Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c69.17

v1.c69.17

say is that Bharata and Bhāmaha laid stress on the elements of *rasa* and *alaṃkāra* which became in course of time established ideas in the realm of Poetics. As a rule, each great writer who puts forward, consciously or unconsciously, a new theory, takes over from his predecessors those ideas which have stood the test of criticism and which he can combine in a self-consistent system of his own. In this way, really valuable ideas have been generally adopted, although sometimes other ideas, perhaps of the same author, have by common consent been rejected. This is illustrated by the case of the Varkôkti-jīvita-kāra, whose theory of *vakrókti* was universally rejected, although the main principle for which he was contending is accepted by Ruyyaka and others. It is not maintained here that the history of Sanskrit Poetics consists of only *one* stream of development, and that within it we have mere currents and counter-currents. The latter were indeed very important, but they never succeeded in forming into separate rivers; and the different channels originating independently or breaking away from the main course ultimately unite into one dominant and clear stream.