History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.28.5

c6.28.5

यास्क foreshadows the later distinction between पूर्णा and लुप्ता simile in the words ‘लुप्तोपमान्यथोपमानीत्याचक्षते’ (निरुक्त III. 18). A complete Upamā has four constituent elements, उपमान, उपमेय (or उपमित), the common property (सामान्य) and the word expressive of the relation (such as इव, तुल्य). Long before Pāṇini these technical words had become fixed in the language. The followsng sūtras will make this clear : ‘उपमानानि सामान्यवचनैः’ and ‘उपमितं व्याघ्रादिभिः सामान्याप्रयोगे’ (पा. II. 1. 55-56); तुल्यार्थैरतुलोपमाभ्यां तृतीयान्यतरस्याम्’ पा. II. 3. 72; ‘उपमानादाचारे’ पा. III. 1. 10 (क्यच् स्यात्); ‘तेन तुल्यं क्रिया चेद्वतिः । तत्र तस्येव’ पा. V. 1. 115-16. Pāṇini refers to the Naṭasūtras composed by Śilālin and कृशाश्व (‘पाराशयशिलालिभ्यां भिक्षुनटसूत्रयोः’ and ‘कर्मन्द- कृशाश्वादिभिः’ IV. 3. 110-111). There is nothing left to show what these contained, but if they were to deserve the highsounding designation of a sūtra, it is not unlikely that they gave (however crudely) instruction as to what the business of an actor was, how he could work upon the emotions of the audience (i. e. in short some theory of rasa). The Vedāntasūtras name two alaṅkāras viz. उपमा and रूपक (‘अत एव चोपमा सूर्यकादिवत्’ III. 2. 18 and ‘भानुमानिकमप्येकेषां शरीररूपकविन्यस्तगृहीतदर्श- यति च' I. 4. 1). The बुद्धचरित of अश्वघोष (not later than 3rd century, as it was translated into Chinese about 414-421 A. D. and probably of the 1st or 2nd century A.