वासवदत्ता (महाकवि सुबन्धु - श्लेष-प्रधान शास्त्रीय गद्यकाव्य सान्वय सटीक)

INTRODUCTION 15
in some places (and) prose in others (should be employed);
divisions, called “sighs,” are used for the divisions of the story;
at the beginning of the “sighs” (there should be) an intimation
of the theme, under the guise of something else, by any metre
whatsoever of the āryā, vaktra, or apavaktra (classes).’
The kathā, or ‘story,’ best represented by Bāṇa's Kādambarī,
is described by the Sāhityadarpaṇa (No. 567) as follows :
kathāyāṁ sarasaṁ vastu padyāir ēva vinirmitam
kvacid atra bhavēd āryā kvacid vaktrāpavaktrakē
ādāu padyāir namaskāraḥ khalādēr vṛttakīrtanam,
‘in the kathā a theme with poetic sentiments is represented even
with poetry ; in it there should be the āryā metre in some places,
(and) the vaktra and apavaktra metres in other places ; at the
beginning (there should be) homage in verse (to a divinity, also)
a description of the character of knaves and the like.’ The older,
and in my judgment the better, definition of this type of Sanskrit
literature, however, is given by Daṇḍin, the author of the pica-
resque Daśakumāracarita, who says (Kāvyādarśa I. 23–25, 28) :
apādaḥ padasantānō gadyam ākhyāyikā kathā
iti tasya prabhēdāu dvāu tayōr ākhyāyikā kila
nāyakēnāi "va vācyā "nyā nāyakēnē 'tarēṇa vā
svaguṇāviṣkriyā dōṣō nā 'tra bhūtārthaśaṁsinaḥ
api tv aniyamō dṛṣṭas tatrā 'py anyāir udīraṇāt
anyō vaktrā svayaṁ vē "ti kīdṛg vā bhēdalakṣaṇam
............................................................................
tat kathākhyāyikē "ty ēkā jātiḥ sañjñādvayāṅkitā
atrāi "vā 'ntarbhaviṣyanti śēṣāś cā "khyānajātayaḥ,
‘ prose is a series of words without strophes ; its two classes are
the ākhyāyikā (and) the kathā. Now, the ākhyāyikā should be
spoken by the hero, the other (the kathā) by the hero or another.
A revelation of one’s own personality, if he narrates facts, is no
fault here. Nevertheless, the lack of fixed distinction is seen
from the story being told by others even there (in the ākhyāyikā).
Whether another (is) the speaker, or one’s self, is a sorry standard