History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.34

Language: English

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4. The name of the śāstra. The earlier works on Poetics are generally designated Kāvyālaṅkāra, e.g. the works of भामह, वामन and रुद्रट. These works were so called probably because alaṅkāras played the most prominent part in the treatment of poetics in them (following the maxim प्राधान्येन व्यपदेशा भवन्ति). वामन in his काव्या. सू. tells us that the word अलङ्कार is used in two senses, viz. (I) a thing of beauty and (II) a figure of speech (अलङ्क्रियते अनेन). According to him it follows that a work on Poetics is called काव्यालङ्कार because it points out and explains the things of beauty in a kāvya, which make us prize the latter ‘काव्यं ग्राह्यमलङ्कारात् । सौन्दर्यमलङ्कारः । काव्या. सू. I. 1. 1-2 (वृत्ति—अलङ्कृतिलङ्कारः । करणव्युत्पत्त्या पुनरलङ्कारशब्दोपमादिषु वर्तते ।). The कामधेनु remarks : योयमलङ्कारः काव्यग्रहणहेतुत्वेन उपन्यस्यते तद्व्युत्पादकत्वा- च्छास्त्रमपि अलङ्कारनाम्ना व्यपदिश्यत इति शास्त्रस्यालङ्कारत्वेन प्रसिद्धिः प्रतिष्ठिता स्यादिति सूचयितुमयं विन्यासः कृतः काव्यं ग्राह्यमलङ्कारादिति. This is more or less scholastic. Even in those early works that are not designated as अलङ्कार, figures of speech loom very large as in the काव्यादर्श of Daṇḍin, three fourths of which is taken up by the explanation and elucidation of figures of speech (of śabda and artha). The काव्यादर्श says ‘यथास्मध्यमस्माभिः क्रियते काव्यलक्षणम् ॥” (I. 2)... The ध्व. (pp. 11 and 13) speaks of writers on Poetics as काव्यलक्षण- विधायिनः. Though in I.

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1 भामह calls his work काव्यालङ्कार, at the end (VI. 64) he says ‘अवलोक्य मतानि सत्कवीनामवगम्य स्वधिया च काव्यलक्षम ।.’ The ध्व० also (in I. 3) speaks of काव्यलक्ष्मविधायिभिः (as having explained Upamā and other figures of expressed sense). Another name for Poetics is sāhitya. This word seems to have been used in early works in three different but allied senses, though in modern times it is generally employed for Poetics. In the verse साहित्यसङ्गीतकलाविहीनः the word साहित्य appears to have been used in the sense of काव्य. In the verse साहित्यपाथोनिधिमन्थनोत्थं कर्णामृतं रक्षत हे कवीन्द्राः (बिल्हण’s विक्रमाङ्कदेवचरित I. 11), it will be noticed that साहित्य means ‘literature in general’ and kāvya is said to arise like nectar from the ocean of साहित्य (i.e. काव्य is the quintessence of साहित्य). प्रतीहारेन्दुराज eulogising his teacher मुकुल and his proficiency in the मीमांसा and other śastras speaks of him as ‘साहित्यश्रीमुरारेः’. Here obviously the word साहित्य stands for साहित्यशास्त्र (as in the case of मीमांसा, व्याकरण and तर्क that precede the word साहित्यश्रीमुरारेः). मुकुल in the explanation of the kārikā पदवाक्यप्रमाणेषु तदेतत्प्रतिबिम्बितम् । यो योजयति साहित्ये तस्य वाणी प्रसीदति ॥’ अभिधावृत्ति० p. 22) remarks ‘व्याकरणमीमांसातर्कसाहित्यत्मकेषु चतुर्षु शास्त्रेषूपयोगात्’. राजशेखर (काव्यमी. p. 4) says ‘पञ्चमी साहित्यविद्येति यायावरीयः । सा हि चतसृणामपि विद्यानां निष्यन्दः ।’. मङ्ख says ‘विना न साहित्यविदाऽपरत्र गुणः कथञ्चित्प्रथते कवीनाम् ।’ श्रीकण्ठचरित II. 12).

