Artistic frame and philosophically engaging content

atiśakvarī and other meters in the SM

The Seśvaramīmāṃsā by Veṅkaṭanātha is a commentary on PMS, but includes also floating verses and summary verses (saṅgrahaśloka) at the beginning and end of each book and at the end of each adhikaraṇa. All verses are ślokas, possibly in order to be understandable and clear, apart from the first three and the last one of SM 1. These are more the creation of a virtuoso.

The first three are an atiśakvarī, an ārya with an abnormal structure (cd-ab instead of the opposite) and a vasantatilakā respectively. The last one in SM 1 is again an atiśakvarī, featuring 8-7-8-7 syllables in the two strophes. The atiśakvarī has various versions, what remains constant is that it has four times 15 syllables.

The last verse reads:

anitaraparidṛṣṭeṣv astabādheṣu vastuṣv akhilanigamavāco buddhim utpādayantyaḥ |

sahajam anapavādaṃ mānabhāvaṃ dadhānāḥ samajaniṣata viṣṇoḥ śāśvataṃ śāsanaṃ naḥ ||

The statements (vāc) of the entire Vedas (nigama), while they cause to be a notion (buddhi) regarding real things (vastu), which [can] not be completely (anitara) well experienced [and] the subsequent invalidating cognitions of which are given up (asta), |

and while they place down (dhā-) an innate (sahaja) instrument of knowledge, which bears no exception (apavāda);
they simultaneously appear (saṃjan-) for us as the constant (śāśvata) teach- ing (śāsana) of Viṣṇu || 65 ||

This seems to indicate that Veṅkaṭanātha prepared a rich and artistic frame but then filled it mostly with philosophical contents, avoiding virtuosism.

Comments and discussions are welcome. Be sure you are making a point and contributing to the discussion.

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