9. BHARATA’s NĀṬYA ŚĀSTRA AND YAMAKA IN EARLY TAMIḺ LITERATURE ________________________________________ Bharata in his Nāṭya Śāstra deals with beauty and embellishment in poetry, besides qualities and defects under kāvya lakṣaṇa in Chapter 16. The embellishments in poetry called alankāra is brought under as broad catagories arthālamkāra and śabdālamkāra i.e., embellishment of meanings (artha) and embellishment of Sound (śabda). The arthālamankāras are upamāna, dipaka and rūpaka while the śabdālamkara is embellishments with sound through repetition of same syllables, words, phrases and lines which he calls as yamaka. We will deal with yamaka in this article. Unfortunately later developments in poetics had made the understanding of this embellishment rather complex so much so many think it is difficult to follow. For example, the definition given for yamaka states that repetition of word which by separating the syllable and joining them with the next word would give different meaning. The lexicon gives the following meaning, “the repetition in the same stanza of words or syllables similar in sound but different in meaning”. The example given generally is the most difficult verse. But Bharata has made it quite simple to comprehend the composition and when understood properly it is one of the finest devises to enhance the beauty of the poem. First and foremost yamaka is defined by Bharata as employment of śabda repetitively in the rhymes (pāda) of poetry that is pleasing. He also says this is employed in musical compositions to sing and especially in compositions meant for dance. By repeating the words the rhythmic effect is enhanced, and an emphasis is given to a particular bhāva or meaning to grasp the situation and the ethos of the sāhitya. This was employed in ancient poems quite liberally and also in varieties. So, Bharata gives this as the only śabdālamkāra with ten subdivisions. We have seen that the simple definition of yamaka is repeating or doubling the sound of syllables, words, phrases or lines to make the poem enchanting. śabdābhyasaḥ tu yamakam pādātiṣu vikalpitam The following are the ten subdivisions Bharata gives: • pādānta yamaka (yamaka or doubling at the end of lines) • kāñchiya yamakam • samudga yamakam • vikranta yamakam • cakravāḷa yamakam • sandaṣta yamakam • pādādi yamakam • amredita yamakam • catur-vyavastā yamakam • Mālā yamakam One need not be puzzled by these terminologies. When a syllable or word or phrase is repeated at the end of the lines it is called pada-anta-yamakam (pada line; anta end). If we understand one or two it is easy to follow. Bharata gives the examples for easy understanding with most of the examples consisisting of poems with four lines. One can follow it and then extend them to other examples. 9.1. Pādānta Yamakam caturnām pādānam yat pādānte samam aksharam Tad vai syāt pādānta yamakam iti nāmatah Example: dinakṣayat samhṛta rasmi mandalam diviva lagnam tapaniya mandalam vibhāti āmram divi sūrya mandalam yatha tarunyaḥ stanbhāra mandalam At this stage, I may suggest that one need not worry about the meaning in yamaka at first. But just note the last word “mandalam” is repeated at the end of all the four lines of this poem. That is, the same word is repeated in all the lines at the end. This is called “Pada-anta-yamakam”. 9.2. Pādādi Yamakam Similarly, same word may be repeated at the beginning of the lines for example: vishnuḥ srjati bhūtani vishnuḥ samharate prajah vishnuḥ prasute trailokyam vishnuḥ lokādhi daivatam In this poem the word vishnuḥ appears in all the four lines at the beginning This is an example of pada-ādi-yamakam ( i.e., the same word at the beginning in all the lines). 9.3. Amredita Yamakam One may find in the third example that all the lines will have the last two words repeated. Example: vijrimbitam nisvasitam muhur muhuh katham vidheyam smaranam pade pade tatha ca te dhyanam idam punah punah dhruvam gata rajani vinā vinā 9.4. Sandaṣṭa Yamakam This is another variety in which two words at the beginning appear in all lines, it is called well knit or well brought together yamakam. (sam-well, damṣṭakam-brought together) Example: pasya pasya ramanasya me guṇān tena tena vaśagām karoti mām yena yena sameti darśanam Tena tena vasagam karoti mām In this example the beginnings of all lines repeat first word twice. 9.5. Catur-vyavasthitam This is another simple yamaka in which all the words in a line are repeated in all the four lines in the same order. So, the four lines are specially established. Example: vāraṇānām ayam eva kālah vāraṇānam ayam eva kālah vāraṇānam ayam eva vāraṇānām ayam eva kālah It may be seen in this example all the four lines have the same words in the same order. So, it is called the specially established yamakam stand (vyavasthitah-caturnām, i.e., in all the four lines) 9.6. Cakravāḷa Yamakam When the end word of one line is made the first word of the next line then it is called cakravāḷa yamakam like a wheel. Example: saila yathā satrubhij ahatah hatāh hatasch bhūyah anu punkha punkhavaih khagaiśca sarvaih yudhi sancitās citāh citadhi ruddhāh nihatāh talaih talaih 9.7. Vikranta Yamakam If a line or phrases are repeated in alternate line it becomes the vikranta yamakam (vikranta alternate). Example: ya pārvam vārano bhūtvā abhavat anta vaikalyāt dvi-sringā iva parvatäh dvi-sringā iva parvatāh 9.8. Samudga Yamakam If two lines are repeated alternately in the verse then it is called samudga yamakam Example: ketaki kusuma pandara dantah sobhate pravara kānana hasti ketaki kusuma pandara dantah sobhate pravara kānana hasti 9.9. Kāñchi Yamakam This variety appears as a girdle and so called kāñchi yamakam. Example: Yame yame candravatinam dravatinām Vyaktā vyaktā sarajaninām rajaninām Phulle Phulle sambhramare bhramare vā Rāmā rāmā vismayate va smayate vā 9.10. Mālā Yamakam When a syllable in joined with different forms of vowels in a verse it is called mālā yamakam (mālā - garland) Example: lāli bali hali māli kheli mali sali jali Khalo balo abalo māli musali tu abhirakṣatu It may be seen there is no need to first go into the meaning of these verses. One can conveniently forget the meaning. What is immediately recognizable is that the sound of the words play an important role. One word at the beginning of a line or two words at the beginning or one or two words at the end or in the middle repeated in two lines, or alternate lines or three lines or four lines etc are considered yamakam each given a name for recognition. The main point is the repetition of words for beautifying the form and emphasizing a bhava or meaning especially in musical or dance compositions such as the yamaka. We are aware of the musicians repeating the words or lines several times to establish the form which is common in concerts. The yamaka is one of the vital embellishments in kāvya and is a simple repetition of words or phrases or lines. Once this role is understood its place may be evident and so Bharata has given a special place to this alamkāra in his work. Another point that deserves to be kept in mind is that a poem has other lakṣaṇas such as the guṇa (quality), doṣas (blemishes), bhūṣaṇas (ornaments) leading to the realization of rasa apart from the śabdālāmkāra. These yamakas also play their roles.
