Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v2.c79.115

v2.c79.115

After dealing with these groups of figures, Bhāmaha takes up (iii 1-4) in the next chapter all the remaining poetic figures, recognised in his time, all in a body, without any further break. These constitute a long list of twenty-four figures. This may be taken as the fourth stage which brings us down to Bhāmaha’s own time, and which must have ended with the elaboration of a large number of figures, although the number is not as large as we find it in Daṇḍin’s time ⁶⁴. This stage is also represented by a canto in the *Bhaṭṭi-kāvya* which illustrates in all thirty-eight independent poetic figures, although (as we have already discussed ⁶⁵) Bhaṭṭi appears to have made use of a text possibly unknown to Bhāmaha, if not materially differing from the latter's sources. There can be no doubt, however, that by this time the standpoint of the Alaṃkāra-śāstra was clearly defined and firmly established. With Bhāmaha begins a new epoch in which the uncertain gropings of the earlier periods vanish with the setting up of a more or less authoritative standard.