRST PARICCHHEDA 17
20. It deals with deliberations in council, em-
ployment of ambassadors, march or expedition, war
or battle and the hero’s victory or glory. It should
contain five sandhis or stages in the development of
the plot. It should be easy reading, not requiring
much commentary and should abound in happy situ-
ations.
21. Though it deals with all the four ends of
life, it should largely contain instruction in the
field of temporal greatness. It should conform to
the practice in the world, and it should distinctly
embody the several emotions.
19. सर्गबन्धः A poem constituted of a number of
sargas. It is also called महाकाव्यं as distinguished from
खण्डकाव्यं महतां महत् The big of big poems or the poems
of great men like Vālmīki, Kālidāsa etc. ग्राम्य Vul-
gar. अग्राम्यशब्दं Possessed of refined words. अर्थ्यं अर्था-
दनपेतं Possessed of refined ideas. अलंकारैः सह वर्तत इति
सालंकारं Provided with figures of speech. आश्रय means
a नायक or hero. सन् आश्रयः यस्य तत् सदाश्रयं Treating of a
noble hero It will be seen that the definition thus
insists upon शब्द, अर्थ, अलंकार and नायक. The definition
is not yet complete. The rest of it is given in the
next verse.
20. मन्त्रः Diplomacy ; deliberations with minis-
ters. दूतः Embassy ; sending of ambassadors. प्रयाणं
2

18 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
March for conquest; expedition. आजि: A battle. नाय-
काभ्युदय: The hero’s success. All these should be em-
bodied in a Kāvya. Further it should possess five
sandhis or stages in the development of the plot.
Five sandhis are enumerated in Daśarūpaka thus—
मुखप्रतिमुखे गर्भः सावमर्शोपसंहृतिः. The five sandhis are मुख,
प्रतिमुख, गर्भ, विमर्श and निर्वहण, the last two being refer-
red to in the above passage of Daśarūpaka as अवमर्श
and उपसंहृति. मुख is sowing the seed of the plot. प्रतिमुख
is the sprouting thereof. गर्भ is its gradual maturing
through steps visible and invisible. विमर्श An investi-
gation into its growth with a view to fruition. निर्वहण
is winding up of all the threads of the plot ending
in fruition or the conclusion. The following are
the descriptions of five sandhis given in Pratāpa-
rudrīya:—
मुखं बीजसमुत्पत्तिर्नानार्थरससंभवा ।
लक्ष्यालक्ष्यस्य बीजस्य व्यक्तिः प्रतिमुखं मतम् ॥
गर्भस्तु दृष्टनष्टस्य बीजस्यान्वेषणं मुहुः ।
गर्भसन्धौ प्रसिद्धस्य बीजार्थस्यावमर्शनम् ।
हेतुना येन केनापि विमर्शः सन्धिरिष्यते ॥
बीजवन्तो मुखाद्यर्था विप्रकीर्णा यथायथम् ।
ऐकार्थ्यमुपनीयन्ते यत्र निर्वहणं हि तत् ॥
नातिव्याख्येयं. A Kāvya should be intelligible with-
out the need of much comment. ऋद्धिमत् It should
abound in happy features.
21. चतुर्वर्ग is the group of four पुरुषार्थs. Amara:—
त्रिवर्गो धर्मकामार्थैश्चतुर्वर्गः समोक्षकैः. Though a Kāvya deals

FIRST PARICCHEDA 19
with all the four पुरुषार्थs it should lay stress on the
second viz., अर्थ—wealth or worldly prosperity. युक्तं
लोकस्वभावेन It should depict the ways of the world;
the relationships of men and women and so on.
रसैश्च सकलैः पृथक् It should also portray distinctly the
different Rasas or emotions. Rasas that constitute
the soul of poetry are ninefold—शृङ्गार the erotic,
हास्य the humorous, करुण the pathetic, रौद्र the furious,
वीर the heroic, भयानक the frightful, बीभत्स the loath-
some, अद्भुत the marvellous and शान्त the quietistic.
Vide the following extract—शृङ्गारहास्यकरुणा रौद्रवीरभयानकाः।
बीभत्साद्भुतशान्ताश्च रसाः पूर्वैरुदाहृताः ॥ Of course one cannot
expect the delineation of all the Rasas in a Kāvya.
But a multiplicity of Rasas is desirable, of which
one will be dominant and others subordinate. By
way of comparison it will be interesting to note
the following definition of Mahākāvya given by
Daṇḍin in Kāvyādarśa, Pari. I, Verses 14 to 19.
सर्गबन्धो महाकाव्यमुच्यते तस्य लक्षणम् ।
आशीर्नमस्क्रिया वस्तुनिर्देशो वापि तन्मुखम् ॥
इतिहासकथोद्भूतमितरद्वा सदाश्रयम् ।
चतुर्वर्गफलोपेतं चतुरोदात्तनायकम् ॥
नगरार्णवशैलर्तुचन्द्रार्कोदयवर्णनैः ।
उद्यानसलिलक्रीडामधुपानरतोत्सवैः ॥
विप्रलम्भैर्विवाहैश्च कुमारोदयवर्णनैः ।
मन्त्रदूतप्रयाणाजिनायकाभ्युदयैरपि ॥
अलंकृतमसंक्षिप्तं रसभावनिरन्तरम् ।
सर्गैरनतिविस्तीर्णैः श्रव्यवृत्तैः सुसन्धिभिः ॥

