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Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)

by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words

This page relates ‘Characteristics of Grishma-kala (summer season)� 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 8.14 - Characteristics of Grīṣma- (summer season)

According to Ჹś󲹰, ṛīṣ- (summer season) is the last in the rotation of ṛt-circle. In this time flourishes with the blossoming of , Śī, ñԲٲī and ٳ󲹳ٲī in full luster. Young couples use dates, fruit of rose-apple tree, Panasa, Ā (mango), Moca, Priyala, Pugī and Coconut to remove their weariness and sloth and indulge in amorous past-time.

C.f.

kharjūrajambūpanasāmrāmocaprilapūgīphalanālike rai� |
dvandvāni khedālasatāmu(ma)pāsya ratānusandhānamihādriyante || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 101

Due to the Prickly heat of this time, the sources of water supply and wells are dried up. During the hot noon time traveler’s crowd around cisterns or wells, (a drink made of barley water) Śٳٳ is pleasing. Ჹś󲹰 says that, to set relief from the severe heat of summer, people should sleep at the other half of the days, engage in water sports.

The moonlight like the cool sandal paste, the waft of breeze coming in through the windows and the drops of water which scatter due to movement of the fans are the offerings of the summer seasons.

C.f.

Ի candanapaṅkṛhad jālamārgānilavīcimālā |
tālavṛntairudabinduvṛṣṭirjalāñjali� sā śucaye dadāti || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 107

The pearl-necklace besmeared with sandal paste and garland with lotus stalks will surely convert the summer to winter feelings.

C.f.

muktālatāścandanapaṅkadigdhā mṛṇālahārānusṛtā jalārdā� |
strajaśca maulau smi(si)tacampakānā� grīṣme'pi so'ya� śiśirāvatāra� || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 107

The deer’s are suffered in the woods as if a mirage. The water in the rivers is reducing to a trickle due to drying up of water the living creatures in the ponds appear desperate. To escape from the evils of summer young girls smear sandal paste and wear pearl wreath on their breasts. Peoples are sleep on plantation leaves made beds.

The Ѳ flower worn in the neck may turn prickly hot summer into winter.

C.f.

󲹳ⲹ� ⲹ� Իdhautṛpaṣṭha� kāntocchiṣṭā ṇ� ś |
kaṇṭhe pāṭalāmallikānā� sadyo īṣm� hanta hemantayanti || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

In this way it is seems that, the concept of Ṛtܲ descriptions in the Ჹś󲹰 ’s Kāvyamīmāṃsā the images are associated with the human life. There Ჹś󲹰 discusses the season scientifically as well as poetically. In the descriptions of seasons Ჹś󲹰 has been influence by description of Vedas, and ṭiⲹ. The idea of origin of the seasons is incorporated from the Vedas and ṭiⲹ’s ٳśٰ, than the concepts of the unit of time has promulgation from ղṭṭⲹ-ṃh. In this description of Kāvyamīmāṃsā we may recall the ’s description of season in the Ṛtܲaṃhāra. However, there it is noted that, the description of season in the Ṛtܲaṃhāra is full of romantic way but Ჹś󲹰’s description is associated only to the factual enumeration.

In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, the four stage concepts of season by Ჹś󲹰 are very interesting. Those are:

  1. Ṛtܲandhi,
  2. Śś,
  3. ʰḍh and
  4. Գܱṛtپ.

C.f.

caturavasthaśca ṛtrupanibandhanīya� | tadyathā � Ի�, śś�, prauṭhi�, anuṛtپśca

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

The Ṛtܲandhi is the meeting points of two seasons. Āⲹ Bharatamuni, 峾Բ and ᲹᲹ also discusses about this Ṛtܲandhi in their works.

In the twenty-eight chapter of ṭyśٰ, Bharatamuni says about the Ṛtܲandhi while discussing about the concepts of music.

C.f.

chāsu bhavati śīٲ� prasvedī bhavati cātapasthasya |
na ca nāgato vasantī na ca niḥśeṣa� śiśira� || �

- ṭyśٰ of Bharatamuni: XXVIII/ 34

In the Vasanta-, a man seated in the shadow to feels cold. The sun rays make one sweat is the quality of Śś. In the junction time of Vasanta and Śś, neither the spring became mature nor does the winter go out completely.

