History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.68.1

c6.68.1

The original works of लोल्लट, शङ्कुक and नायक are not yet found and we have to rely upon the summaries of their doctrines furnished by their adverse critics such as अभिनवगुप्त and मम्मट. These four views are respectively labelled उत्पत्तिवाद, अनुमितिवाद, भुक्तिवाद and अभिव्यक्तिवाद (of अभिनव०, मम्मट and most others). Before briefly stating the interpretations of these ancient writers, we must first understand the ideas underlying the technical words employed in the rasasūtra. There are certain permanent and dominant propensities or basic moods in the minds of all theatre-going people or readers of poetry which are ordinarily dormant, but when appropriate stimuli such as dialogues, songs, acting and music in case of drama, and mere words in the case of a poem are employed, they are roused and evolve a pleasurable state of the mind of the spectator or reader. These permanent moods are called स्थायिभाव. Bharata (VII. vol. I pp. 350-351) illustrates why these moods are called स्थायि. Though a king and his servants are all possessed of similar limbs and physical endowments, one man is called the king and others wait upon him, so one mood is called स्थायि and others associated with it are called विभाव, अनुभाव and व्यभिचारि and the स्थायिभाव so accompanied attains the position of रस (the aesthetic pleasure or relish). ‘यथा नरेन्दो बहुजनपरिवारोपि सन्स एव नाम लभते नान्य: सुम्हानपि पुरुष: । तथा विभावानुभावव्यभिचारिपरिवृत: स्थायी भावो रसनाम लभते । भवति चात्र श्लोक: ।