Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v2.c84.58

v2.c84.58

It is true that Mahimabhatta's work is a masterpiece of scholastic argumentation, exhibiting much fastidious criticism and great learning of a miscellaneous kind; but its avowed object is polemical and it does not pretend to set up a new system. Mahimabhatta possessed all the qualifications of a good controversialist and enters into his task with a decided animus, which constitutes the source at once of his weakness as well as of his strength. A fine product of a scholastic age, he cannot yet look beyond the pettiness of immediate issues; and whatever might be the value of his peculiar proposition, he hardly ever adds to its limited interest any indepen- (pp.66-69), *paunaruktya* (pp.69-84) and *vācyavacana* (pp.84-109). The question of *aucitya* will be dealt with in the next chapter.