Kavyalankara 6: ṣaṣṭhaḥ paricchedaḥ

Having sūtras as its water, words as its whirlpools, complete texts as its netherworld, / verbal roots and the uṇādi classes as its sea-monsters, deep meditation as its great raft,

Its shores surveyed by the steadfast, envied by the dull-witted, / constantly enjoyed by all the cow-elephants that are the other sciences—

Without having crossed this ocean of grammar, difficult and unfathomable, / this person is not able to understand by himself the jewel of words.

And one desiring to compose poetry should make an effort to master this; / for what delight is there in that which is produced from relying on others?

Speech whose words rely upon another does not shine forth to delight the wise, / just like a garland of fresh flowers touched by another person.

First of all, this is the foremost rule: that one proceeds by one's own power. / Those who repeat what others have spoken are called borrowed Sarasvatīs.

Others say that a word is that from which cognition of meanings arises; / [then] smoke and light would also possess the nature of a word with respect to the inference of fire.

[Objection:] Surely an aggregate of sounds, beginning with *a*, that possesses meaning / and is uttered to convey an understanding of sense, is called a word!

[Refutation:] How can an aggregate have meaning when each individual [sound] is incapable? / And because sounds occur in temporal succession, their aggregation is not logically tenable.

Nor does an aggregate exist over and above its component parts; / apart from the wood, walls, and ground, what other 'house' can be conceived?

Therefore, this notion of yours of an unchanging eternal word is futile; / reality belongs only where perception or inference holds.

The assertion of the proponents of *sphoṭa* is not to be accepted, even under oath: / what conscious person would believe that a sky-flower exists?

Convention was established in the past for worldly communication in this manner: / 'Just these sounds, of such a form, denote such a meaning.'

It is said [by them] to be unchanging, imperishable, and distinct from sound; / fools consider conventional meanings to be ultimate realities.

Let it be perishable or eternal, or [let there be] a relation with an existent object; / homage to those scholars who are the authority in its determination!

Others declare that a word conveys its meaning by the exclusion of others (*anyāpoha*); / and 'exclusion of others' is indeed the negation of other referents.

If this word 'cow' has fulfilled its purpose by excluding non-cows, / another sound must be sought to generate the cognition of a cow in a cow.

Words have knowledge of meaning as their fruit, and one [word] does not have two fruits: / how could both knowledge of negation and knowledge of affirmation be the fruits of a single [word] for you?

First there must be the cognition 'this is a cow' from hearing the word 'cow', / by virtue of which the sound 'cow' proceeds to negate what is not a cow.

This [word] is divided according to the division of sounds, and sounds [are divided] by the analysis of their parts; / 'What are words, and what is their denotation?' — alas, this path is hard to traverse!

And they are of four kinds according to the division into substance, action, universal, and quality; / others also recognize arbitrary words, such as *ḍittha* and the like.

With respect to these [words], which belong to various languages and refer to endless objects, / by whom can their precise limit be determined in detail?

This discrimination is now stated: which [words] are correct for usage / by poets of oblique speech, and which are not proper to use.

One should not use an unidiomatic word that causes confusion in the mind; / for even though the meaning is the same, who would use *han* in the sense of 'to go'?

[One should not use] an unintelligible word like *śrautra* ('ear-related'), nor an ungraceful word like *duṣṭa* ('corrupted') [used improperly], / nor a vulgar word like *piṇḍīśūra* ('a hero over rice-balls', a coward), nor a meaningless word like *ḍittha*.

One should not use an unfamiliar meaning merely on the authority of multiple meanings of roots, / nor a form drawn out by subtle clues (*leśajñāpaka*), such as *hanti* [for 'goes'] or *dhyāti* [for *dhyāyati*].

One should not speak [a word] merely because it was used by educated people, nor because it is established in another system; / nor should one use a Vedic form relying on the general rule 'like the Veda' (*chandovat*).

