History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.80

c6.80

We saw above (p. 248) that Bhoja developed in the *Śṛṅgāraprakāśa* the theory (adumbrated in S. K. A.) that *rasa* is only one, that poetry is beautiful because of its presence, that the one *rasa* may be called *śṛṅgāra* and is identified with *abhimāna* and *ahaṅkāra*, that it pervades the soul of man owing to the impressions made on the soul in many births and that it is the one cause from which spring many good characteristics of the soul (रसोऽभिमानोऽहङ्कारः शृङ्गार इति गीयते । योऽर्थस्तस्यान्वयात् काव्यं कमनीयत्वमश्नुते ॥ विशिष्टादृष्टजन्मान्यं जन्मनामन्तरात्मसु । आत्मसम्यग्गुणोद्भूतेरेको हेतुः प्रकाराते ॥ सर. क. V. 1-2). What Bhoja means by *śṛṅgāra* being identified with *ahaṅkāra* is practically the same as holding that *rasa* realization is *ānandamaya* and *brahmāsvāda-sahodara*. When Bhoja says that *śṛṅgāra* is the only *rasa* he gives a different and philosophic significance to that word from what it ordinarily has viz. the love of man and woman. He keeps the two meanings apart. Those who want to understand Bhoja's point of view should read pp. 435-513 of Dr. Raghavan's work on the *Śṛṅgāraprakāśa* (vol. I part 2). Vide ‘Number of rasas’ by Dr. Raghavan pp. 92-106 (=Abhinavabhāratī vol. I. pp. 333-342) for a corrected text of A. B. on शान्तरस.