A History of Sanskrit Literature c21.s5.14

c21.s5.14

'See, the lion, raising the hind quarters of his fair body, with the fore quarters depressed, his tail, slightly bent, remaining poised over his firm arched back, his cavernous mouth terrible with the tips of his fangs, tossing aloft his mane, with ears erect, doth make, with aspect dread, his assault on the lord of elephants.' The picture of the lion is perfect in every detail, and the alliterations rather heighten the effect, while the frequent use of *ṭ* and harsh sound-combinations makes the effect all the more impressive, illustrating what in poetics ranks as Svabhāvokti, which is in essentials a vivid description. An instance of the figure Sahokti, unified description, which is found already in the *Rāmāyaṇa*, is found in: *samaṁ dviṣāṁ dhanuṣāṁ ca jīvākṛṣṭiṁ yodhāç cakruḥ*. ‘The warriors drew at once their bow-strings and took their enemies’ lives.’ The figure Utprekṣā, lively fancy, is seen in many imaginative flights, such as the description of the moon as: *dadhidhavale kālakṣapaṇakagrāsapiṇḍa iva niçāyamunāphenapuñja iva menakānakhamārjanaçilāçakala iva*, ‘white as curd, shaped like a ball of food for an ascetic’s meal, as it were a mass of the foam of the Yamunā, night, a sliver of stone for the polishing of Menakā’s nails.’ Akin to this is the mental picture involved in supposition, Saṁbhāvana: *tvatkṛte yānayā vedanānubhūtā sa yadi nabhaḥ patrāyate sāgaro melānandāyate brahmāyate lipikaro bhujagarājāyate kathakas tadā kim api katham apy anekayugasahasrair abhilikhyate kathyate vā*. ‘The sorrow that this maiden hath endured because of thee might be written or told only in some way or another in thousands of æons, if the sky became the paper, the sea the inkwell, Brahman himself the scribe, and the Lord of Serpents the narrator.’¹ Within limits puns are attractive, as in the verse: