Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v2.c79.45

v2.c79.45

After dealing with the doṣas, Bharata speaks of the guṇas or excellences of composition which are also enumerated as ten in number²⁸. He states summarily at the outset (xvi 91) that the guṇas are the negations of the doṣas (guṇā viparyayād eṣām), an opinion which is indeed extraordinary in view of the fact that later writers like Vāmana (ii. 1. 1-3) rightly consider guṇas in a theory of Poetics to be positive entities, of which the doṣas are the negations known by implication. It appears, on the other hand, that guṇas like mādhurya and audārya, mentioned by Bharata in xvi 91 and 92, are not really, as defined by himself, negations of any particular defect discussed by him. Jacobi’s explanation²⁹ is probably right that Bharata’s description of the guṇas as negations of the *doṣas* is in conformity with the commonsense view of the matter, for it is not difficult for one to seize upon a fault instinctively and realise its substance, while an excellence cannot be conceived so lightly unless its essence is comprehended by differentiating it from a more easily understood fault. The *guṇas*, according to Bharata, are the following : i. *śleṣa* = coalescence of words, connected with one another through the aggregate meaning desired by the poet, and consisting of a subtlety which is in appearance clear but in reality difficult to comprehend³⁰. ii. *prasāda* = clearness, where the unexpressed sense appears from the word used through the relation of the easily understood word and sense³¹.