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Glossary of Indian Figures of Speech / 327 Image 327 of 348 (Page 327)

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GLOSSARY

325

of a genus, such as a hawk diving on a scrap of food or a village
woman drawing water from the well (Subhāṣitaratnakoșa, verses
1148-92). Here the charm lies precisely in the completeness of the
description within the limits imposed by the verse, and not on any
figurative usage. Yet that charm is undeniable. Daṇḍin includes
in his definition of the figure not merely that it is descriptive, but that
that description reflects the different aspects' (nānåvastha) of the
thing. Rudraţa, likewise, is far from thinking svabhävôkti mere
description; his criteria specify that the rendering be appropriate
to the time and characteristic of the thing (avasthôcita). Some con-
texts are simply more interesting than others; his description of the
young woman being made love to, though clinically exact, illustrates
this appropriateness of subject, detail, and occasion perfectly.
Dandin gives four examples of svabhāvokti, as the description
emphasizes one of the four metaphysical categories jāti ('type'),
kriya ('act'), guna ('attribute'), or dravya, ('individual'). The
distinction is arbitrary in the sense that any good example of
svabhävôkti will express that perfect blending of type, action,
attribute, and individual which we tend to call "characteristic unity".
But the emphasis may vary from one case to another.

A speculative discussion of the rationale for including this figure
within figurative usage will be found in the Introduction, pp. 42 ff.
kriya, 'verb': (1) a type of svabhāvokti in which the behavior of the
subject is emphasized. (2) D 2.13 (10). (3) kalakvanitagarbhena
kanthenâghūrnitékşaṇaiḥ । pārāvataḥ paribhramya riramsus cumbati
priyām (Dandin: "A pigeon wanders about with eyes rolling and
soft cooings coming from its throat and, desiring its mate, kisses
her"). (4) "Save yow, I herde nevere man so synge / As dide youre
fader in the morwenynge. / Certes, it was of herte, al that he song. /
And for to make his voys the moore strong, / He wolde so peyne
hym that with bothe his yen / He moste wynke, so loude he wolde
cryen, / And stonden on his tiptoon therwithal, / And strecche forth
his nekke long and smal" (Geoffrey Chaucer). (5) See jāti, guna,
dravya.

guna, 'attribute, adjective': (1) a type of svabhāvokti in which the contex-
tual or descriptive attributes of the subject are emphasized. (2)
D 2.13 (11). (3) badhnann añgeșu romāñcam kurvan manasi nirvṛtim ।
netre câmîlayann eşa priyāsparśaḥ pravartate (Daṇḍin: "The touch
of the beloved provokes a tingling in the limbs, happy release in
the mind, a closing of the eyes"). (4) "The open hills were airy and

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