One should utter a word that has come down by tradition, is pleasant to the ear, and is full of meaning; / for the beauty of consonants surpasses other ornaments.

One should generally favor that which is established by an additional rule (*upasaṃkhyāna*) and that which is derived by an editorial desire (*iṣṭi*), / but not that which arises from splitting a rule (*yogavibhāga*).

This moon-faced maiden is charming by nature alone; / upon her, an ornament of fine gold enhances her beauty all the more.

One should use the *vṛddhi* form even when there is an occasion for weak-grade substitution in *mṛj*, as in: / 'Falling drops of tears wipe away (*mārjanti*) the red tint of your lower lip.'

And [one should use] the single remainder of like forms (*sarūpaikaśeṣa*) where the masculine is retained over the feminine, / as in: *varuṇau* ('Varuṇa and his wife'), *indrau*, *bhavau*, *śarvau*, and *mṛḍau*.

As in *paṭayati* ('makes sharp') and so forth, with the suffix *ṇic* after a nominal stem, / and so also *kraśayati* ('makes lean') according to the desideratum *ṇāv iṣṭhavat* ('like *iṣṭha* before *ṇi*').

One should use an *avyayībhāva* compound ending in *a*, but not without the fifth case affix; / in the option of the third and seventh cases, one should not introduce an instance of non-elision (*aluk*).

Compounds such as *tiṣṭhadgu* ('when cows are standing') denote night and day, / as in: 'This scholar studies *tiṣṭhadgu* (at milking time) and *vahadgu* (at yoke time).'

One should by no means cite a genitive compound with a word ending in *tṛc* / solely on the basis of usage by the learned (*śiṣṭaprayoga*) or on the opinion of the author of the *Nyāsa*.

As *vṛtrahantā* ('slayer of Vṛtra') is taught merely by the suggestive force (*jñāpaka*) of a rule; / nor should one form a compound with an agent ending in *aka*, as in *tadgamaka* ('indicating that').

And one may use a *dvigu* compound in the feminine, as in *pañcarājī* ('a group of five lines'), / and a neuter *tatpuruṣa*, as in *puruhūtasabham* ('the assembly of Indra').

And after all [stems] of the *bhṛśa* group, one should speak with the consonant elided, as in: / 'She becomes lovesick (*unmanāyate*) for you; why do you become deceitfully disposed (*abhimanāyase*), rogue?'

In words ending in the zero suffix *kvip*, one should use the instrumental singular and the genitive plural ending in *ām*, / as is said: 'by the thunderbolt-wielder (*balabhidā*)' and 'of the lustrous lightning bolts (*surucāṃ vidyutām*)'.

A word ending in *as* should be used just in that way, / as it is said: *ambhasā* ('by water'), *bhāsā* ('by light'), and *yaśasām ambhasām* ('of glories, of waters').

They accept words ending in *kvasu* in the masculine and feminine as non-Vedic, / as in: 'Even of those who have attained (*upeyuṣām*) heaven, beauty does not depart.'

'The young woman, wearing (*dadhuṣī*) a bodice on her breast that resembled an elephant's temple, / exhausted from the exertion of lovemaking, stole the hearts of men.'

The suffix *ṇic* taught after *śabala* and similar words shines exceedingly, as in: / 'Look, slender-waisted one, these cranes are dappling (*śabalayanti*) the clouds.'

'Bearing the fragrance of the causeway, resembling cool raindrops, / [the breeze] fans (*vījayati*) you, slender-waisted one, whose eyes are languid from the exertion of lovemaking.'

Such use of *ṇic* is everywhere a supreme ornament; / and likewise the suffix *ṇini*, denoting habitual nature, occurring in all three genders:

'Her captivating (*hārī*) expanse of breast, her captivating (*hāri*) lovely face, / her exceedingly captivating (*hāriṇī*) body — how do they not steal the mind?'

