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.