20 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
सर्वत्र भिन्नवृत्तान्तरुपेतं लोकरञ्जकम् ।
काव्यं कल्पान्तरस्थायि जायते सदलंकृति ॥
नायकं प्रागुपन्यस्य वंशवीर्यश्रुतादिभिः ।
न तस्यैव वधं ब्रूयादन्योत्कर्षाभिधित्सया ॥ २२ ॥
यदि काव्यशरीरस्य न स व्यापितयेष्यते ।
न चाभ्युदयभाक्तस्य मुधादौ ग्रहणस्तवौ ॥ २३ ॥
22. After first describing a hero with regard
to his heredity, valour, learning and the like the
poet should not relate his death with a view to bring-
ing out the superiority of another.
23. If he is not intended to pervade over the
body of the poem and if he is not to meet with suc-
cess, his mention and praise at the beginning serve
no useful purpose.
22 & 23. According to Bhāmaha a hero's qua-
lities and feats should be described first and then only
those of the rival ending with the rival's defeat at
the hands of the hero. From the context नायकं in
Verse 22 refers to प्रतिनायक or a hero's rival. Bhāmaha
holds that the description of a person at the outset
bringing out his excellent traits, if he is to be killed
later, is not a desirable beginning for a poem. The
reason why a person described at first in a poem
should not meet with downfall at the hands of one-

FIRST PARICCHEDA 21
who comes later is given in Verse 23. If a person
is not intended to last down to the end of a poem or
to be crowned with success, it will be useless to refer
to him at all at the outset; for, the readers' sympa-
thies first enlisted one way will meet with a rude
shock. Daṇḍin as a reformer in the field of literary
criticism attacks this theory of Bhāmaha which
imposes restraint on the freedom of an author to
place his hero anywhere he likes and endorses his
approbation of both the methods of the treatment of
a hero in the following extract:—
नायकं प्रागुपन्यस्य गुणतस्तेन विद्विषाम् ।
निराकरणमित्येष मार्गः प्रकृतिसुन्दरः ॥
वंशवीर्यश्रुतादीनि वर्णयित्वा रिपोरपि ।
तज्जयान्नायकोत्कर्षवर्णनं च धिनोति नः ॥
(Kāvyādarśa I—21 & 22).
The first method has been resorted to in the
first and foremost Kāvya viz., Rāmāyaṇa. Rāma's
qualities are described in the first two Kāṇḍas, the
mischief of the foes in the Āraṇya Kāṇḍa, and the
plot finally works its way to the crowning victory
of Rāma in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa. In Śiśupālavadha,
Māgha expatiates upon the exploits of Śiśupāla at
the outset and then gradually works up the theme
to the final victory of Kṛṣṇa. This represents the
second of the two methods referred to herein. In
Naishadha the first method is adopted. Nala's qua-
lities form the subject-matter of the earlier portion

22 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
of that Mahākāvya and through the intermediate
stages the final result is brought about viz., Nala’s
triumph over the gods at Damayantī’s svayaṁvara.
नाटकं द्विपदीशम्यारासकस्कन्धकादि यत् ।
उक्तं तदभिनेयार्थमुक्तोऽन्यैस्तस्य विस्तरः ॥ २४ ॥
24. Poetry that is fit to be staged comprises
Nāṭaka, Dvipadī, Śamyā, Rāsaka, Skandhaka and
the like. It is elaborately dealt with by others.
24. What is अभिनेयार्थ ? It is literature that can
be presented on the stage, a drama and the like.
This will fall under the purview of दृश्यकाव्य-literature
that can be seen on the stage as distinguished
from श्रव्यकाव्य—that which can only be heard or read.
Literature that can be presented on the stage is also
called रूपकं, of which नाटकं is the principal type. द्विपदी,
शम्या, रासक and स्कन्धक seem to be varieties of literature
presentable on the stage. They are now obscure.
उक्तोऽन्यैस्तस्य विस्तरः Bharata and other proficients in dra-
maturgy have elaborately dealt with it. The idea
is that the author does not propose to go into its de-
tails. Daśarūpaka of later origin is the most popu-
lar work of dramaturgy which holds the field.
For particulars about द्विपदी, शम्या, रासक and स्कन्धक,
see the following extracts from Bharatakośa edited:

