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Introduction INTRODUCTION ’ P”(Bha.t.tikāvya) is one of the boldest “B experiments in classical literature. In the formal genre of “great poem” (mahākāvya) it incorprates two of the most powerful Sanskrit traditions, the “Ramáyana” and Pánini’s grammar, and several other minor themes. In this one rich mix of science and art, Bhatti created both a po- etic retelling of the adventures of Rama and a compendium of examples of grammar, metrics, the Prakrit language and rhetoric. As literature, his composition stands comparison with the best of Sanskrit poetry, in particular cantos , and . “Bhatti’s Poem” provides a comprehensive exem- plification of Sanskrit grammar in use and a good introduc- tion to the science (śāstra) of poetics or rhetoric (alamk. āra, lit. ornament). It also gives a taster of the Prakrit language (a major component in every Sanskrit drama) in an easily ac- cessible form. Finally it tells the compelling story of Prince Rama in simple elegant Sanskrit: this is the “Ramáyana” faithfully retold. e learned Indian curriculum in late classical times had at its heart a system of grammatical study and linguistic analysis. e core text for this study was the notoriously difficult “Eight Books” (A.s.tādhyāyī) of Pánini, the sine qua non of learning composed in the fourth century , and arguably the most remarkable and indeed foundational text in the history of linguistics. Not only is the “Eight Books” a description of a language unmatched in totality for any language until the nineteenth century, but it is also pre- sented in the most compact form possible through the use xix of an elaborate and sophisticated metalanguage, again un- known anywhere else in linguistics before modern times. is grammar of Pánini had been the object of intense study for the ten centuries prior to the composition of “Bhatti’s Poem.” It was plainly Bhatti’s purpose to provide a study aid to Pánini’s text by using the examples already provided in the existing grammatical commentaries in the context of the gripping and morally improving story of the “Ramáyana.” To the dry bones of this grammar Bhatti has given juicy flesh in his poem. e same could be said for poetics, prosody and Prakrit. e intention of the author was to teach these advanced sciences through a relatively easy and pleasant medium but not so easy as to provide the reader with no opportunity to extend his learning. In his own words: is composition is like a lamp to those who perceive the meaning of words and like a hand mirror for a blind man to those without grammar. is poem which is to be understood by means of a commentary, is a joy to those sufficiently learned: through my fondness for the scholar I have here slighted the dullard. (“Bhatti’s Poem” .–) e traditional story given to account for the technical or shastric nature of the poem goes that Bhatti’s class on grammar was one day disturbed by an elephant ambling be- tween him and his pupils. is bestial interruption neces- sitated an interdiction of study for a year as prescribed by the solemn law books. To ensure that no vital study time was lost our poem was composed as a means of teaching grammar without resorting to an actual grammatical text. xx All that we can reliably know of Bhatti himself is what he tells us at the end of the book: I composed this poem in Válabhi which is protected by Naréndra, son of Shri·dhara, hence may the fame of that king increase, since the king causes joy among his subjects. (“Bhatti’s Poem” .) Even this eulogy is unreliable since variant readings of the verse show that his patron may instead have been Shri Dhara·sena. Either way, the composition of the poem is placed at about . In form the “Bhatti’s Poem” is a “great poem” (mahā- kāvya). It fits well within the definition of this genre given later by Dandin in his “Mirror of Poetry” (Kāvyādarśa): It springs from a historical incident or is otherwise based on some fact; it turns upon the fruition of the four- fold ends and its hero is clever and noble; By descriptions of cities, oceans, mountains, seasons and risings of the moon or the sun; through sportings in garden or water, and festivities of drinking and love; rough sentiments-of-love-in-separation and through marriages, by descriptions of the birth-and-rise of princes, and likewise through state-counsel, embassy, advance, battle, and the hero’s triumph; Embellished; not too condensed, and pervaded all through with poetic sentiments and emotions; with cantos none too lengthy and having agreeable meters and well- formed joints, And in each case furnished with an ending in a differ- ent meter—such a poem possessing good figures-of-speech xxi wins the people’s heart and endures longer than even a kalpa. (Kāvyādarśa .–, trans. B) Its subject matter is the life of a single hero, both a mem- ber of the warrior caste and a god. Each canto has a uniform meter and there is one canto (canto ) deploying a variety of meters. e end of each canto suggests the topic for the next. e main sentiment or rasa of the poem is “heroic” (vīrya). e poem through its form and subject matter is conducive to the attainment of the four aims of human life (puru.sārthas): “righteousness” (dharma), “wealth and power” (artha), “pleasure” (kāma) and “spiritual liberation” (mok.sa). “Bhatti’s Poem” contains descriptions of cities, the ocean, mountains, seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, and the sports of love and sex. Five such po- ems are traditionally enumerated in addition to which our work is sometimes named the sixth. e five are the “Lin- eage of Raghu” (Raghuvam. śa) and the “Birth of Kumára” (Kumārasambhava) of Kali·dasa, the “Slaying of Shishu· pala” (Śiśupālavadha) of Magha, “Árjuna and the Mountain Man” (Kirātārjunīya) of Bháravi and the “Adventures of the Prince of Níshadha” (Nai.sadhacarita) of Shri Harsha. e multitude of manuscripts found in libraries demonstrates the popularity of the Bha.t.tikāvya and the thirteen extant and eight further attested commentaries instantiate its im- portance to the tradition (N ). How does “Bhatti’s Poem” illustrate Páninian grammar? is is done in three distinct sections. From the end of canto up to the end of canto the verses exemplify in sequence long series of aphorisms (sū- tras) from the “Eight Books” of Pánini. ese aphorisms xxii are short coded rules, almost algebraic in form. As an ex- ample, consider Pánini’s rule ..: iko yan. aci. is trans- lates as “When followed by any vowel, the vowels i, u, .r and .l in any length are respectively replaced by the semivowels y, v, r and l.” is is quite a mouthful of translation for five syllables of Sanskrit. How does Pánini do it? To start with, the three words of the rule in their uninflected form are ik, yan. and ac which are a type of acronym for their respec- tive series of letters: the simple vowels i, ī, u, ū, .r, .¯r, .l; the semivowels y, v, r, l; and all the vowels a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, .r, .¯r, .l, e, o, ai, au. e cases are used to indicate the operation which is to take place: the genitive of ik indicates “in place of ik;” the locative of ac indicates “when ac follows” and yan. in the nominative indicates “there should be a yan. ” or “yan. is the replacement.” Pánini gives metarules to explain the formation and use of these acronyms and the special uses of the cases within the rules. It is thus a rule for the simple sandhi which would occur for example between the words iti and evam, smoothing the juncture between their vowels into ity evam. is is but a tiny taster of the economy, in- tricacy, beauty and intellectual power of the “Eight Books,” surely one of the greatest wonders and perhaps the supreme intellectual achievement of the ancient world. It is to the layman a treasure chest whose key is locked deep inside it- self. However, the reader does not have to be familiar with this system to enjoy the Bha.t.tikāvya. By using the refer- ences to the “Eight Books” given at the end of this volume, the reader may refer to the rules as he reads and become familiar with them in advance of reading each verse. e examples used in “Bhatti’s Poem” are not included in the xxiii actual aphorisms of the “Eight Books” themselves but are ones given by later commentators to facilitate discussion. e most widely used traditional examples are included in the two editions of the “Eight Books” cited in the bibliog- raphy. e table below shows how “Bhatti’s Poem” is structured as a pedagogic text. Verse Rule (Sūtra) Topic Illustrated e Illustration of Diverse Rules (Prakīrna. ) .–. Miscellaneous rules e Illustration of Particular Topics (Adhikāra) .– Pā. ..– e affix Ta. .–. Pā. ..– e suffix ām in the periphrastic perfect .– Pā. .. Double accusatives .– Pā. ..– Aorists using sĪC substitutes for the affix CLI .– Pā. .. e affix ŚnaM for the present tense system of class verbs .– Pā. ..– e future passive participles or ger- undives and related forms formed from the k.rtya affixes tavya, tavyaT , anīyaR, yaT , Kyap, and NyaT. .– Pā. ..– Words formed with nirupapada k.rt affixes NvuL. , t.rC, Lyu, NinI. , aC, Ka, Śa, Na. , SvuN. , thakaN , Nyu. T. and vuN .– Pā. ..– Words formed with sopapada k.rt af- fixes aN. , Ka, TaK. , aC .– Pā. ..– Words formed with affixes KHaŚ and KhaC .– Pā.
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