History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.44.3

c6.44.3

Generally most great poets in Sanskrit did not endeavour to state explicitly any moral purpose as the aim of their works. They were more concerned with a happy ending to their dramas and with creating an atmosphere of ideas and bliss by their poems than with explicitly stated moral endings or ends. Their dominant mood was delight and they exhibited it mostly on the plane of normal relations, passions, affections and even prejudices of men and women. For restrictions of space I cannot go deeper into the nature of प्रतिभा.² It means 'that mental faculty which presents ever fresh flashes or coruscations of ideas' (with उन्मेष) or 'ever fresh delineations or pictures of the matters to be described’ (with उल्लेख). In defining प्रतिभा (or प्रतिभान) or शक्ति the word प्रज्ञा is used. A distinction is made between स्मृति, मति and प्रज्ञा; e. g. त्रिधा च सा (बुद्धिः) स्मृतिः मतिः प्रज्ञेति । अतिक्रान्तस्यार्थस्य स्मत्री स्मृतिः वर्तमानस्य मन्त्री मतिः अनागतस्य प्रज्ञात्री प्रज्ञा सा त्रिपकारापि कवीनामुपकर्त्री ।’ काव्यमी. p. 10. The संप्रदायप्रकाशिनी (on काव्यप्र., Tri. ed.) gives the following śloka ‘स्मृतिर्व्यतीतविषया मतिरागामिगोचरा । बुद्धिस्तत्कालिकी ज्ञेया प्रज्ञा त्रैकालिकी मता ॥’ (p. 13). Pratibhā is said to be सहजा (natural) and उत्पाद्या (cultivated) by रुद्रट (I. 16) and उत्पाद्या and औपाधिकी (due to external agencies like mantras, the grace of God) by हेमचन्द्र (काव्यानु. p. 4-5).