Sanskrit Poetry (Padya): Prescribed Kavyas and Figures of Speech
Padya questions test both comprehension and technical appreciation. Prescribed kāvya passages-commonly from Raghūvaṃśa, Kumārasambhava, Meghadūta, Śiśupālavadha, or Kirātārjunīya-require you to translate a verse, identify its metre, and name the alaṃkāra with its components.
Reading a verse
- Identify the four pādas and the metre by syllable count (anuṣṭubh 8, indravajrā 11, vasantatilakā 14, śārdūlavikrīḍita 19).
- Locate the main clause; kāvya syntax often delays the verb.
- Name the figure only after finding upameya, upamāna, sāmānya, and vācaka.
Figures you must distinguish
- Upamā: comparison with a vācaka such as iva, yathā.
- Rūpaka: the object is identified with the image, without a comparator.
- Utprekṣā: 'as if' with imaginative supposition.
- Atiśayokti: deliberate hyperbole.
- Anuprāsa: repetition of consonants; yamaka: repeated syllable groups with different sense.
Worked example: asya mukhaṃ kamalam iva sundaraṃ rājate.
- upameya = mukha (face)
- upamāna = kamala (lotus)
- sāmānya = sundaram (beauty)
- vācaka = iva (like) This is upamā. If the line were mukham eva kamalam, it would be rūpaka because the face is not compared but identified with the lotus.
Traps: calling every comparison rūpaka; naming a figure without showing its parts; and counting a conjunct like kṣ as two syllables. A wrong component loses the alaṃkāra mark even if the name is right.