History of Sanskrit Poetics c6.89

c6.89

1. Vāmana here asserts that poetry is one of the fine arts which have the expression of beauty as their goal. Controversies have raged round the questions: what are the characteristics of beauty, whether it is objective or subjective, whether the artist (including the poet) as creating beauty must preach morality or whether his province is different from a preacher of morality. I avoid the temptation of going into these questions. The world of Beauty is remote or at least different from the worlds of morality and Truth. Poetry as a department of Fine Arts does not directly aim at inculcating morality nor at ultimate Truth. The poet’s duty as a poet is to be true to his own self and to art and to express the visions he sees as best as he can. He may indirectly convey moral ideas by means of his dramas. The ध्व० (III. p. 224) contains the following instructive remarks: ‘शृङ्गाररसैरनुमुखीकृताः सन्तो हि विनेयाः सुखं विनयोपदेशं गृह्णन्ति । सदाचारोपदेशरूपा हि नायकादिगोष्ठी विनेयजनहितार्थमेव मुनिभिरवतारिता ।’. Vide ‘Psychology of Beauty’ by Dr. B. L. Atreya in Journal of Benares H. Un. vol. VI pp. 43-55. माघ describes रमणीयता as ‘क्षणे क्षणे यन्नवतामुपैति तदेव रूपं रमणीयतायाः ।’ IV. 17.