2023-03-01 14:59:04 by ramamurthys
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A Handbook of Classical Sanskrit Rhetoric
the stage of beginning during the time of Bharata (cir 100-300 AD)
we do not find any theory about alaṃkāra, guṇa or doṣa, which are
the most common topics of discussion for almost all rhetoricians of
Sanskrit. We can easily assume that literary criticism or alaṃkāra-śāstra as a special branch of knowledge (ie vidyā) developed long before Bhāmaha and Daṇḍin (600-700 AD). The term alaṃkāra, on the one hand, has been very broadly used to signify the art of poetry by which poet's language and expression become invested with beauty ie saundarya which is synonymous with cāruta (sweet-ness), mādhurya (grace), camatkāra (taste), ramaṇīyatā (charm) and, on the other hand, is commonly used to denote the figures of speech. The treatment of numerous rhetorical figures shows that these varieties of figurative expression are concerned with musical qualities, linguistic pattern, sound and sense, poetic diction, ele-gance of thought etc. About hundred books were written on Sanskrit poetics and many of them used the word alamkāra in the title. The earliest books on poetics by Bhāmaha, Vāmana and Rudraţa are entitled kāvyālamkāra. According to Rājaśekhara the ancient tradition called it sāhityavidyā (sāhitya means combination of word and meaning, and vidyā is branch of knowledge). The other terms are : Mirror of Poetry (kāvyādarśa or sāhityadarpaṇa), Interpretation
of Literature (kāvya-mīmāṃsā) or Rules and Regulations of Poetry
(kāvyānuśāsana).
Poetry is the best expression of the strongest experience of the
innermost feeling, deepest sentiment, wisest sense and sensuality
in metaphor. Poet's language is symbolic and, therefore, far
removed from ordinary speech. Sanskrit critics of poetry have
attempted to delve deep into the philosophy of poetic art. The
Rāmāyaṇa myth insists on the expression of the strongest sentiment of pathos (which may be compared to Aristotle's catharsis) as the basis of the origin of poetry. It was an expression of deep sorrow from the heart of the poet-seer Vālmīki who became charmed and enraptured by his own outpourings and asked himself: what a wonder is this which is arranged in metre, regulated by syllables and set on rhythm and timbre! The Agnipurāṇa compares the poet or the creator of poetry with God, the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
A Handbook of Classical Sanskrit Rhetoric
the stage of beginning during the time of Bharata (cir 100-300 AD)
we do not find any theory about alaṃkāra, guṇa or doṣa, which are
the most common topics of discussion for almost all rhetoricians of
Sanskrit. We can easily assume that literary criticism or alaṃkāra-śāstra as a special branch of knowledge (ie vidyā) developed long before Bhāmaha and Daṇḍin (600-700 AD). The term alaṃkāra, on the one hand, has been very broadly used to signify the art of poetry by which poet's language and expression become invested with beauty ie saundarya which is synonymous with cāruta (sweet-ness), mādhurya (grace), camatkāra (taste), ramaṇīyatā (charm) and, on the other hand, is commonly used to denote the figures of speech. The treatment of numerous rhetorical figures shows that these varieties of figurative expression are concerned with musical qualities, linguistic pattern, sound and sense, poetic diction, ele-gance of thought etc. About hundred books were written on Sanskrit poetics and many of them used the word alamkāra in the title. The earliest books on poetics by Bhāmaha, Vāmana and Rudraţa are entitled kāvyālamkāra. According to Rājaśekhara the ancient tradition called it sāhityavidyā (sāhitya means combination of word and meaning, and vidyā is branch of knowledge). The other terms are : Mirror of Poetry (kāvyādarśa or sāhityadarpaṇa), Interpretation
of Literature (kāvya-mīmāṃsā) or Rules and Regulations of Poetry
(kāvyānuśāsana).
Poetry is the best expression of the strongest experience of the
innermost feeling, deepest sentiment, wisest sense and sensuality
in metaphor. Poet's language is symbolic and, therefore, far
removed from ordinary speech. Sanskrit critics of poetry have
attempted to delve deep into the philosophy of poetic art. The
Rāmāyaṇa myth insists on the expression of the strongest sentiment of pathos (which may be compared to Aristotle's catharsis) as the basis of the origin of poetry. It was an expression of deep sorrow from the heart of the poet-seer Vālmīki who became charmed and enraptured by his own outpourings and asked himself: what a wonder is this which is arranged in metre, regulated by syllables and set on rhythm and timbre! The Agnipurāṇa compares the poet or the creator of poetry with God, the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient
Digitized by
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN