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Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana

by Gaurapada Dāsa | 2015 | 234,703 words

Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s Sahitya-kaumudi covers all aspects of poetical theory except the topic of dramaturgy. All the definitions of poetical concepts are taken from Mammata’s Kavya-prakasha, the most authoritative work on Sanskrit poetical rhetoric. Baladeva Vidyabhushana added the eleventh chapter, where he expounds additional ornaments from Visv...

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वाचकस्योपाधिम् आह,

峦첹syopādhim āha,

He states the characteristic of a literally expressive word:

sa mukhyo’rthas tatra mukhyo vyāpāro’syābhidhocyate ||2.8cd||

—that [assigned meaning]; ܰⲹ�—m; ٳ�—m𲹲ԾԲ; tatra—in that [meaning[1] ]; ܰⲹ�—p; —rhetorical function; asya—of this [word]; 󾱻—󾱻�; ucyate—is called.

The assigned meaning is the main meaning. In that regard, the main rhetorical function of a word is called 󾱻 (Denotation).

sa ṣāt ṅkپٴ jāty-ādir mukhyo’rthas tatrāsya ś岹ⲹ mukhyo vyāpāro ṛtپr abhidhocyate. idam atra bodhyam, 峦첹� śabdas tridhā, yaugiko rūḍho yoga-ūḍhś ceti. yatrāvayavārtha eva budhyate sa yaugika�, yathā pācakāditeyādi�. yatrāvayavaśakti-nairapekṣyeṇa samudāya-śakti-mātreṇa bodha� sa ūḍh�, yathā go-maṇḍapādi�. iha gamana-maṇḍa-pāna-kartṛtva-rūpa� yogārtha� vinaiva vyakti-viśeṣa-gṛha-viśeṣayor avagama�. yatra tv avayava-śakti-viṣaye samudāya-śaktir apy asti sa yoga-ūḍh�, yathā 貹ṅkᲹ-vakṣojādi�. 貹ṅkᲹ-śabdo hy avayava-śaktyā paṅka-jani-kart�-rūpam artha� bodhayati, samudāya-śaktyā tu padmatvena rūpeṇa padmam iti yogārtha-sattve’pi vyakti-viśeṣabodhanād yoga-ūḍh evāsāv iti.

“The directly assigned meaning, such as a category ( = ṣāt ṅkپٴ پ-徱�), is the primary meaning. In that regard, the main function (mukhyo � = ܰ ṛtپ�) of a word (asya = ś岹ⲹ) is called 󾱻.�

In this context, the following should be kept in mind. There are three kinds of literally expressive words (峦첹): yaugika (its meaning is etymological), ūḍh (its meaning is conventional), and yoga-ūḍh (its meaning is both etymological and conventional).

That in which only the meanings of the constituent parts are understood is a yaugika word. Examples are 峦첹 (cook) and  徱ٱⲹ (Aditi’s son).

That in which the meaning is understood merely by the sum total of the force, without any regard for the force of the parts, is a ūḍh word. Examples are go (cow, bull) and ṇḍ貹 (pavilion). In this kind of word, there is an understanding of a particular individual thing and of a particular habitation respectively, without the etymological meanings of moving (go � gamanam) and of being a drinker of liquor (ṇḍ-貹).

A yoga-ūḍh word is that in which the sum total of the force takes place even in the scope of the force of the parts. Examples are 貹ṅkᲹ (lotus; born from mud) and ṣoᲹ (breast; originated from the chest). By the force of the parts, the word 貹ṅkᲹ makes  one understand the meaning of “taking birth from mud,� yet by the sum total of the force it makes one understand a lotus (since in the dictionaries 貹ṅkᲹ means lotus). The word 貹ṅkᲹ is yoga-ūḍh because, although the etymological sense takes place (a lotus originates from mud), there is the understanding of a particular individual thing.

Commentary:

There is a well-known rule: yogād rūḍhir balīyasī, “The conventional meaning is stronger than the etymological meaning.�[2] The dissertation on yaugika words and so on is taken from ṅk-첹ܲٳܲ.

A ūḍh word is a ṣaṇi첹 word that has become 峦첹 (literally expressive) owing to the profuseness of the usage.[3] As an example, ĀԲԻ岹󲹲Բ gives the word 屹ṇy (glistening beauty),[4] which literally means saltness. The meaning of saltness is yaugika. Abhinavagupta gives these examples: Գܱdzⲹ (conformity) (lit. in the same way as the natural direction of the hair), پūⲹ (contrariety) (lit. flowing off the bank), and 󳾲 (in accompaniment) (lit. fellow student) (Locana 1.16).

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

asya ś岹ⲹ tatrārthe yo’bhidhā-rūpo � sa mukhyo yata ucyata ity ٳ� (屹ⲹ-ī貹 2.8).

[2]:

rūḍhir yogam apaharatīti nyāyena (ī ҴDz峾ī’s ٳܰ-ṅgī 1.1.21); rūḍhir yogam apaharatīti nyāyāt. evam ܰٲ� bhaṭṭai�, “labdhātmikā ī rūḍhir bhaved yogāpahāriṇ�, kalpanīyā tu labhate nātmāna� yoga-bādhata�� [-ī貹] iti (Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s ṅg-ṅg 1.1.13).

[3]:

yad āha “nirūḍhā ṣaṇāḥ kāścit sāmarthyād 󾱻na-vat� [by Kumārila ṭṭ] [cited by Mukula in 󾱻-ṛtپ-ṛk 7] iti (Locana 1.16).

[4]:

rūḍhā ye viṣaye’nyatra śabdā� sva-viṣayād api |
lāvaṇyādyā� prayuktās te na bhavanti 貹岹� 󱹲Ա� || (ٳ󱹲Բǰ첹 1.16)

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