नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

288 THE NĀṬYAŚĀSTRA [XVI. 115

Seeing the beautiful Tilottamā created by the gods with the gait of an elephant in rut, while she came to circumambulate him, Śiva fixed all the eyes on her and kept his heads and mouths motionless. And then the lord of gods (Śiva) on seeing her who was beautiful on account of her breasts, face and the hip, sighed silently and put away on his back the golden bangles set with the best of jewels in which snakes were yawning.

The uneven and the semi-even metres

115. These are, O the best of Brahmins, the even metres I mentioned [before]. Now listen about the uneven and the semi-even metres.

116. The metres of which the feet belong to different metrical types and are dissimilar, are called uneven (viṣama).

117-118. The metres in which the two [alternate] feet are similar while the two [contiguous] feet are not similar, are called semi-even (ardha-sama). And the metre in which all the feet are dissimilar is called uneven. The semi-even metre is to have its even and odd feet dissimilar and the first of such groups of feet may be shorter or longer than the rest or one of them may be longer and the other shorter than the rest.

Even metres

119. An even metre is defined by defining one of its feet while uneven metre requires the definition of all its feet. And from a definition of the two feet the semi-even metre is known. This is the division of feet [in different semi-even metres].

120. I have described the even metres with reference to their divisions of feet. Now I shall describe the characteristics of the uneven metres in terms of triads, (i.e. gaṇas).

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114a, (C.112, B.XV.153). ¹ According to B. it is spurious.
114b (C.113, B.XV.154). 115 (C.114, B.XV.155).
116 (C.115, B.XV.156).
117-118 (C.116-117, B.XV.157-158).
119 (C.118, B.XV.159). 120 (C.119, B.XV.160)