PRAASA (RHYME)
‘Prasa’ (prAsa) (ಪ್ರಾಸ) is
the Kannada equivalent of the English word rhyme. This is one of the important
features of poetry and Kannada is no exception. Ancient and medieval Kannada
poets have followed the stipulations regarding 'praasa' very scrupulously.
‘Praasa’ is the repetition of a particular letter (usually a consonant in a
single line or in all the lines of a stanza in a poem. If this recurrence
occurs at regular intervals then it is ‘niyata praasa’ (regular rhyme) If the
recurrence is not governed by any rule, it is referred to as ‘aniyata praasa’.
(Irregular rhyme) Ancient prosodists were very keen about adhering to a scheme
of regular rhyming. Rhyming could take place at the beginning, end or in the
middle of a line. They are referred to as ‘Adi prAsa’, ‘antya prAsa’ and
‘madhya prAsa’ respectively. The second consonant of every line (pAda) in a
stanza is the same in ‘AdiprAsa’. If the last consonant (or a cluster of
consonants) of every line in a given stanza is the same, then it is called
‘antya prAsa’. Madhya prAsa is the recurrence of a consonant at many places in
a given stanza without any regularity. Prosodists have indulged in some hair
splitting and have created a number of sub divisions in these main categories.
‘PrAsa’
regulates the flow of a poem, perhaps a little less than rhythm. Some time it
enhances the melody of the poem. This is particularly true in the case of
internal rhyming. An analysis of the rhyme patterns in ancient texts could
render significant help in tracing the evolution of Kannada phonemes. Using two
letters in rhyming positions obviously refers to a similarity in pronunciation
and such an occurrence gives us a hint about its original phonetic form. A
systematic rhyme scheme is of immense help in committing a poem to memory. An
awareness of the rhymes patterns could help in textual criticism also.
‘Kavirajamarga’
and ‘Kavijihvabandhana’, two texts on Kannada prosody make extensive references
to the phenomenon of rhyming. Both of them have delineated ‘Adi prAsa’, ‘antya
prAsa’ and ‘madhya prAsa’ (anugata prAsa) with suitable illustrations. The sub
divisions created by them are basically dependent on the rhyming
letter/letters. For instance the recurrence of a consonant followed by a short
vowel as the second letter of all the lines in a given stanza is called ‘Simha
prAsa’. If the rhyming consonant is succeeded by a long vowel then it is ‘gaja
prAsa’. Recurrence of a consonant cluster (CCV) gives rise to ‘turaga prAsa’.
There
has been an ongoing debate among poets and prosodists about the appropriateness
of rhyming. Modern Kannada poetry has stopped using regular rhyme patterns. The
historical decision by the scholar-poet M.Govinda Pai to relinquish the
practice of using ‘Adi prAsa’ is a well known point of departure. However the
use of irregular rhymes to make the rhythm patterns more sonorous continues to
this day.