Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/125

April, 1873.] KANARESE POETRY. Ill it is not sufficient that tho line have tho same number of ganas; it is absolutely necessary that the kinds of ganas should follow one another in the order special to that vritta. For in¬ stance, in the Mahasragdara Vritta the order must be, 4, 5, 5, 8, 4, 3, 3, Siva. In the “ Manene Vritta” we have the same number of consonants and ganas, but since tho kinds of ganas come in the following order:— I. II. in. IV. v. VI. VII. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. Siva, the vritta goes by another name. And so on through all the thousand and one vrittas. Each has its own name and special rule. One point requires special notice. It is com¬ mon to both the great divisions “ Akshara Vritta” and “Matra Vritta,” and is the one essential in all Kanarese poetry. Without this, lines, however well written and correct in every other respect, would not be considered poetry by the Kanarese critic. If the four lines of the Kanarese verse given be examined, it will be seen that the second consonant in each is the same. It is in this verse r. This is technically known as “AdePrasu.” Whatever the second consonant of thfe first line is, the second consonant of the succeeding lines constituting a verse must be the same. This is a sine qua non in Kanarese poetry. The difficulty of always finding a suitable word with the second consonant the samo has given rise to a poetical licence by which certain consonants are allowed to stand for one another. This is called “ Mitra Prasu,” and the following consonants are held to be interchangeable : — ka kha ga gha with one another, cha chha ja jha with one another, ta tha da dha with one another, ta tha da dha with one another, pa pha ba bha with one another, sa sha sa with one another, ra la la with one another. Again in some verses we find the last conso¬ nant is the same in every line of the verse. This is in Kanarese pbetry called “Antya Prasu.” It is not essential, but those verses which have the Antya Prasu are, c-cetcris paribus, considered finer and more finished. The Matra Vritta is the second great divi¬ sion. In it the number of accents, not conso¬ nants, in each lino are looked to, the different subdivisions being determined by the number of accents in the line. The same rules which determine the length of the accent in tho gana of tho Akshara Vritta apply to the consonants in the Matra Vritta, viz., consonants with long vowels, as d, e, i; those preceding a double letter; and those followed by sonne or aha, are long. All others are short. The Matra Vritta is subdivided into three— “ Kanda,” “ Satpade,” and “ Areya.” Tho Kanda consists of verses of four lines. The first and third lines have 12 accents, the second and fourth 20 accents. As long as the total number of accents in a line is correct, it is immaterial what the number of consonants are. For example, take a verse of the Kanda:— sj J— J yj J J V» U v — V* — J V/ J — J — J — &£rd rfjXorrao — J — V» « — V* Stjf ifrzJ V> — — WW — Vi — » _ j In the first line we have eight short accents and two long (four short) : total 12. In tho third line we have six short and three long : total 12. In the second line we have eight short and six long: total 20. In the fourth line six short, seven long: total 20. A long accent, called “ guru,” is equal to two short accents, called “ lugn.” The proper num¬ ber of accents in the lines is always expressed by the number of short accents such line may contain. It will be observed that the second con¬ sonant in each line of the above verse is the same, and happens to be n. But tho vowels attached to this letter are not the same in all four lines. In the first line it.is na, short; in the fourth nd, long ; in the second and third nu. The vowel only determines the length of the consonant, and has nothing to do with the great rule that the second consonant in each line must be the same. The second subdivision of tho M:itra Vritta is the Satpade or verse of six lines. The Satpade consists of six classes. The number of accents in each class varies. 1. The Sara Satpade must contain the fol¬ lowing number of accents in each line:— 1st—8, 2nd—8, 3rd—14, 4th—8, 5th—8, 6th —14.