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INTRODUCTION
89
STYLE
The riti, or 'style,' of the Suryaśataka is the Gaudi, which is
characterized by strength (ojas) and grace (känti), and abounds
in compounds and alliteration (anuprāsa).¹ A perusal of the
poem shows that it meets these required conditions. The com-
pounds are evident to even the casual observer, and that the
language is vigorous, and yet at the same time graceful, no care-
ful student will deny. A list of the more noteworthy cases of
alliteration is given in one of the following paragraphs (p. 91).
Furthermore, according to Dandin,2 the Gaudi style is apt to affect
obscure words that need to be explained etymologically, as e.g.
abjanman, 'water-born,' meaning 'lotus.' The Süryaśataka
contains many such words; compare, e. g., the epithets of Surya,
ahimamśu (stanza 37), aśiśiramahas (stanza 43), ahimaruci
(71), and aśiśirakirana (72), which all mean 'he whose ray is
not cold'; see also ambhoruha (3), 'water-growing,' for 'lotus';
vişadhara (47), 'poison-bearer,' for 'snake'; hemādri (49),
'golden mountain,' for 'Mt. Meru'; pathyetarāni (60), 'things
other than wholesome,' for 'troubles'; kṣmabhṛtaḥ (87), 'earth-
bearers,' for 'mountains'; and so on-very many instances might
be given. Still another characteristic of this riti iş the running
together of harsh-sounding syllables, and illustrations of this are
seen in Süryaśataka, stanzas 6 and 98. Besides, the Sahitya-
darpana says that the Gaudi style is adambara, resonant
arrangement (of words),' as though it were, as Regnaud puts it,"
'le tambour [adambara] de la poésie,' and this quality of it is
exemplified in stanzas 33, 36 and 70 of the Süryaśataka, where
there is a noticeable prevalence of bh, dy and nd sounds re-
spectively.
6
¹ For these characteristics of the Gaudi style, see P. Regnaud, Rhétorique
Sanskrite, p. 253-255, Paris, 1884; also L. H. Gray, Vasavadatta, introd.,
p. 16, and the references cited there.
2 Dandin's Kavyadarśa (ed. O. Böhtlingk, Leipzig, 1890), 1.46.
8 See Kavyadarśa, 1. 72.
See Sahityadarpana (ed. Jivananda Vidyāsāgara, Calcutta, 1895), 9. 627.
5 Regnaud, Rhétorique Sanskrite, p. 255.
89
STYLE
The riti, or 'style,' of the Suryaśataka is the Gaudi, which is
characterized by strength (ojas) and grace (känti), and abounds
in compounds and alliteration (anuprāsa).¹ A perusal of the
poem shows that it meets these required conditions. The com-
pounds are evident to even the casual observer, and that the
language is vigorous, and yet at the same time graceful, no care-
ful student will deny. A list of the more noteworthy cases of
alliteration is given in one of the following paragraphs (p. 91).
Furthermore, according to Dandin,2 the Gaudi style is apt to affect
obscure words that need to be explained etymologically, as e.g.
abjanman, 'water-born,' meaning 'lotus.' The Süryaśataka
contains many such words; compare, e. g., the epithets of Surya,
ahimamśu (stanza 37), aśiśiramahas (stanza 43), ahimaruci
(71), and aśiśirakirana (72), which all mean 'he whose ray is
not cold'; see also ambhoruha (3), 'water-growing,' for 'lotus';
vişadhara (47), 'poison-bearer,' for 'snake'; hemādri (49),
'golden mountain,' for 'Mt. Meru'; pathyetarāni (60), 'things
other than wholesome,' for 'troubles'; kṣmabhṛtaḥ (87), 'earth-
bearers,' for 'mountains'; and so on-very many instances might
be given. Still another characteristic of this riti iş the running
together of harsh-sounding syllables, and illustrations of this are
seen in Süryaśataka, stanzas 6 and 98. Besides, the Sahitya-
darpana says that the Gaudi style is adambara, resonant
arrangement (of words),' as though it were, as Regnaud puts it,"
'le tambour [adambara] de la poésie,' and this quality of it is
exemplified in stanzas 33, 36 and 70 of the Süryaśataka, where
there is a noticeable prevalence of bh, dy and nd sounds re-
spectively.
6
¹ For these characteristics of the Gaudi style, see P. Regnaud, Rhétorique
Sanskrite, p. 253-255, Paris, 1884; also L. H. Gray, Vasavadatta, introd.,
p. 16, and the references cited there.
2 Dandin's Kavyadarśa (ed. O. Böhtlingk, Leipzig, 1890), 1.46.
8 See Kavyadarśa, 1. 72.
See Sahityadarpana (ed. Jivananda Vidyāsāgara, Calcutta, 1895), 9. 627.
5 Regnaud, Rhétorique Sanskrite, p. 255.