FIRST PARICCHHEDA 23
by M. Ramakrishna Kavi, Venkateswara Research
Institute, Tirupati.
Page 290. द्विपदगं प्रबन्धः ।
त्रयो गणा गुरुश्चान्ते प्रथमेऽथ तृतीयेके ।
द्वितीये च तुरीये च द्वौ गणौ द्वौ गुरू तथा ॥
जगणो नात्र कर्तव्यो भागान्ते यमकं भवेत् ।
इति द्विपदगं नाम तस्योदाहृतिरुच्यते ॥
गातव्यः स्वरसंयुक्तः तालेन परिवर्जितः ।
प्रबन्धो द्विपदाभिख्यो गीतविद्याविशारदैः ॥ —सोमेश्वरः ।
द्विपदगस्य सारङ्गादिभेदाः सप्त वर्तन्ते ।
संगीतचूडामणौ स्पष्टं द्रष्टव्यम् ।
Page 290. द्विपदी—प्रबन्धः ।
शुद्धद्विपदिका पूर्वं पूर्णद्विपदिका ततः ।
मानवी चन्द्रिका चाथ धृतिस्तारस्ततः परम् ।
गेयमष्टप्रकारंयमस्या लक्ष्माथ कथ्यते ॥
अत्र भेदाः —शुद्धद्विपदी, पूर्णद्विपदी, मानवी, चन्द्रिका, स्मृतिः,
तारः, संचारिणी, मनोहारिणीति गम्यते ।
करणाख्येन तालेन गातव्यो गमकान्तरे ।
आभोगोऽनुपदैः कार्यो न्यासस्तालद्विमानतः ॥
द्विपदी च भवेदेवं ... ॥ —हरिपालः
Page 656. शम्या तालक्रिया ।
वामपाणितले पातो दक्षिणस्य करस्य यः ।
शम्येति सा निगदिता... —वेमः ।
Page 550. रासकः—प्रबन्धः ।
आदितालेन सहितो रहितो गमकैर्भवेत् ।
शेषो झोम्पटवद्रेयो रासकश्चेति लक्षितः ॥ —हरिपालः ।

24 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
Page 745. स्कन्धः ।
लोलितावुच्छितौ स्रस्तावैकोच्चौ कर्णलग्नकौ ।
नाम्नैव व्यक्तलक्षणौ स्कन्धौ पञ्चविधौ स्मृतौ ॥ —कुम्भः ।
Page 745.
उच्छ्रितस्वस्थ एकान्तः संलग्नो लोल एव च ।
स्कन्धः पञ्चविधः प्रोक्तो नृत्ते नाट्ये च कोविदैः ॥ —तोनेश्वरः ।
संस्कृतानाकुलश्रव्यशब्दार्थपदवृत्तिना ।
गद्येन युक्तोदात्तार्था सोच्छासाऽऽख्यायिका मता ॥ २५ ॥
वृत्तमाख्यायते तस्यां नायकेन स्वचेष्टितम् ।
वक्त्रं चापरवक्त्रं च काले भाव्यर्थशंसि च ॥ २६ ॥
कवेरभिप्रायकृतैः कथनैः कैश्चिदङ्किता ।
कन्याहरणसंग्रामविप्रलम्भोदयान्विता ॥ २७ ॥
न वक्त्रापरवक्त्राभ्यां युक्ता नोच्छ्वासवत्यपि ।
संस्कृताऽसंस्कृता चेष्टा कथाऽपभ्रंशभाक्तथा ॥ २८ ॥
अन्यैः स्वचरितं तस्यां नायकेन तु नोच्यते ।
स्वगुणाविष्कृतिं कुर्यादभिजातः कथं जनः ॥ २९ ॥
25. An Ākhyāyikā is a work of prose consist-
ing of words and ideas, flowing harmonious and
pleasant, couched in the Sanskrit language. It
should have a noble theme and be divided into chap-
ters known as Ucchvāsas.

