SHATPADI
Shatpadi (ಷಟ್ಪದಿ) is arguably the most popular prosodic meter in
Kannada. The variations of this meter can be found even in modern poetry
written during the twentieth century, as demonstrated by the celebrated scholar
T.N.Srikantaiah. Shatpadi has existed in some form or the other right from the
beginnings of Kannada literature.
Shatpadi means literally ‘six
lines’. (Shat= 6, Paada=Line) This is a meter where the first, second, fourth
and fifth lines are equal to one another in terms of ‘Amsha’ or ‘Maatre’ the
basic elements of Kannada prosody depending on the parameters that the poet has
chosen. The third and sixth lines are 1.5 times longer than the rest and they
are equal to one another. The second important condition that is imposed has to
with the initial rhyming or ‘Adi praasa’ as it is usually called. Some more
minor conditions are applicable to specific shatpadis.
Shatpadi was originally a
part of ‘amshagana chandassu’ which has specific Dravidian roots. Here the
basic modules are brahma gana, vishnugana and rudragana. Shatpadi in its
original form was based on these units. Nagavarma gives the rules that govern
the structure of a shatpadi in detail. This is usually called ‘muula shatpadi’.
(The original shatpadi) This is used in sporadic instances and no literary work
constructed entirely in amsha gana shatpadi is available.
However, there was a gradual
movement away from the Dravidian roots and this is manifested in prosody by the
shift from ‘amsha gana chandassu’ to ‘maatraa gana chandassu’. This
transformation led to certain changes in the structure of shatpadi also. The
basic units were changed to ‘maatre’s. (syllable)
These are divided in to units of three, four and five ‘maatre’s. Shatpadis are
written using various permutations and combinations of these basic units.
Consequently, the ‘muula shatpadi’ gave rise to six different variations. They
are called Shara, (shara) Kusuma, (kusuma) Bhoga, (BOga) Bhamini, BAmini)
Parivardhini (parivardhini) and Vardhaka (vArdhaka). ‘Veereshacharite’ by
Raghavanka is written in “Uddanda Shatpadi’ a minor variant. Some scholars have
tried to derive two more shatpadis named ‘Tala Shatpadi’ and ‘Jala Shatpadi’.
However, Bhamini and Vardhaka are the most popular shatpadis and they are used
by many major poets of Kannada such as Raghavanka, Kumaravyasa, Lakshmeesha,
Chamarasa, Kumara Valmeeki and Bhaskara Kavi. It is an interesting point to be
noted that Shaiva and Brahmin poets have preferred this form and Jaina poets
have hardly ventured to write in Shatadis. Shatpadi was the favorite meter
among the medieval poets writing in ‘naDugannaDa’. The important Kannada works
in the shatpadis are as follows:
1.
Shara
Shatpadi: None
2.
Kusuma
Shatpadi: None
3.
Bhoga
Shatpadi: a) Tirukana Kanasu – Muppina Shadakshari
4.
Bhamini
Shatpadi: a) Karnata Bharata
Kathamanjari – Kumaravyasa
b)
Prabhulingleele --
Chamarasa
c)
Toraveya Ramayana -- Kumara
Valmeeki
d)
Nalacharite -- Kanakadasa
5.
Parivardhini Shatpadi:
5.
Vardhaka
Shatpadi:
a) Harishchandra Kavya- Raghavanka
b) Siddarama Charite – Raghavanka
c)
Somanathacharite -
Raghavanka
d) Jaimini Bharata - Lakshmeesha
e) Bhavachintaratna -
Gubbiya Mallanarya
Some Kannada works contain a combination of these six variations.
‘Mahadeviayakkana Purana’ (1550 A.D.) by Chennabasavanka is an interesting work
because it makes use of all six shatpadis. ‘Kumudendu Ramayana’ also makes use
of diffrent Shatpadis.
The shift from amshagana
tripadi to maatragana tripadis resulted in a reduction of flexibility and
musicality. The singing mode was replaced by the reciting mode. (Gamaka)
However these works were communicated even to illiterate communities through
various modes. T.N. Srikantaiah has shown in his writings that even twentieth
century poetry contains shatpadi patterns, of course with out the the
restrictive rules regarding rhymes.
‘Shatpadi’ is perhaps the
most prevalent prosodic form in Kannada, considering the fact that ‘Champu’ is
a combination of various ‘vruttas’ creating a space even for prose. On the
contrary, shatpadi works contain literally thousands of poems running on and on
with out causing monotony. This is so because it is possible to play with this
form depending on the exigencies of the situation. It is possible to mould it
for description, conversation and dramatic rendering. Great masters such as
Kumaravysa and Raghavanka have shown the possibilities of this meter
exhaustively.