History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.8

Language: English

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Śunaḥśepa whose story is developed in the Ait. Br. Beautiful similes are found by the hundred in the Ṛg. Vide Prof. H. D. Velankar's exhaustive treatment of similes in the 4th and 5th Maṇḍalas of the Ṛg. in J.B.B.R.A.S. vol. 14 pp. 1-47 and vol. 16 pp. 1-42, ‘Figures of speech in the Ṛgveda’ Annals of B. O. R. I. vol. 17 pp. 61-83 (translated from A. Bergaigne's Article) and pp. 259-288 by Mr. A. Venkatasubbiah; Abel Bergaigne's ‘La Syntaxe des comparaisons Vediques’ (1886) translated in Annals B.O.R.I. vol. XVI pp. 232-261 by Mr. A. Venkatasubbiah, ‘Figures of speech in Ṛgveda’ by Mr. P. S. Sastri in Annals B.O.R.I. vol. 28 pp. 34-64. The Ṛgvedic poets not only indulge in such figures of speech as Upamā, Atiśayokti and Rūpaka (as in Ṛg. III. 27. 15, IX. 64. 1 वृषा सोमः), but they appear to have had some ideas about a theory of poetics, as the following brief statement will show. They are fond of the repetition of the same letters or words which create an appearance of what is called anuprāsa in later times, e.g. रक्षाणो अग्ने तव रक्षोभी रारक्षः (IV. 3. 14), प्रतार्थने प्रतरं न आयुः (IV. 12. 6), अब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतम् (IV. 40. 5), वयमग्ने वनुयाम त्वोता वसवो (V. 3. 6); repetition of the same word at the beginning of several pādas in IV. 23. 3-5 or in several pādas as in Ṛg. IV. 40. 5 हंसः शुचिषद्वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत्’; Ṛg. V. 27. 4) ददच्चा सनि यते ददन्मेधामृतायते) and Ṛg. 76. 2 दिवाभिपित्वेडवसा गमिष्ठा प्रत्यवर्ति दाशुषे शंभविष्ठा);

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the last two seem to be efforts at यमक. The sage often says that he brings to the god a new and forceful verse, a product of his speech (प्र तव्यसीं नव्यसीं धीतिमग्नये वाचो मतिं सहसः सूनवे भरे । Ṛg. I. 143. 1). An interesting verse is Ṛg. X. 71. 2 सक्तुमिव तितउना पुनन्तो यत्र धीरा मनसा वाचमक्रत । अत्रा सखायः सख्यानि जानते भद्रां लक्ष्मीर्निहिताधि वाचि ॥ ‘When men of wisdom create by their intellect verse (lit. speech) after winnowing (words) as barley grains are sifted by means of a winnowing basket, then men of equal knowledge understand (recognize) meaning (contained in the verse); in their verses (speech) blessed glory is enshrined, (resides).¹ This makes it clear that a distinction is here made between ordinary speech and poetic speech, that poets have to pick and choose their words and that poetry leads on to bliss and glory. Ṛg. X. 125 is a sublime hymn to Vāk (put in the mouth of Vāk herself) wherein the power of speech is most effectively and picturesquely described. One half verse may be quoted here ‘यं कामये तं तमुग्रं कृणोमि तं ब्रह्माणं तमृषिं तं सुमेधाम् ॥’. Ṛg. X. 71. 4 (उत त्वः पश्यन्न ददर्श वाचमुत त्वः शृण्वन्न शृणोत्येनाम् । उतो त्वस्मै तन्वं विसस्रे जायेव पत्य उशती सुवासाः ॥) is another verse which is explained both in the Nir. I. 19 and in the महाभाष्य (vol. I. p.

