Alamkara, Chhanda and Poetics
Alaṃkāra, chandas, and poetics questions test technical vocabulary. You must identify figures, scan metres, and explain rasa or dhvani with a concrete example. Do not answer with a name alone; show the parts.
Alaṃkāra essentials
- upamā: comparison with a vācaka.
- rūpaka: identification.
- utprekṣā: imaginative 'as if.'
- atiśayokti: hyperbole.
- anuprāsa: alliteration; yamaka: repeated syllables with different meaning; śleṣa: pun.
Chandas
- anuṣṭubh: 8 syllables per pāda (32 total).
- indravajrā/upendravajrā: 11.
- vasantatilakā: 14.
- mālinī: 15.
- mandākrāntā: 17.
- śārdūlavikrīḍita: 19.
Poetics
rasa (aesthetic relish), bhāva (emotion), dhvani (suggestion), vakrokti (oblique expression), aucitya (propriety).
Worked example: dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ / māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya. Count pāda 1: dhar-ma-kṣe-tre-ku-ru-kṣe-tre = 8; pāda 2: sa-ma-ve-tā-yu-yut-sa-vaḥ = 8. Four such pādas make anuṣṭubh. The verse is a śloka, the common epic metre. If the count were 11, it would be indravajrā or upendravajrā depending on the opening gaṇa; do not guess.
Traps: counting kṣ and tr as separate syllables; calling a śleṣa an anuprāsa; and naming rasa without naming its vibhāva/anubhāva.