History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.44.2

c6.44.2

It is a power whereby the poet not only calls up in his reader’s heart the impressions of faded experiences, but whereby he presents ever new, wonderful and charming combinations and relations of things never before experienced or thought by the ordinary man. A poet is one who is a seer, a prophet, who sees visions and possesses the additional gift of conveying to others less fortunate through the medium of language the visions he has or the dreams he dreams. The following definitions of प्रतिभा will make this clear. 'प्रज्ञा नवनवोन्मेषशालिनी प्रतिभा मता...वर्णनानिपुणः कविः' भट्टतौत in काव्यकौतुक (vide p. 221 above); 'प्रतिभा अपूर्ववस्तुनिर्माणक्षमा प्रज्ञा तस्या विशेषो रसावेशवैशद्यसौन्दर्यकाव्यनिर्माणक्षमत्वं' and शक्तिः प्रतिभातं वर्णनीयवस्तुविषयनूतनल्लेखशालित्वम्' लोचन pp. 34 and 164: 'अपारे काव्यसंसारे कविरेव प्रजापतिः । यथास्मै रोचते विश्वं तथेदं परिवर्तते ॥' (ध्व. p. 278) ; 'प्रसन्नपदनवार्थयुक्तबोधविधायिनी । स्फुरन्ती सत्कवेर्बुद्धिः प्रतिभा सर्वतोमुखी ॥' वाग्भटालङ्कार I. 4; vide also वामन's वृत्ति on I. 3. 16 'कवित्वबीजं प्रतिभानम्'; रुद्रट I. 15-16; the prakrit verse अतहट्टिए¹ वि तहसंठिए व्व हिअअम्मि जा खिविसेइ । अथ्यविसेसे सा जम्इ विकटकविगोअरा वायी ॥' quoted in ध्व. p.296; राजशेखर p. 11 and भट्टतौत (p. 221 above) refer to this two-fold gift of the poet, of seeing visions of striking beauty (विचित्र... प्रख्या) and of conveying to others through appropriate language the visions he sees.