Agni Purana

अग्निरुवाच काव्यस्य नाटकादेश्च अलङ्कारान् वदाम्यऽथ । ध्वनिर्व्वर्णाः पदं वाक्यमित्येतद्वाङ्‌मयं मतं ।। ३३७.

Agni said: I shall now speak of the ornaments of poetry and drama; sound, letter, word, and sentence—these are considered the elements of speech.

शास्त्रेतिहासवाक्यानां त्रयं यत्र समाप्यते । शास्त्रे शब्दप्रधानात्वमितिहासेषु निष्ठता ।। ३३७.

Where the three—scriptural, historical, and poetic sentences—are found together, in scripture, sound predominates, while in history, meaning is paramount.

अभिधायाः प्रधानत्वात् काव्यं ताभ्यां विभिद्यते । नरत्वं दुर्ल्लभं लोके विद्यातत्र च दुर्ल्लभा ।। ३३७.

Because direct expression predominates, poetry is distinguished from the other two; humanity is rare in the world, and knowledge there is also rare.

कवित्वं दुर्ल्लभं तत्र शक्तिस्तत्र च दुर्ल्लभा । व्युत्‌पत्तिर्दुर्ल्लभा तत्र विवेकस्तत्र दुर्लभः ।। ३३७.

Poetic talent is rare there, and ability is also rare; learning is rare there, and discernment is rare as well.

सर्व्वं शास्त्रमविद्वद्भिर्मृग्यमाणन्न सिध्यति । आदिवर्णा द्वितीयश्च महाप्राणास्तुरीयकः ।। ३३७.

All scripture, when sought by the unlearned, does not succeed; the first and second sounds, the third is with strong breath.

वर्गेषु वर्णवृन्दं स्यात्पदं सुप्‌तिङ्‌प्रभेदतः । सङ्‌क्षेपाद्वाक्यमिष्टार्थव्यवछिन्ना पदाबली ।। ३३७.

In groups, there is a collection of sounds; a word is distinguished by case and verb endings; briefly, a sentence is a collection of words expressing a desired meaning.

काव्यं स्फटदलङ्कारं गुणवद्दोषवर्जितम् । योनिर्व्वेदश्च लोकश्च सिद्धमन्नादयोनिजं ।। ३३७.

Poetry is clear, adorned, endowed with virtues and free from faults; its origin is the Veda and the world, established from food and other sources.

देवादीनां संस्कृतं स्यात् प्राकृतं त्रिविधं नृणां । गद्यं पद्यञ्च मिश्रञ्च काव्यादि त्रिविधं स्मृतम् ।। ३३७.

For gods and others, Sanskrit is used; for humans, three kinds of Prakrit; prose, verse, and mixed—these three are remembered as types of poetry and the like.

आपदः पदसन्तानो गद्यन्तदपि गद्यते । चूर्णकोत्‌कलिकागन्धिवृत्तभेदात् त्रिरूपकम् ।। ३३७.

A series of words forms prose, and that too is called prose; due to the distinctions of cūrṇa, utkalikā, and gandhi, it is threefold in form.

अल्पाल्पविग्रहं नातिमृदुसन्दर्भनिर्भरं । तूर्णकं नामतो दीर्घसमासात् कलिका भवेत् ।। ३३७.

When the structure is brief, not too soft, and dense in arrangement, it is called tūrṇaka; from lengthy compounds, kalikā arises.

भवेन्मध्यमसन्दर्भन्नातिकुत्सितविग्रहम् । वृत्तच्छायाहरं वृत्तं गन्धिनैतत् किलोत्‌कटम् ।। ३३७.

When the arrangement is moderate, not excessively flawed in structure, and possesses the shadow of meter, it is called gandhi, and this is said to be utkaṭa.

आख्यायिका कथा खण्डकथा परिकथा तथा । कथानिकेति मन्यन्ते गद्यकाव्यञ्च पञ्चधा ।। ३३७.

They consider the narrative, the tale, the fragmentary story, the extended story, and the storylet to be the five forms of prose poetry.

कर्तृवंशप्रशंसा स्याद्यत्र गद्येन विस्तरात् । कन्याहरणसंग्रामविप्रलम्भविपत्तयः ।। ३३७.

Where there is elaborate praise of the author's lineage in prose, and the events of bride abduction, battle, separation, and misfortune occur.

भवन्ति यत्र दीप्ताश्च रीतिवृत्तिप्रवृत्तयः । उच्छासैश्च चपरिच्छेजो यत्र या चूर्णकोत्तरा ।। ३३७.

Where vivid customs, conduct, and actions are found, and where there are outbursts, abrupt endings, and the so-called 'fragmentary conclusion.'

. वक्त्रं वापरवक्त्रं वा यत्र साख्यायिका स्मृता । श्लोकैः स्ववंशं संक्षेपात् कविर्यत्र प्रशंसति ।। ३३७.

