A History of Indian Literature - Book Summary - Indian Literature - M. Winternitz, Summaries of Indian Literature

Download A History of Indian Literature - Book Summary - Indian Literature - M. Winternitz and more Summaries Indian Literature in PDF only on Docsity! from A History of Indian Literature (Volume III) by M. Winternitz (translated by V. Srinivasa Sarma and Subhadra Jha) [Indian Prosodic Literature] Prosody 1 in India is as old as poetics. Its beginnings go back as far as the Vedic literature. Already in the Bràhmaõas we find people busy with metres, the harmony of which seems to have [been considered] something mystic. 2 A number of chapters are devoted to prosody in the Sànkhyàyanaèrautasåtra. The »gveda Pràtièàkhya and metrical portions of Kàtyàyana's Anukramaõãs to the »gveda and the Yajurveda already scientifically treat of the Chandas (that is to say, prosody) that is listed also among the six Vedàïgas. The most important work of this Vedàïga is the Chandassåtra of Piügala. 3 Although this work is called a Vedàïga, it touches only a very small number of Vedic metres, its major part dealing with secular poetry. The names of his predecessors mentioned by Piügala exhibit a Vedic character; in any case he is a very old writer, a thing that is indicated also by the circumstance that he is a mythical personality and as such is also called ßNàga-Piügalanàgaû. According to tradition he is identical with Pataÿjali; úaóguruèiùya calls him a ßyounger brother of Pàõiniû, and it is probable that he is not too far away in time from Pataÿjali (about 150 B.C.). The names and numbers of the metres treated by Piügala equally prove that there existed a highly developed secular literature before his time. Besides, the names of many metres prove the existence of extensive love-lyrics. Names of the metres like Kanakaprabhà ßbrilliance of goldû, Kuómaladantã ßbud-toothedû, Càruhàsinã ßbeautifully-smilingû, Vasantatilakà ßSpring-crestedû, and others, apparantly go to explain that originally they were employed in love lyrics, in which beautiful women were praised. 4 1 Cf. Colebrooke, Misc. Essays II 63 ff.; Weber, Ind. Stud. Bd. 8; F.L. Pull‚, F. Belloni-Filippie A. Ballini in SIFI VIII. 1912; H. Jacobi, Über die Entwicklung der indischen Metrik in nachvedischer Zeit, ZDMG 38, 590ff., 40, 336ff. 2 See Volume I, p. 56, 157 (trans. pp. 62, 180). 3 See Volume I, p. 245 (trans. pp. 288-89). Text with the commentary MÔtasaüjãvanã of Halàyudha (2nd half of 10th century) published in Km. [i.e. Kavyà Màlà] 91, 1908. [The text of this work is transcribed elsewhere on this website (without the commentary at the moment), see øri Piügala's Chandasèàstra] 4 This circumstance too speaks in support of the assumption that originally it was in the erotic lyrics that metres were used in India, since in this poetry the variety of metres is the greatest. Writers of epics use comparitively smaller number of metres. In the oldest dramas there occur approximately twenty metres. Indian Prosodic Literature 2 Besides them, however, there are also metres that are named according to their form and nature, e.g. Mandàkràntà ßslowly ascendingû, Drutamadhyà ßswift in the middleû, and others. Many of the names bear resemblance to the voice or habit of animals, e.g. Aèvalalita ßhorse-sportû, Kokilaka ßvoice of the cuckooû, øàrdålavikrãóita ßtiger- sportû, etc. In Vedic prosody metre exclusively depends upon the number of syllables, and to a very limited extent the quality [= quantity] of syllables too is taken into account. Of these metres, the èloka of the epics, derived from the Vedic Anuùñubh, is of the most frequent occurrence. Otherwise, prosody knows only the metres in which the number of syllables as well as their quantity too is strictly fixed. A large number of metres is formed according to the number of syllables and arrangement of metrical feet. The number of syllables in a quarter stanza (pàda) varies between 5 and 27, so that we have stanzas of syllables numbering from 20 to 108. But theoretically there exist a much greater number of metres that are, in fact, met with here and there. In addition there are a number of metres that are measured according to mora. They are found mainly in Pràkrit poems and seem to have originally belonged to popular ballads. Like Pàõini in his grammar, Piügala uses algebraic expressions to indicate the feet of metres and for short [light] and long [heavy] syllables. 1 A work of Pràkrit prosody too is ascribed to Piügala. 2 It is written in verse and contains a large number of recent prosodical expressions and, therefore, must be younger in age than his Chandassåtra. We do now know whether the authors of the works of ornate poetry that are before us were regulated according to Piügala or according to some later manual. 3 Later than Piügala’s Chandassåtra is chapter XV of the Bhàratãya-Nañyaèàstra which deals with prosody and gives numerous examples for individual metres. 1 For example la=laghu, i.e. ßlight, or short syllableû; ga=garu, i.e. ßheavy or long syllableû; ma for ÜÜÜ; ya for ÛÜÜ; ra for ÜÛÜ etc. 2 PràkÔta Piügala-såtras (text with commentary) published in Km [i.e. Kavyà Màlà] 41, 1894. Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. 8, 202 ff; Pischel, Pràkrit Spachen (Gundriss) p. 30f; Keith, Catalogue of Pràkrit MSS. in Bodl. c. 48. According to Jacobi (Bhavisattakaha of Dhaõavàla, p. 5*) the PràkÔta Piügala belongs to the 14th century A.D. at the earliest. 3 According to Jacobi, Ind. Stud. 17, 442ff., [the] Chandoviciti, which is no more available, [is] a work of Daõóin, [that] had become a standard work for poets. P.V. Kane Ind. Ant. 40, 1911, 177 f.) has pointed out that by Chandoviciti (Kàvyàdarèa I, 12) we should understand ßprosodyû in general and not the title of a work, and that neither Daõóin nor Vàmana had written a work on prosody. But it must not be taken to mean that when rhetoricians prescribe the study of prosody for poets they directly mean the work of Piügala as assumed by Kane. A PràkÔta- Piügalasåtra was published in the Bibl. Ind. 1902, too. Ratnasekhara’s Chandakoèa a pendant to PràkÔta-Piügalasåtra has been dealt with by W. Schubring ZDMG 75, 1921, p. 97ff.