History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.34.4

c6.34.4

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.