History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.34.3

c6.34.3

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.