A History of Sanskrit Literature c23.s2.4

c23.s2.4

The conventionality of the themes of the poets may be admitted, and due regard had to the limit of their range and outlook, but the fact of the great merit of Sanskrit poetry remains unquestioned. At their best the poets had complete command of the ordinary emotions which appeal most deeply to the human heart; they know to the full the nature of love, in youth and in wedlock, of sorrow, of the joy of union and the pangs of separation, of the utter hopelessness induced by the loss in death of the beloved, or its mitigation by the assurance of reunion in a life to come. Moreover, their love of nature is intimate and real; whether because of their belief in transmigration or simply through natural sympathy, they look on life of all kinds with a kindly eye, and they share in the feelings of nature, as they assume it to share in the vicissitudes of man. Nor do they ignore the more manly virtues; heroism, constancy, uprightness, self-sacrifice, all receive their meed of recognition in energetic portrayal. Humour comes naturally to many of them, and the wit of their paronomasias is often unquestionable and strikingly effective. Their descriptive power is undeniable and applies equally to scenes from life and to cameos of nature. Their miniature-painting, illuminated by the brilliant condensation of style and set off by the effective and melodious metre, while the sounds are skilfully chosen to match the sense, often achieves perfection in its kind. But the ability of the authors is not limited to description; they are capable of rapid and luminous narrative, and even if they smack sometimes of the Arthaçāstra the speeches of their characters are lacking neither in force, vigour, nor logical power.