History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.32

c6.32

Subandhu in his वासवदत्ता alludes in various places to topics of Poetics. He boasts of his skill in weaving a web of puns on each syllable (प्रत्यक्षर—श्लेषमयप्रबन्धविन्यासवैदग्ध्यनिधिर्निबन्धम्.), speaks of वक्रोक्ति, of the soul of poctry, of the composition of an excellent poet in which the expletives तु and हि do not occur and which is divided into long sections and contains Vaktra metre (‘अग्रहेणापि काव्यजीवज्ञेन’ pp. 113-114 of Hall’s ed., ‘सत्कविकাব্যबन्ध इवानवद्यतुहिनिपातः’ p. 134, ‘दीर्घोच्छ्वाससरचनाकुलं सुश्लेषवक्त्रघटनापटु सत्कविवचनमिव’ p. 184). He speaks of शृङ्खलाबन्ध, उत्प्रेक्षा and आक्षेप (p. 136) and on p. 41 we have a मालादीपक ‘यस्य समरभुवि भुजदण्डेन कोदण्डं कोदण्डेन शरा...आसादितम्’ and यमक on p. 53 and pp. 203-14. In the Intro. to हर्षचरित by the present author (pp. 11-12, 1918 A. D.) it was held that Subandhu was probably earlier than Bāṇa. He still sticks to that view. In P. O. vol. XI pp. 29ff. it is shown that जिनभद्र in विशेषावश्यकभाष्य refers to वासवदत्ता and तरङ्गवती and that according to an ancient ms. that work of जिनभद्र was finished at Valabhi in śaka 531 (609 A.D.) when king Silāditya was reigning. It is most probable that जिनभद्र is referring to the वासवदत्ता of सुबन्धु. If so, सुबन्धु cannot be later than the last quarter of the 6th century A. D. बाण speaks of such puzzles as अक्षरच्युतक, मात्राच्युतक, बिन्दुमती, प्रहेलिका &c.; he knew the difference made between कथा and आख्यायिका (उच्छ्वासान्तेप्यखिलास्ते येषां वक्त्रे सरस्वती । कथमाख्यायिकाकारा०, हर्षचरित Intro. verse 10)¹, he speaks of श्लेष, उत्प्रेक्षा, उपमा, दीपक, जाति (हरन्ति कं नोऽज्ज्वलदीपकौपमैः &c. in कादम्बरी) and श्लेषप्रायमुदीच्येपु...उत्प्रेक्षा दाक्षिणात्येषु गौडेश्वरचरडम्बरः ॥ in the हर्षचरित), he extols a prince as the source or fountain of the ambrosial rasas of kāvyas (‘आगमः काव्यामृतसानाम्’ कादम्बरी 1st para). Thus by 600 A. D., we find that numerous figures had been defined, rules had been laid down for the guidance of poets and various classes of composition such as कथा and आख्यायिका had distinctive forms. Works dealing with Poetics are extant that were composed about the time of (or a little later than) Bāṇa (such as those of दण्डी and भामह).