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Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c22: Abhinavagupta

Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c22

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Abhinavagupta

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Abhinavagupta’s fame rests chiefly on his philosophical works on Kashmir Śaivaism, but he appears also to have attained a considerable reputation in the realm of Poetics by his two remarkable commentaries on Bharata and on Ānandavardhana, called respectively *Abhinava-bhāratī* and *Kāvyāloka-locana*. He also cites in his *Locana* (p. 178, also p. 29) another commentary (*vivaraṇa*) of his own, now lost, on the *Kāvya-kautuka* (apparently dealing with Alaṃkāra) by one of his teachers (*asmad-upādhyāya*) Bhaṭṭa Tauta. Nothing is known of this Bhaṭṭa Tauta (also called Bhaṭṭa Tota); but it appears that Abhinava's commentary on Bharata was probably inspired by this teacher, who is cited there very frequently, just as his *Locana* was inspired by his other teacher Bhaṭṭendu-rāja. The *Kāvya-kautuka* is also referred to in the anonymous commentary on the *Vyakti-viveka* (p. 13); and Hemacandra (p. 316) quotes three verses from Bhaṭṭa Tauta in his text and reproduces (p. 59) in his commentary (appropriating the passage directly from Abhinava on Bharata) an opinion of this teacher in connexion with the theory of *rasa*. Kṣemendra in his *Aucitya-vicāra* (under *śl.* 35) attributes to Tauta a fragment of a verse which is given in full but anonymously by Hemacandra (p. 3)¹. Tauta is also cited by Caṇḍidāsa in his *Dīpikā* commentary on Mammaṭa.

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¹ This verse is ascribed, perhaps wrongly, to Māmaha (or Bhāmaha?) in *Kāmadhenu* on Vāmana, p. 4, ed. Benares.

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Bhaṭṭa Tauta, together with Bhaṭṭendu-rāja, who is extravagantly praised in the *Locana* and whose relation to Abhinava we have already discussed, were probably his preceptors in Kāvya and Alaṃkāra. His references to his instructors in philosophy, like Sidhicela², Lakṣmaṇagupta and others, in his philosophical works possess no interest for us; but it may be noted that Abhinava, in his *Pratyabhijñā-vimarśinī* *laghu-vṛtti*, refers to Utpala as his *parama-guru*, the teacher of his teacher. This description of Utpala is repeated in his *Locana* (p. 30), where Abhinava discusses the term *pratyabhijñā*, used in the text (i 8), and refers to what is said on this point by Utpala. This Utpala is well known in the history of Kashmir Śaivaism as the author of the *Īśvara-pratyabhijñā* (on whose *sūtra* and *Vṛtti*, Abhinava wrote a *laghuvṛtti* and a *bṛhatī vṛtti* respectively) and is assigned by Bühler (*op. cit.* p. 79) to the first half of the 10th century. From what Abhinava himself says in his numerous works of Kashmir Śaivaism, we may indicate the line of spiritual succession (*guru-paramparā*) thus: Somānanda→Utpala→ Lakṣmaṇagupta→Abhinavagupta ; Somānanda being probably a pupil of Vasugupta who is taken as the earliest founder of the Pratyabhijñā-śāstra.

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² See Pref. to the ed. of ch iv, cited above.

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In the concluding portion of his *Parātriṃśikā-vivaraṇa*, Abhinava gives us an interesting personal and genealogical account, in which he tells us that he was the son of Kāśmīraka Cukhala¹ and grandson of Varāhagupta, and had a brother named Manorathagupta. As already stated, Abhinava’s date is easily gathered from his own dating of some of his works, and may be fixed with certainty at the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century.

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¹ Bühler’s MS has *kāśmīraka viculaka* (*op. cit.* p. clv) as well as *°cukhala* (p. clvii).

Anandavardhana

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Edition. With the *kārikā* and *Locana* in Kāvyamālā 25, 1890, 1911; translation into German with an introd. by Hermann Jacobi in *ZDMG* lvi-lvii, 1902-03. (reprinted separately, Leipzig 1903). Our references are to the Kāvyamālā ed. of 1911. MSS. Aufrecht i 273b, iii 59a.

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*Abhinavagupta*

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Editions. (1) Kāvyamālā 25, 1890, 1911 with the text (first three *uddyotas* only) (2) Fourth *uddyota* without the text by the present writer in the *Journal of the Department of Letters*, Calcutta Univ. 1923. The full title is *Kāvyâloka-locana*. MSS. Aufrecht i 273b, ii 59a, iii 59a. Burnell 55a probably contains all the four *uddyotas*; also *Madras Cat.* 12893-94 (the last number containing only the fourth *uddyota*, while the other one all the 4 *uddyotas*). Aufrecht's entry (i 49) of *ānandavardhanīya-kāvyâlaṃkāra-kāmadhenu-ṭīkā* involves a twofold error, due perhaps to Oppert's inaccurate entry; for the designation *ānandavardhanīya* is incorrect, and by *Kāvyâlaṃkāra-Kāmadhenu-ṭīkā* is probably meant the commentary of that name on Vāmana (see p. 84 above), mixed up through a confusion with Abhinava's *Locana*.

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Commentaries. (1) *Locana-vyākhyā-kaumudī* by Parameśvarācārya. Oppert 2694.
(2) *Añjana* (?), anonymous. *Madras Cat.* 12895, extract (only on the first *uddyota*). The author erroneously describes Bhaṭṭendu-rāja as the *parama-guru* of Abhinava.

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The *Candrikā* comm. on Ānandavardhana, referred to by Abhinava and others, is apparently lost. *Abhinava bhāratī* on Bharata. The Trivandrum Palace MS. contains only ch. 1-6, 9-13 18, 19. The MS. in the possession of Dr. Gaṅgānāth Jhā of Benares, of which he kindly furnished the present writer with a transcript, contains 1-6, 7 (incomplete), 8-31; but there are numerous gaps especially in the last few chapters. It follows in general the Trivandrum MS. A MS has been recently acquired for the Madras Government Oriental MSS Library which is also incomplete. An edition of chaps. vi and vii (on *rasa* ond *bhāva*) is in preparation by the present writer. This voluminous but learned commentary deserves to be published.

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No MS has been discovered of Abhinava's *Kāvyakautuka-vivaraṇa*, or of the *Kāvya-kautuka* itself.

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For citations of poetical and Alaṃkāra works by Ānandavardhana and Abhinavagupta, see preface to the Kāvyamālā ed., and Jacob in *JRAS*, 1897, pp. 290 and 297. Only omit the name of Dhanika given by Jacob as an author quoted by Abhinava.

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