Kathā (Prose Kāvya)
Kathā, “a composed narrative”
Grammar: feminine noun, from the root kath (to tell): “what is told”.
Meaning: in the teaching on kāvya (poetry and literary composition), one of the five kinds of gadya kāvya (prose kāvya): a composed narrative, with its own marks of form.
In the scriptures: in his teaching on the nature of kāvya, nāṭaka and alaṅkāra, Agnideva says that gadya kāvya is of five kinds: ākhyāyikā, kathā, khaṇḍakathā, parikathā and kathānikā. In the kathā, the poet tells his own lineage briefly in ślokas; another story is added to introduce the main matter; it has no chapter divisions, or, if it has them, they are called lambaka; and in its middle part a composition in catushpadī (verse) should be made. The parikathā is that in which the marks of the kathā and the ākhyāyikā are joined, and in the khaṇḍakathā the manner of the kathā may not be followed (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 337).
In the kośa, kathā is a composed (kalpita) prabandha, while ākhyāyikā is a composition with a true account (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 360).
Related terms: Kāvya · Gadya · Ākhyāyikā · Khaṇḍakathā · Parikathā · Kathānikā · Prabandha
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 337, 360