Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)
by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words
This page relates 鈥楰avyadarsha of Dandin鈥� of the English study on the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara: a poetical encyclopedia from the 9th century dealing with the ancient Indian science of poetics and rhetoric (also know as alankara-shastra). The Kavya-mimamsa is written in eighteen chapters representing an educational framework for the poet (kavi) and instructs him in the science of applied poetics for the sake of making literature and poetry (kavya).
Part 5 - K膩vy膩dar艣a of 顿补峁囜笉颈苍
[Full title: Pre-dhvani theory of Sanskrit poetics (4): The K膩vy膩dar艣a of 顿补峁囜笉颈苍 (8th century A.D.)
The next available work on Sanskrit literary criticism is 顿补峁囜笉颈苍鈥檚 K膩vy膩dar艣a. He is known as the author of three works: 碍腻惫测腻诲补谤艣补, 顿补艣补办耻尘腻谤补肠丑补谤颈迟补 and 础惫补苍迟墨蝉耻苍诲补谤颈办补迟丑腻, but he also says in his K膩vy膩dar艣a that another work name is chandaviciti:
鈥�chandovicity膩峁� sakalastatpr膩pa帽co 苍颈诲补谤艣颈迟补岣�|
蝉腻 惫颈诲测腻 苍补耻蝉迟颈迟墨谤峁峁嚹佱箖 驳补尘产丑墨谤补峁� 办腻惫测补蝉腻gara岣� || 鈥�- K膩vy膩dar艣a of 顿补峁囜笉颈苍: I/ 12
Meaning is: in my 顿补峁囜笉颈苍 own treatise on metre named chandaviciti all about metres have been shown. And this knowledge of metres is like a raft to cross over the deep sea of 办腻惫测补 (poetry). He was a poet, a critic and pioneer of Sanskrit poetics with regard to his predecessors 叠丑腻尘补丑补 in many respects. 顿补峁囜笉颈苍鈥�s criticism of the distinction made by 叠丑腻尘补丑补 between 碍补迟丑腻 and 膧办丑测腻测颈办腻, preference of the Vaidarbha 尘腻谤驳补 etc. 顿补峁囜笉颈苍鈥檚 importance in the field of Sanskrit literary theory for the more systematic presentation of 础濒补峁僰腻谤补 theory and he was the earliest theorist who devote attention to the 搁墨迟颈-骋耻峁嘺 aspects of poetry. The K膩vy膩dar艣a is divided into three prarecchedas, where he exponent of the both 搁墨迟颈 School and 础濒补峁僰腻谤补 School of poetics.
顿补峁囜笉颈苍 does not seem to make the clear distinction between 础濒补峁僰腻谤补s and 骋耻峁嘺s and according to him 础濒补峁僰腻谤补 and 骋耻峁嘺 both are the causing main factor to embellish of poetry.
鈥�办腻惫测补艣obh膩kar膩n dharmm膩nala峁卥膩r膩n pracak峁te |
te c膩dy膩pi vikalpyante kast膩n k膩tsraryena vak峁ati || 鈥�- K膩vy膩dar艣a of 顿补峁囜笉颈苍: II/ 1
However, he does not attempt to build the poetic theory on the concepts of 搁墨迟颈 but he try to introduce 搁墨迟颈 and explain its nature in the term of 骋耻峁嘺s. So we can see that his aim was to present a critic of poetry with incorporating ritis, 骋耻峁嘺s, 础濒补峁僰腻谤补s and 顿辞峁蝉. The main contribution of 顿补峁囜笉颈苍 is the concepts of 尘腻谤驳补-r墨ti, regional variations of poetic languages and the description of the 骋补耻岣峚 and Vaidarbha verities of literary diction.