Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v2.c83.58

v2.c83.58

It appears, however, that both the Dhvanikāra and Ānandavardhana lay a special stress upon *rasa-dhvani*; and in spite of the fact that the *citra-kāvya* or the lowest class of poetry is entirely devoid of it, it seems to afford the most weighty criterion by which a poem is to be judged. In a complete scheme, no doubt, the *alaṃkāra-dhvani* and *vastu-dhvani*, tacitly recognised by older writers and practised by the poets, must also be justified; but the central question, which is carefully examined, is as to how a composition should help the *rasa* to expression, for it is repeatedly laid down that neither the *alaṃkāra* nor mere narrative (p. 148) but the suggestion of *rasa* should be the guiding principle of the poet in his composition of word and sense²⁹. In other words, the *rasa* appears to be the centre of gravity towards which everything else in a poem—*rīti*, *guṇa*, *doṣa* and *alaṃkāra*—should move; and stress coming to be laid on emotion in poetry, the suggestion of *rasa* came to prevail over other kinds of suggestion. No doubt, it is laid down in ii 7 that the unexpressed, apparently in all its three forms, is the *aṅgin* or the principal element, and the *guṇas* and *alaṃkāras* are to be esteemed in so far as they rest upon it. But this all-important *aṅgin* is explained by Ānandavardhana practically with special reference to *rasa* (*rasādi-lakṣaṇam*)³⁰, and the Dhvanikāra himself elsewhere discusses the merits of diction and the adjustment of words, letters and sentences with regard to their capacity of awakening the *rasa*, a theme from which a theory of *aucitya* or propriety was evolved. Again, the Dhvanikāra lays down that the *guṇībhūta-vyaṅgya* class of poetry can become true poetry (*dhvani-kāvya*) from the consideration of its tendency, if any, of developing a *rasa* (iii 41). In several places, Ānandavardhana is so much carried away by his enthusiasm for *rasa* that he goes almost near stating expressly that the *rasa* is in fact the essence of poetry, as it is of the drama³¹.