Bharata Muni
| ← Chapter 14 | Chapter 16 → |
1/ Now I shall proceed to expound the nature of verbal representation (vācika-abhinaya), which was mentioned earlier and which is connected with vowel and consonant sounds.
2/ Words are known as the body of dramatic art. Gestures, costumes, and makeup merely elucidate the meaning of the words.
3/ The śāstras consist of words and rest upon words; therefore there is nothing that lies beyond words. The entire world rests upon words.
4/ Verbal representation covers: nouns, verbs, particles, prepositions, nominal suffixes, compound words (samāsa), euphonic combinations (sandhi), and case endings.
5/ There are two types of recitation: Sanskrit and Prakrit.
6-7/ Sanskrit declamation is characterized by correct pronunciation, clear articulation, and proper observance of grammatical rules. It is defined by various aspects of speech.
Sounds of speech: vowels and consonants
8/ The fourteen sounds – a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, ḹ, e, ai, o, au – are called vowels; and the group of sounds beginning with “ka” is called consonants.
9-10/ Consonants are subdivided into voiced and voiceless, velar, labial, dental, cerebral; they are also classified as nasal, sibilant, and palatal.
11/ Of these groups, ga, gha, na, ja, jha, ña, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa, da, dha, na, ba, bha, ma, ya, ra, la and va are voiced, whereas ka, kha, ca, cha, ṭa, ṭha, ta, tha, pa, pha, śa, ṣa, sa and ha – are voiceless.
12-14/ Velar sounds – group “ka”; palatal – group “cha”; cerebral (retroflex) – group “ṭa”; dental – group “ta”; labial – group “pa”.
15-16/ By manner of articulation, sounds are classified as occlusives, open, semivowels, and nasals.
17-18/ Sibilants, semivowels, and special sounds such as jihvāmūlīya and visarjānīya form additional categories.
Vowels and their number
19-20/ Vowels form pairs by length, and their quantitative characteristics determine their role in prosody.
Four kinds of words
21-22/ Words are divided into four categories: verbs, nouns, roots, and prepositions. To these are also related particles, suffixes, euphonic combinations, and case endings.
Nouns
23-24/ Nouns have five varieties with case endings, starting with “su”. They have a primary meaning and distinctions by gender.
Verbs
25-26/ Verbs are associated with actions in the present and past tenses. They are divided into twenty-five classes with five hundred roots.
Prepositions and particles
27/ Prepositions modify the meanings of verbal roots.
28/ Particles intensify the basic meanings and etymologies of words.
Suffixes and case endings
29-31/ Suffixes develop meanings through elision and combination. Case endings distinguish the meanings of declinable words.
Euphonic combination (sandhi)
32-33/ Sandhi arises where separated vowels or consonants are joined through proximity in words.
Compound words (samāsa)
34/ Samāsa combines several words expressing a single meaning and manifests in six varieties, including tatpuruṣa.
Words in prose and verse
35/ With these rules of grammar, one should compose works by joining words in verse form or freely in prose.
36-37/ Prose words lack systematic combination and ordered syllabic count; they contain only those syllables necessary for expressing meaning.
38/ Poetic words are distinguished by “systematically combined syllables, having feet and caesura,” with an ordered quantity.
39-41/ Rhythmic types (chhandas) are syllabic meters with four feet, organized as even (sama), half-even (ardhasama), or uneven (vishama).
42/ There is no word without rhythm and no rhythm without word. Uniting with each other, they illuminate drama.
Twenty-six rhythmic types (chandas)
43-49/ There are twenty-six rhythmic types, named according to the number of syllables in each foot:
1 syllable – Ukta; 2 syllables – Atyukta; 3 syllables – Madhya; 4 syllables – Pratiṣṭhā; 5 syllables – Supratiṣṭhā; 6 syllables – Gāyatrī; 7 syllables – Uṣṇik; 8 syllables – Anuṣṭup; 9 syllables – Bṛhatī; 10 syllables – Paṅkti; 11 syllables – Triṣṭup; 12 syllables – Jagatī; 13 syllables – Atijagatī; 14 syllables – Śakkari; 15 syllables – Atiśakkari; 16 syllables – Aṣṭi; 17 syllables – Atyaṣṭi; 18 syllables – Dhṛti; 19 syllables – Atidhṛti; 20 syllables – Kṛti; 21 syllables – Prakṛti; 22 syllables – Ākṛti; 23 syllables – Vikṛti; 24 syllables – Saṃkṛti; 25 syllables – Atikṛti; 26 syllables – Utkṛti.
Numbers of metric patterns
51-77/ Detailed enumeration of possible exemplars:
Gāyatrī: 64 patterns; Uṣṇik: 128 patterns; Anuṣṭubh: 256 patterns; Bṛhatī: 512 patterns; Paṅkti: 1024 patterns; Triṣṭubh: 2048 patterns; Jagatī: 4096 patterns; Atijagatī: 8192 patterns; Śakkari: 16,384 patterns; Atiśakkari: 32,768 patterns; Aṣṭi: 65,536 patterns; Atyaṣṭi: 131,072 patterns; Dhṛti: 262,144 patterns; Atidhṛti: 524,288 patterns; Kṛti: 1,048,576 patterns; Prakṛti: 2,097,152 patterns; Ākṛti: 4,194,304 patterns; Vikṛti: 8,388,608 patterns; Saṃkṛti: 16,777,216 patterns; Atikṛti: 33,554,432 patterns; Utkṛti: 67,108,864 patterns.
And so on for each of the twenty-six types.
78-79/ The total number of metric patterns in all rhythmic types amounts to thirteen crore, forty-two lakh, seventeen thousand seven hundred twenty-six (134,217,726).
Triads (gaṇas)
81-84/ Eight triads constitute syllabic meters:
bha – heavy, light, light; ma – heavy, heavy, heavy; dja – light, heavy, light; sa – light, light, heavy; ra – heavy, light, heavy; ta – heavy, heavy, light; ya – light, heavy, heavy; na – light, light, light.
85/ These eight triads, consisting of combinations of heavy and light syllables, form the basis of prosodic analysis.
Heavy syllables and caesura
86-87/ Heavy are syllables ending in long vowels, anusvāra, visarga, or standing before consonant clusters. The caesura (yati) is a pause dividing the foot at a specific place.
Correct couplets and feet
88-89/ Correct couplets (sampat) are defined by an even distribution of syllables. The feet are characterized by a specific alternation of heavy and light syllables.
Three classes of meters
90-102/ Three classes of meters are established:
– Divine (daiva): from Gāyatrī to Jagatī – are used in hymns and sacred texts; – Human (mānuṣa): from Atijagatī to Atidhṛti – are used in dramatic compositions; – Semi-divine (ardhadaiva): from Kṛti to Utkṛti – are used on special occasions.
Each class has its own patron deities, colors, and tonalities, corresponding to specific rasas and bhāvas.