FIRST PARICCHHEDA 25
26. In it the hero relates his own story. It
may contain occasionally verses in the Vaktra and
Aparavaktra metres forecasting future events.
27. It should be impressed with certain fa-
vourite expressions of ideas peculiar to the poet.
It should deal with abductions of maidens, battles,
separations of lovers and material progress.
28. A Kathā does not contain verses of the
Vaktra or Aparavaktra metre nor is it divided into
Ucchhvāsas. It might be couched in the Sanskrit
or Prākṛt language or in an Apabhraṁśa dialect.
29. In it the hero’s story is told by others, not
by the hero himself. How will a noble-born person
expatiate on his own virtues?
25 to 29. These verses deal with two species
of prose composition viz., आख्यायिका and कथा. This
twofold classification can be traced to Agni Purāṇa
which refers to आख्यायिका thus:—
कर्तृवंशप्रशंसा स्याद्यत्र गद्येन विस्तरात् ।
कन्याहरणसंग्रामविप्रलम्भविपत्तयः ॥
भवन्ति यत्र दीप्ताश्च रीतिवृत्तिप्रवृत्तयः ।
उच्छ्वासैश्च परिच्छेदो यत्र या चूर्णिकोत्तरा ॥
वक्त्रं चापरवक्त्रं वा यत्र साख्यायिका स्मृता ॥
And then Agni Purāṇa refers to कथा thus:—
श्लोकैः स्ववंशं संक्षेपात्कविर्यत्र प्रशंसति ।
मुख्यार्थस्यावताराय भवेद्यत्र कथान्तरम् ॥

26 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
परिच्छेदो न यत्र स्याद्भवेद्वा लम्भकैः क्वचित् ।
सा कथा ... ... ॥
From the foregoing quotations put together with
the verses of Bhāmaha under consideration it can
be gathered that according to the older school of
rhetoricians headed by Bhāmaha, there are six
points of distinction between आख्यायिका and कथा.
(1) In आख्यायिका the narration is made by the
hero himself—वृत्तमाख्यायते तस्यां नायकेन स्वचेष्टितम्; whereas
in कथा the narration is made by others—अन्यैः स्वचरितं
तस्यां नायकेन तु नोच्यते. आख्यायिका roughly corresponds to
autobiography in English literature.
(2) आख्यायिका is divided into chapters known as
Ucchvāsas—सोच्छ्वासाऽऽख्यायिका मता ; whereas in कथा
either there is no division at all or the division is
known as Lambaka—नोच्छ्वासवत्यपि and परिच्छेदो न यत्र
स्याद्भवेद्वा लम्भकैः क्वचित्.
(3) Verses of the Vaktra and Aparavaktra
metres forecasting future events are inserted in an
आख्यायिका—वक्त्रं चापरवक्त्रं च काले भाव्यर्थशंसि च ; whereas in
कथा, Vaktra and Aparavaktra metres should not
occur—न वक्त्रापरवक्त्राभ्यां युक्ता. But there is no objection
to Āryā and certain other metres. The definitions
of Vaktra and Aparavaktra are thus set out in
Vṛttaratnākara :—वक्त्रं नाद्यां नसौ स्यातामब्धेर्योऽनुष्टुभि ख्यातम् ।
अयुजि ननरला गुरुः समे तदपरवक्त्रमिदं नजौ जरौ ॥

FIRST PARICCHEDA 27
(4)' An Ākhyāyikā should be impressed with
certain favourite marks of the poet in ideas or
words. They are known as मुद्रा or अङ्क or कविसाहसाङ्क.
By way of illustration for मुद्रा may be cited the use
of the word लक्ष्मी in the concluding stanzas of all
sargas in Kirātārjunīya by Bhāravi, the word श्री
likewise in all the concluding stanzas of Śiśupāla-
vadha by Māgha and the phrase—नीलकण्ठमखिनिहितकारुण्य
in Nīlakaṇṭhavijaya by Nīlakaṇṭhadīkshita. This
distinguishing characteristic of Ākhyāyikā is thus
referred to by Bhāmaha:—कवेरभिप्रायकृतैः कथनैः कैश्चिदङ्किता.
(5) The next distinction relates to the topics in
Ākhyāyikā as contrasted with Kathā. कन्याहरणसंग्राम-
विप्रलम्भोदयान्विता. Ākhyāyikā deals with the kidnap-
ping of maidens, battles, separation of lovers, the
hero's material progress and so on.
(6) The next point of difference lies in the pre-
amble. An Ākhyāyikā should begin with a des-
cription of the author's heredity in prose and in ex-
tenso—कर्तृवंशप्रशंसा स्याद्यत्र गद्येन विस्तरात्; whereas Kathā
should begin with a description of the same in
verse and in brief, and further a preliminary story
should be introduced by way of preamble to the
principal narrative—
श्लोकैः स्ववंशं संक्षेपात्कविर्यत्र प्रशंसति ।
मुख्यार्थस्यावताराय भवेद्यत्र कथान्तरम् ॥