Mudrarakshasa (literary study)
by Antara Chakravarty | 2015 | 58,556 words
This page relates ‘Use of Praharshini metre’ of the English study on the Mudrarakshasa: an ancient Sanskrit dramatic play (Nataka) authored by Vishakhadatta which deals with the life of king Chandragupta. This study investigates the Mudra Rakshasa from a literary perspective, such as metrics, themes, rhetorics and other poetical elements. Chandragupta ruled the Mauryan Empire during the 4th century BCE, hence this text can also be studied as a historical textbook of ancient India.
2.6. Use of Praharṣiṇī metre
[Full title: The Chandas employed in Mudrārākṣasa (6). Praharṣiṇī]
The definition of Praharṣiṇī runs thus:
tryāśābhirmanajaragā praharṣiṇīyaṃ/[1]
When each foot (having 13 syllables) of a verse consists of ma, na, ja, ra, and ga gaṇas and the caesura comes after the first three (tri) syllables and then after ten (āśā) syllables then the meter there is Praharṣiṇī. Viśākhadatta has used only three verses having Praharṣiṇī meter. Those are I.7, III.12, V.13. Let us scan the 7th verse of Act I, where Sūtradhāra is seen introducing Cāṇakya to the audience:
| ma | | | na | | | ja | | | ra | | | ga | | | ma | | | na | | | ja | | | ra | | | ga |
| - - - | | | ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | | | ⏑ - ⏑ | | | - ⏑ - | | | - | | | - - - | | | ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ | | | ⏑ - ⏑ | | | - ⏑ - | | | - |
kauṭilyaḥ║kuṭila|matiḥsaeṣa ye|na| krodhāgnau| prasabha| madāhi |nandavaṃ|śaḥ║
candrasya║grahaṇa|miti śru|teḥ samā|mno| mauryendo|rdviṣada|bhiyoga |ityavai|ti║
From scanning the above verse we can find the gaṇas ma, na, ja, ra and ga in every quarter and the pauses after every 3rd and 10th syllable. All these prove that it is a verse having Praharṣiṇī meter.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Chandomañjarī,II.95, p.80