History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.8.2

c6.8.2

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.