3g2 ON SANSCRIT AND 



a short treatise entitled S'ruta bocTha, this poet teaches 

 the laws of versification in the very metre to which they 

 relate : and has tlius united the example with the pre- 

 cept. The same mode has been also practised by many 

 other writers on prosody; and, in particular, by Pin- 

 gala's commentator Na'ra'yan'a. bhat't'a ; and by 

 the -authors of the Vritta Retndcara and Vritta der- 

 pana. 



Ca'lida'sa's S'ruta hoSha exhibits only the most 

 common sorts of metre, and is founded on Pingala's 

 Frdcrii rules of prosody ; as has been remarked by one 

 of the coiDmentators * on the PWitta Retndcara. 



The rules, generally cited under the title of Prdcrit 

 Phigala^ have been explained in a metrical paraphrase, 

 teaching- the construction ot each species of metre in a 

 stanza of the same measure, and subjoining select ex- 

 amples. This Prdnit parai^hrase, entitled Phigala. 

 vntti, IS quoted under the name of Hammika -j^, who 

 is celebrated in more than one passage oiven as exam- 

 ples of metre : and who probably patronised the au- 

 thor. It has been imitated in a modern Sanscrit trea- 

 tise on Prdcrit prosody entitled Vritta vmctdvali\ ; 

 and has been copiously explained in a Sanscrit com- 

 meniary named Pvigala fracdsa^. 



works on othrr subi(=cts For example Varahamihira's system of 

 asro (.gv, which contains a chaiter oo. prosody. 



Tie Friita-refjidcara Crdav-.k ehatta, with its cnnnmentaries by 



I>IVACARA BHATTA, NaHAYANA BHATTA and H ARI-BUA3CARA, 



has teen the most c 'n=ulted for the present treatise. The l^rilta- 

 dcTp"va, which relates ch.etiy to Praciit prosody, has been also 

 much Ciiiployed 



• l^XVACARA BHATTA. 



I" In the coMimeniary on the Frittocii raina, 



\ T'^e author Dlhgadatta was patronieed by the H'mdpaU 

 princes of Bunt.ik Land, i'he exumpUs, whicli lil^e the text ure 

 Savscrii. in PrJcrit men^ure, are in praise of these chieftains. 



§ 1 y Viswaratha. 