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These passages establish that sometime before 900 A.D. (when राजशेखर flourished) the word साहित्य came to be used in the sense of ‘the science of Poetics’. How much earlier it was employed in that sense it is difficult to say. The word साहित्य seems to be derived from सहित (meaning ‘together’). When poetry came to be defined as ‘शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं,’ the science of poetic criticism that propounded this definition was naturally called साहित्य. राजशेखर gives this etymology “शब्दार्थोयथावत्सहभावेन विद्या साहित्यविद्या’ (काव्यमी. p. 5). Similarly, the व्यक्तिविवेकटीका (p. 36) remarks ‘न च काव्ये शास्त्रादिवदर्थप्रतीत्यर्थं शब्दमात्रं प्रयुज्यते सहितयोः शब्दार्थयोस्तत्र प्रयोगात् । साहित्यं तुल्यकत्तवेनान्यूनातिरिक्तत्वम् ।’. भामह says ‘शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं’ (I. 16) and the वक्रोक्तिजीवित (I. 8 and 17 quoted above on p. 227) does the same. The शिशुपालवध says ‘शब्दार्थौ सत्कविरिव द्वयं विदानपेक्षते’ (II. 86). In order to constitute real काव्य, the साहित्य of शब्द and अर्थ is required to possess peculiar charm. This will be discussed later. Therefore the use of the word साहित्य arose probably after the 7th or 8th century A. D. In J. O. R., Madras, vol. IX. pp. 128-134, in ‘Some concepts of Alaṅkāraśāstra’ pp. 264-267 Dr. Raghavan puts forward the theory that, before the days of दण्डी and भामह, क्रियाकल्प was the name of Sanskrit Poetics. He relies upon the list of 64 कलाs mentioned in वात्स्यायन’s कामसूत्र and upon the words in the रामायण, उत्तरकाण्ड chap. 94.

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7 (क्रियाकल्पविदश्चैव तथा काव्यविदो जनान्). There is absolutely no proof that the chapter 94 is a genuine part of the रामायण, but Dr. Raghavan holds without hardly any objective evidence that that chapter is genuine or an old part of the epic. Granting for argument that the उत्तरकाण्ड passage is genuine, it does not prove that the śāstra was called क्रियाकल्प. काव्यविद् by itself might mean ‘he who knows the science of Poetics’; compare साहित्यविदा quoted above. So क्रियाकल्पविदः may have to be construed otherwise. Further, in an appropriate context क्रिया may mean काव्यक्रिया and क्रियाकल्प may mean the procedure of how a काव्य was to be composed and not the whole शास्त्र of Poetics. The word कल्प apart from its technical meaning of ‘śrauta sacrifices’ (as in कल्पसूत्र) simply means ‘procedure’. The word क्रिया by itself means also rites on and after death as in विष्णुपुराण III. 13. 34 (पूर्वाः क्रिया मध्यमाश्च तथा चैवोत्तराः क्रियाः ।). There are many works called क्रियापद्धति which deal only with rites on death and after death (e. g. D. C. ms. No. 118 of 1879-80, 207 of 1884-87, 156 of 1880-81, 99 of 1884-86). If क्रिया by itself (apart from the context) meant (before भामह and दण्डी) काव्य, why was it necessary to say काव्यक्रियाभिः in समुद्रगुप्तप्रशस्ति quoted above and in नाट्यशास्त्र 22. 23 (मया काव्यक्रियाहेतोः प्रक्षिप्ता द्रुहिणाज्ञया)? This verse occurs in K. M. ed. 20, 23 and in GOS. ed. 20. 24 vol. III. p. 90 where अ. भा.

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explains ‘काव्यस्य क्रिया काव्यरूपतापादनं तदेव हेतुः ततः’ In the कामसूत्र I. 3. 16 sixty-four kalās are enumerated which maidens had to learn secretly (अभ्यासप्रयोज्याश्च चातुःषष्टिकान्योगान् कन्या रहस्यकाकिन्यभ्यसेत् । कामसूत्र I. 3. 14) and which were to be learnt by वेश्याs also (काम. I. 3. 20). In that list occur the following ‘संपाठ्यं मानसी काव्यक्रिया, अभिधानकोषः छन्दोज्ञानम्, क्रियाकल्पः, छलितयोगाः..’ It would be noticed that unmarried girls and courtezans were to learn along with गीत, वाद्य, नृत्य, आलेख्य the kalās mentioned above which would suffice for their own education and for attracting worthy husbands or lovers. I do not know whether in any serious work on Aesthetics in Sanskrit साहित्यशास्त्र has been or would be called a कला. All that is meant in the कामसूत्र is that the unmarried girls were to be given some guidance in composing (probably amorous) poetic pieces. As the word काव्यक्रिया is very near, it mentions simply क्रियाकल्प and (not काव्यक्रियाकल्प). कालिदास himself employs क्रिया elsewhere in the sense of ‘rite’ (कुतो धर्मक्रियाविघ्नः) and ‘intellectual attainments’ as in ‘शिष्टा क्रिया कस्यचिद्’ in मालविका० I. In the सौन्दरनन्द I. 55 we read ‘समाजैरूत्सवैरन्यैः क्रियाविधिभिरेव च । अलंचकुरलंवीर्यास्ते जगद्गाम तत्पुरम् ॥’. It is not possible to hold here that the city was decked with काव्यालङ्कारशास्त्रs, but here क्रियाविधि means the performance of religious rites. Dr. Raghavan relies on ललितविस्तर p.

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156 of Lefman’s edition where the word क्रियाकल्प occurs. But he begs the whole question there. In the ललितविस्तर passage¹ (B. I. ed.)