Handbook of Classical Sanskrit Rhetoric /33

Introduction
 
concept known as Art for Art's sake). Since the scope of the prsent
esent
work is very limited here only those texts dealing with alamṃkāras

either singly or jointly with other allied topics have been taken into
 

account.
 
xxi
 

1. Nāṭyaśāstra (or The Science of Dramatics, cir 100-300 AD): The

Nāṭyaśāstra, traditionally ascribed to Bharata, a mythical personal-

ity, is the oldest extant work on Sanskrit dramaturgy and other

allied topics (like music and dance concerned with dramatics) as

well as partly on poetics in 36/37 chapters with about 6000 verses

in anuṣṭup metre (ie 8 syllables in each of the 4 lines). It is really a
compilation of numerous materials collected from different

compilation of numerous materials collected from different
sources as available in ancient Indian tradition in the form of suūtra,

bhāsya, kārikā and anuvamsṃśya verses (ie aphorism, commentary,

definitions and quotations respectively). Different manuscripts of

the work indicate that the text was compiled in different periods by

numerous scholars and developed in the present form with addi-

tions and interpolations therein. Materials regarding literary the-

ory and criticism are very scanty, but we find here the original the-

ory of rasa (ie aesthetic contemplation) which has not only been

accepted and enumerated in details by all later scholars but also

served as the basis of ancient Indian literary criticism throughout

the successive stages of its development. According to Bharata, the

four principal elements of drama are dialogue, songs, music and

dance, and out of these four dramatic conversation (ie vācika abhi-

naya) either in prose or poetry is also inter-related with poetics (ie

nātya and kaāvya closely related). In this connection, Bharata enu-

merates 36 lakṣaṇas and the first one is called bhūṣaṇa which is

explained thus : It is known as bhuṣaṇa or ornament since it embellishes

the dramatic composition with various alamṃkāras and guṇas as variegated

decorations.
 

 
Digitized by
 

 
Out of these lakṣaṇas only two (ie hetu and lesśa) survived as fig-

ures of speech and the rest faded into oblivion. While dealing

directly with alamṃkāras the Nāṭyaśāstra names only four important

figures (viz upamā, rūpaka, diīpaka and yamaka). From Bharata's
treatment it is clear that the theory of literary criticism had already

treatment it is clear that the theory of literary criticism had already
started before the compilation of the Naātyaśāstra. Bharata just men-
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN