KHYATA KARNATAKA VRUTTA
‘Khyata Karnataka Vrutta’ (KyAta karnATka vrutta) (ಖ್ಯಾತ
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ವೃತ್ತಗಳು) refers
to the six famous Sanskrit prosodic forms that are borrowed in to Kannada and
used extensively by the poets who composed ‘Champu
Kavyas’. These six forms were preferred because they suited the native genius
of the language at that particular point of time in the history of Kannada
language what with the preponderance of Sanskrit words in literary Kannada.
‘Akshara
Vrutta’ is a poetic stanza containing four lines, each of them having an
identical number of letters arranged in a particular pattern. This pre
determined pattern is called ‘aksharagaNa vinyAsa’. Eight ‘akshara
gana’s and an additional
‘laghu’ or ‘guru’ contribute to the structure of each line. Once a poem is
constructed using similar combinations of akshara ganas in all the four lines,
the recitation of the poem also becomes pre-determined. Consequently every
akshara vrutta has its own melody and a mode of rendering unique to it. This
uniqueness equips it to communicate different emotions. Hence each one of the
‘Khyata Karnataka Vruttas’ has its own emotional range and melodic grandeur.
‘campakamAlA’,
‘utpalamalaa’, ‘matteBa vikrIDita’, ‘shArdUla vikrIDita’, ‘sragdharA’ and
‘mahAsragdharA’ constitute the six famous vruttas used profusely in Kannada.
The patterns of letters associated with them are as follows:
1.
campakamAlA
(ಚಂಪಕಮಾಲಾ): ನ.ಜ.ಭ.ಜ.ಜ.ಜ.ರ
( uuu.u-u.–uu.u-u.u-u.u-u.–u-)
ಕುಲಮ/ನೆಮುನ್ನ/ಮುಗ್ಗಡಿ/ಪಿರೇಂ ಗ/ಡಾ ನಿಮ್ಮ /ಕುಲಂಗ/ಳಾಂತು ಮಾರ್/
2. utpalamAlA (ಉತ್ಪಲಮಾಲಾ): ಭ.ರ.ನ.ಭ.ಭ.ರ.ಲಘು.ಗುರು
( -uu.-u-.uuu.-uu.-uu.-u-.u.-)
ಪೋದ ಭ/ವಂಗಳಂ/ನೆನೆವಿ/ನಂ ಗಗ/ನಾಂತರ/ದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂ/ರ್ಯ/ಯುಗ್/
3.
mattEBa
vikrIDita(ಮತ್ತೇಭ
ವಿಕ್ರೀಡಿತÀ: ಸ.ಭ.ರ.ನÀ.ಮ.ಯ.ಲಘು.ಗುರು
(uu-.-uu.-u-.uuu.---.u--.u.-)
ಇದು ದೇ/ವೇಂದ್ರನಿ/ವಾಸಮೆ/ನ್ನ ನೆಲೆ/ಯುಂ ಶ್ರೀ
ಶ್ರೀ/ಪ್ರಭಂ ಮುಂ/ದೆ/ನಿಂ
4.
shArdUla
vikrIDita(ಶಾರ್ದೂಲವಕ್ರೀಡಿತÀ): ಮ.ಸ.ಜ.ಸ.ತ.ತ.ಗುರು
( ---.uu-.u-u.u--.--u.--u.-)
ಶ್ರೀದೇವೇಂ/ದ್ರಮುನೀಂ/ದ್ರವಂದಿ/ತಗುಣ/ವ್ರಾತಂ ಜ/ಗತ್ಸ್ವಾಮಿ/ ಸಂ/
5. sragdharA(sಸ್ರಗ್ಧರಾ): ಮ.ರ.ಭ.ನ.ಯ.ಯ.ಯ
(---.-u-.-uu.uuu.u--.u--.u--)
ಹಾರಾಂಶು/ಸ್ವಚ್ಛ ನೀ/ರಂ ಸುರ/ಯುವತಿ/ಮುಖಾಂಭೋ/ಜ ನೇತ್ರೋ/ತ್ಪಳಶ್ರೀ
6. mahA
sragdharA(ಮಹಾಸ್ರಗ್ಧರಾ): ಸ.ತ.ತ.ನ.ಸ.ರ.ರ.ಗುರು
( uu-.--u.--u.uuu.uu-.-u-.-u-.-)
ಅಲಕಂ/ಮಂದಾರ/ಶೂನ್ಯಂ ಕ/ದಪು ಮ/ಕರಿಕಾ/ಪತ್ರಶೂ/ನ್ಯಂ ಲಲಾ/ಟಂ
Suitable examples from Kannada classics are provided for each of the six
vruttas. Even here, camakamAlA and utpalamAlA vruttas are used much more
frequently than the rest. SragdharA and mahAsragdharA are relatively in
frequent. Some poets seem to have a soft corner for some of these vruttas. Some
scholars have tried to link these six vruttas with the prosodic forms composed
in ‘amshagana chandassu not with any appreciable degree of success.
These
vruttas could not survive the change from old Kannada (haLagannaDa) to medieval
Kannada (naDugannaDa). The shifting of the emphasis from ‘aksharagaNa
chandassu’ to mAtrA gaNa chandassu’ had its share in the disappearance of these
prosodic patterns. The Champu Kavyas composed later sound slightly verbose and
artificial. The gradual erosion of the gamaka tradition and the lacunae that
have arisen in our pedagogy are partly responsible for this situation. However
a proper rendering of these vruttas are mandatory for a comprehensive analysis
of old Kannada classics.