And all suffixes such as *tṛn* are accepted in the sense of habitual action and the like; / and especially favored in that sense are *yuc*, *kurac*, *kvarap*, and *iṣṇuc*.

And one should use forms ending in *ktin*, such as *saṃgati* ('union') and *saṃhati* ('compactness'); / and the forms ending in *śa* and *kāran* are favored from the root *jāgṛ*, as in *jāgaryā* and *jāgarā* ('wakefulness').

And one should always use the suffix *yuc* after *ās* with *upa*, as in *upāsanā* ('worship'); / and the suffix *lyuṭ* in the sense of an agent, as in *devanaḥ* ('gambler') and *ramaṇaḥ* ('lover').

The feminine suffix *ṅīp* is favored even after forms ending in *aṇ*, as in *paurandarī lakṣmīḥ* ('the sovereignty belonging to Indra'); / likewise the suffix *añ* after *mahārajana*, and *ṭhak* after *lākṣā* and *rocanā*.

And the suffix *ḍmatup* is favored after *kumuda*, as in: 'this land is full of white water-lilies (*kumudvatī*)'; / and also *ṭhak* in the sense of 'he wins by that', as in *ākṣikaḥ* ('a dice-player') and *śāstrikaḥ* ('a weapons-master').

And in the section on 'beneficial' (hita), they use the suffix ṇa after the word sarva, / and by rule also cha after it, as in sārva and also sarvīya.

And one should use [forms] ending in the suffix imani[c], as in paṭimā and laghimā; / particularly desired is [the comparative suffix] īyasu[n], [as in]: 'The elder (jyāyān) obtained the younger woman (kanīyasīm)'.

The suffixes dvayasac and daghnac are used in the sense of measurement, as in: / 'The river is knee-deep (jānudaghnī), the lake is up to the woman’s hips (nitambadvayasam)'.

In the section on the suffix matup: jyotsnā, tamisrā, śṛṅgiṇ- and so on; / and the suffix inac after phala and barha, as in phalin- ('fruitful') and barhin- ('peacock').

The suffix ini is generally used by the wise, and likewise ṭha; / even there, it is especially approved in the case of mekhala, mālā, and māyā.

When there is substitution of at for jhi after a reduplicated base (abhyasta), forms such as dadhati are used, / and [forms] such as roditi and svapiti where the sārvadhātuka affix is accompanied by the augment iṭ.

Among reduplicated verbs, one should use the affix śatṛ ending in a for the roots ghu and bhṛ: / 'He shines, bearing (dadhat) ornamentation and wearing (bibhrat) a garland'.

[One should never pronounce the dental class (tavarga) in con]junction with the palatal sibilant ś, / as in: 'O lotus-eyed one, this forest appears dark (etacchyāmam)'.

One should not allow an excess of the vowel e in a single place, as in 'gato yāto hato'; / and one should not employ [the substitute for] h following stops (jhay) like a homogeneous letter (sāvarṇyavat), except in paddhati.

'Who can explain this doctrine of the Sālāturīya in its proper sequence?' Thinking thus, I have refrained from further deliberation. / If anyone could reach the shore of the ocean of words and of the terrifying waters of the sea, that would be a marvel!

Constantly the foundation of other sciences, it does not contradict any of the truths stated in them; / indeed, the Pāṇinian doctrine is trustworthy in the world; on account of its impartiality, to whom is it not an authority?

Having examined the doctrines of true poets and having comprehended by his own intellect the characteristics of poetry, / this has been composed by Bhāmaha, the son of Rakrilagomin, for the delight of noble people.

Thus ends the sixth chapter in the illustrious Bhāmahālaṅkāra.

The body [of poetry] was determined in sixty [verses], poetic figure in a hundred and sixty, / examination of defects in fifty, and determination of logical reasoning in seventy;

the correctness of words in sixty: thus this fivefold subject matter / has been set forth in order for you in six chapters by Bhāmaha.