Āⲹ 峾Բ in his Kāvlaṃkārasūṭra-ṛtپ says about the Ṛtܲandhi as:

cyutasumanasa� ku ndā� puṣpodgameṣvalasā ܳ
  malayamaruta� sarpantīme viṭuktadhṛticchida�
|
atha ca ٳ� śītollāsa� lunanti marīcayo
  na ca jaraṭhatāmālambamte klamodayadāyinīm
|| �

- Kāvlaṃkārasūṭra-ṛtپ of Vamana: Ch-III/ 2 /5

From this concepts of 峾Բ; Ჹś󲹰 takes the idea by replacing a quarter in the place of the second quarter and says the union Śś and Vasanta as:

cyutasumanasa� ku ndā� puṣpodgameṣvalasā ܳ
  manasi ca gira� gṛhṇantīme giranti na kokilā�
|
atha ca ٳ� śītollāsa� lunanti marīcayo
  na ca jaraṭhatāmālambante klamodayadāyinīm
|| �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

Then Ჹś󲹰 gives the explanation of śś by the śǰ첹 as:

garbhagranthi| īܻ� sumanaso madhye'ṅkura�
  vāñchāmātraparigraha� pikavadhūkaṇṭhodare pañcama�
|
ki� ca trīṇi jaganti ᾱṣṇ divasairdvitrairmanojanmano
  devaspi cirojjhita� yadi bhavedabhsavaśya� dhanu�
|| �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

Here describes the features of the commencing of Vasanta-ṛt.

To illustrated the ʰḍh as:

峾ⲹ� samprati sevate vicakila� ṣāṇāmāsikairmauktikai�
  kānti� karṣati kāñcanāraku suma� māñjiṣṭhadhautātpaṭāt
|
huṇīnā� ku rute madhukamuku la� lāvaṇyaluṇṭākatā�
  laṭīnābhinibha� cakāsti ca patadvṛntāgrata� ke saram
|| �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

Here describes the excessive beauty of the spring by blossoming of various types of flowers.

When the sings, flowers etc. of the season gone by are visible in the present one, thus it is known by the name Գܱṛtپ.

I.e.

atikrāntartuliṅga� yatku sumādyanuvartate |
liṅgānuṛtپ� tāmāhu� sā ñje kāvyalokata� || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

It is can be learnt from the world of poet’s description of the blooming of lotuses in Vasanta, which is actually a feature of ṛīṣ.

To illustrated this by the śǰ첹 as:

vaste kalaviṅkakaṇṭhamalima� kādambinīkambala�
  carcā� pārayatīva darduraku la� kolāhalairunmadam
|
Ի� muñjati siktalājasadṛśa� varṣeṇa ٳ󲹱ī
  durlakṣyo'pi vibhāvyate kamalinīhāsena bhāsā� pati�
|| �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

One and the same flower while bloomed in summer is known as ٳūī첹岹 and in ղṣ�- (rainy season) it is known as ٳ첹岹.

C.f.

graiṣmikasamayavikāsī kathito dhūlīkadamba iti loke |
jaladharasamayaprāptau sa eva 첹岹� st || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

There are some believed that, in a year constitute by five seasons and they make Hemanta (dewy season) and Śś (winter season) being alike the nature description of both is similar.

There also pointed out that in twelve months in a year and five or six seasons.

C.f.

屹岹ś� ṃvٲ�, pañcartavo hemantaśiśirayo� samāsena� [ iti ] |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 110

But Ჹś󲹰 think that the commencement and continuation of various seasons are described in different form. There any poet always tries to establish, try to highlighting the different characteristics of individual seasons.

Ჹś󲹰 advices to the poets that they should never record the things of different places in their work, they always follow the ways, methods or techniques of his predecessors.

In the different types of flower, which are blooming in different types of season thus they have different types of specialty i.e.

  1. ŚDz (beauty),
  2. Andhas (food),
  3. Gandha (smell),
  4. Rasa (essence),
  5. Phala (fruits) and
  6. Arcana (worship).

C.f.

śobhāndhogandharasai� phalārcanābh� ca puṣpamupayogi |
ṣoḍh darśitametstsaptamanupayogi [ tathā ] || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 111

To Ჹś󲹰 the fruits are divided into six kinds-

antarvja� bahirvja� bāhntarvjameva ca |
sarvavja� bahuvja� nirvja� ca tathā phalam || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 111

The six types of fruits are:�

  1. Antarvja (useless on the inside),
  2. Bahirvja (useless outside),
  3. Bāhntarvja (useless in inside and outside),
  4. Sarvavja (useless all throughout),
  5. Bahuvja and
  6. Nirvja (without any useless part).

Then Ჹś󲹰 illustrates all of them and says: Lakuca are Antarvja, bananas belong to Bahirvja, mangoes are Bāhntarvja, Kakubha fruits are Sarvavja, the jack fruits is Bahuvja and 辱ṭṭ fruits are Nirvja.

Therefore Ჹś󲹰 says to the poets that, they never try to describe different seasons together in one particular place, but one or two places may be used for one season in his composition. To describe the seasons in the opposing order is not a defect for the poet, but the context of the narrative should be the reciprocation appear like an excellence.

The poet who does not care for the concept of time and season will be confused and who competent to follow this will be a Ѳ첹 (great poet).

C.f.

iti vibhāgasya darśitāृvattirīdṛś� |
kaveriha mahānmoha iha siddho 첹� || �

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Ჹś󲹰: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 112

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