Sanskrit Kavyas are classified as uttama (excellent), madhyama (middling) and adhama (inferior), based on the extent to which suggestion is used in the work.
In uttama kavyas, suggestion predominates. In madhyama kavyas, the obvious meaning dominates over the suggested meaning. In inferior works, suggestive meaning is not given importance. In the light of this definition, chitra kavyas are placed in the adhama category. And yet we find that Vedanta Desika, the master poet and logician, employs the technique in his Paduka Sahasram and Yadavabhyudaya. Neither of these works can be placed in the inferior category. In fact, Appayya Dikshita, an Advaitin, admired Desika’s Yadavabhyudaya, and came up with a commentary for it. The genius of Desika was such that, he included a chitra paddhati in Paduka Sahasram and a chtira sargam in Yadavabhyudaya, without in any way compromising on the suggestive aspects of poetry, said C. Ranganathan, in a lecture. With reference to sabda chitra, there are many types of sabda alankaras, like yamaka, slesha, anuprasa etc. In Yadavabhyudaya, Desika uses yamaka and slesha (alliteration) in the section where Krishna advises Nandagopa. Yamaka is the repetition of syllables or words, which sound the same, but have different meanings. Krishna tells Nandagopa that the Govardhana hill being Lord Narayana incarnate, there was no need to worship Indra. Krishna’s advice is offered with all humility, and He says He is only repeating what is already known to Nandagopa. Desika evokes visual patterns through letters. There are even slokas where only one akshara is used throughout. Desika hints at his capacity to write ten thousand such chitraslokas. But since the main purpose of his work is worship of the Lord, he has stopped with a few.