Where the narrative is told by the author or another speaker, it is called 'ākhyāyikā'; where the poet briefly praises his own lineage in verses.

मुख्यस्यार्थावताराय भवेद्यत्र कथान्तरम् । परिच्छेदो न यत्र स्याद्भवेद्वालम्भकैः क्कचित् ।। ३३७.

Where, for the introduction of the main subject, another story appears, and where there is no division, but sometimes there are supporting episodes.

सा कथा नाम तद्‌गर्भे निबध्नीयाच्चतुष्पदीं । भवेत् खण्डकथा यासौ परिकथा तयोः ।। ३३७.

That is called 'kathā', and within it, four-line verses should be composed; the fragmentary story is 'khaṇḍakathā', and the extended story is 'parikathā'.

अमात्यं सार्थकं वापि द्विजं वा नायकं विदुः । स्यात्तयोः करुणं विद्धि विप्रलम्भश्च तुर्व्विधः ।। ३३७.

They know the minister, merchant, or twice-born as the hero in those two; understand that the emotional tone is either pathos or separation, in twofold manner.

. समाप्यते तयोर्न्नाद्या सा कथामनुधावति । कथाख्याथिकयोर्म्मिश्रमावात् परिकथा स्मृता ।। ३३७.

Of those two, the first is concluded, and the story follows after; the mixed form of narrative and story is called 'parikathā'.

भयानकं सुखपरं गर्बे च करुणो रसः । अद्भुतोऽन्ते सुक्लृप्तार्थो नोदात्ता सा कथानिका ।। ३३७.

Where the mood is fearful or pleasant, and pathos is present within, and the marvelous at the end, with well-crafted meaning, but not exalted—such is the 'kathānikā'.

पद्यं चतुष्पदी तच्च वृत्तं जातिरितित्रिधा । वृत्तमक्षरसंख्येयमुक्थं तत् कृतिशेषजम् ।। ३३७.

A verse is a four-line stanza, and it is of three kinds: meter, type, and form; the meter is determined by syllable count, and is derived from the remainder of poetic composition.

मात्राभिर्गणना यत्र सा जातिरिति काश्यपः । सममर्द्धसमं वृत्तं विषमं पैङ्गलं त्रिधा ।। ३३७.

Where the count is by measures, that is called 'type', according to Kāśyapa; the meter is of three kinds: equal, half-equal, and unequal, called 'paiṅgala'.

सा विद्या नौस्तितीर्षूणां गभीरं काव्यसागरं । महाकाव्यं कलापश्च पर्य्याबन्धो विशेषकम् ।। ३३७.

That knowledge is for those wishing to cross the deep ocean of poetry; the epic, the collection, and the arrangement by sections are its special forms.

कुलकं मुक्तक कोष इति पद्यकुटुम्बकम् . सर्गबन्धो महाकाव्यमारब्धं संस्कृतेन यत् ।। ३३७.

The group, the independent stanza, and the treasury are the families of verse; the arrangement of sections is the epic, begun in Sanskrit.

तादात्म्यमजहत्तत्र तत्समं नाति दुष्यति । इतिहासकथोद्‌भूतमितरद्वा सदाश्रयं ।। ३३७.

There, identity is not abandoned, and what is similar is not greatly flawed; whether arising from historical tales or otherwise, it always has a foundation.

मन्त्र्दूतप्रयाणाजिनियतं नातिविस्तरम् । शक्कर्य्यातिजगत्यातिशक्कर्य्या त्रिष्टुभा तथा ।। ३३७.

In the sending of messages, the journey, and the battle, it is not overly elaborate; the 'śakkarī', 'atijagati', 'atiśakkarī', and 'triṣṭubh' meters are also used.

पुष्पिताग्रादिभिर्व्वक्राभिजनैश्चारुभिः समैः । मुक्ता तु भिम्नवृत्तान्ता नातिसंक्षिप्तस्र्गकम् ।। ३३७.

With beautiful, equal stanzas such as 'puṣpitāgra' and others, composed by noble authors; the independent stanza is for stories with remarkable events, not too brief, and with a section.

अतिशक्वरिकाष्टिभ्यामेकसङ्कीर्णकैः पररः । मात्रयाप्यपरः सर्गः प्राशस्त्येषु च पश्चिमः ।। ३३७.

The next section is made with 'atiśakvarī', 'aṣṭi', or single mixed meters; another section is by measure, and the last is praised for its excellence.

कल्पोऽतिनिन्दितस्तस्मिन्विशेषानादरः सतां । नगरार्णवशैलर्त्तु चन्द्रार्काश्रमपादपैः ।। ३३७.

The arrangement is not greatly criticized, and the wise show special regard for it; with cities, oceans, mountains, seasons, moon, sun, hermitages, and trees.