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4) and which marks the difference between the man who does not understand the greatness of speech and him who looks more to the inner meaning of speech than to the nice words in which it may be clothed. The word ‘kāvya’ (poem) occurs several times in the Ṛgveda; e. g. III. 17 is भा देवानांभवः केतुरभे मन्द्रो विश्वानि काव्यानि विद्वान् ॥ ‘Agni! thou art the banner of the gods and knowest all poems’; vide also III. 1. 18 for ‘अग्निर्विश्वानि काव्यानि विद्वान्’; IV. 3. 16 (nivacanā kavaye kāvyanya-samsiṣam); in Ṛg. VI. 11. 3 ‘मधु च्छन्दो भनति रेम इष्टौ (the singer utters in the sacrifice a sweet verse); VIII. 3. 15 ‘उदुत्ये मधुमत्तमा गिरः स्तोमास ईरते’ (those men send forth songs of praise, that are most sweet words); the word गाथा (a verse that is sung) also often occurs in the Ṛgveda; e. g. VIII. 43 ‘तं गाथया पुराण्या पुनानमभ्यनूषत’ (with an ancient gāthā they send forth a laud towards Soma that is being washed); vide also X. 85. 6. These passages show that poems with sweet words were highly valued in those very ancient times and, though no theory of Poetics could be stated to have been evolved, the germs of it were there. The शतपथब्रा. I. 2. 5. 16 emphasizes the same points of female beauty as later classical Sanskrit poets do (एवमेव हि योषीं प्रशंसन्ति पृथुश्रोणीर्विमृष्टान्तरांसा मध्ये संग्राह्यति). This much will suffice for the different aspects of Poetry in general. As regards dramas and dramatic representation the following points have to be noted.

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A dramatic representation has generally four aspects viz. the dialogue, songs, music and dance. All these elements were developed in Vedic Literature. Dialogues have been already referred to. Then there were the ब्रह्मौद्यस (questions and answers) as in वाज. सं. 23. 9-12 and 45-62 explained in शतपथब्राह्मण XIII. 2. 6. 9-17 and XIII..5. 2. 12-21 (S. B. E. vol. 44 pp. 314-316 and pp. 388-90). Vide also तै. सं. VII 4. 18 and तै. ब्रा. III. 9. 5. In Vedic ritual there were several incidents that partook of the nature of the drama. First, there is a dialogue between the Adhvaryu and the vendor of Soma (vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 1143 and notes). Then in the Mahāvrata which is the penultimate day in a Sattra, there is a mock fight between a brāhmaṇa and a śūdra for a white circular skin that symbolizes the sun, and it is so arranged that it ends in a victory for the ārya. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 1244. In the same rite there was beating of drums, chanting of hymns by the priests whose wives acted as choristers and played on several musical intruments, and servants and maids danced with water jars on their heads and sang songs in which cows were lauded (ibid. pp. 1244-45). Compare for this Tai. S. VII. 5. 10. In the Aśvamedha, after the horse was sacrificed, there was an exchange of obscene abuse between the hotṛ priest and the crowned queen and the brahmā priest and the favourite wife of the king (vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 1234-35).

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In the Aśvamedha a brāhmaṇa and a rājanya were engaged in playing on the lute everyday for one year and they sang three songs each composed by themselves, the brāhmaṇa’s songs saying¹ ‘you donated this, you performed such and such a sacrifice,’ while the gāthās of the Rājanya stated ‘you fought this war, you won this battle’. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 1231. The Śat. Br. refers to the Uttaramandrā tune of the Viṇā. Several musical instruments are mentioned such as दुन्दुभि (Rg. I. 28. 5, VI. 47. 29, Vāj. S. 29. 55-56), गर्गर (Rg. VII. 69. 9), वाण (Rg. IX. 50. 1, IX. 97. 8, X 32. 4, Tai. S. VII. 5. 9. 2 वाणः शततन्तु-मँबति). Persons playing on वीणा, तूखव, दुन्दुभि and blowing a conch are mentioned in वाज. सं. 30. 19 and तै. ब्रा. III. 4. 13. Rg. I. 92. 4 compares Uṣas to a female dancer (नृतू) that puts ornaments on her body and bares her breast (अधि पेशांसि वपते नृतूिवा-पोर्णुते वक्ष उस्त्रेव बर्जहम् ।). Dancing is referred to in Rg. X. 94. 4-5. The Vāj. S. (30. 6) in its symbolical पुरुषमेध consigns the सूत to नृत्त and the शैलूष to गीत; compare तै. ब्रा. III. 4. 2 (where it is exactly the opposite viz. गीताय सूतं नृत्ताय शैलूषम् ). The Ait. Ār. III. 2. 5 speaks of the several parts of a वीणा which was covered in a hairy skin cover. The कौषी. ब्रा. 29. 5 says त्रिबृदै शिल्पं नृत्यं गीतं वादितमिति. Therefore, it follows that even the earlier period of Vedic Literature knew dramatic spectacles of a religious character.