2023-03-26 16:29:39 by ambuda-bot
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xiv
of the context, descriptions which seldom explain the
situation, have been pointed out to as a great blot on
Sanskrit literature. It has been very often complained
that versification comes from the head and not from
the heart, that poetic composition is not an expression
of feeling, but is more an intellectual feat consisting of
choice selection and orderly arrangement of ideas learn-
ed from previous poets, and that the choice of subject
is from the very limited field of a few Purâņas. It is
also complained that Sanskrit poetry is concerned with
things high up in the air and does not tackle the pro-
blems of life. The rigidity and monotony of metre is
another factor that is held forth as an impediment to
true poetic expression.
It will be necessary to write a big volume to explain
the true point of view from which alone one can have
a correct and sympathetic understanding of Sanskrit
poetry. All that I can say is that students of European
classical literature do not condemn many of the things
which are considered as blots in Sanskrit epics, but on
the other hand they praise classical literature for these
very things. The long-drawn-out, never ending similes
in European classics have very little to do with the
actual context and seldom make the context clear. The
context is only an occasion for a long description and
still scholars only praise the similes in classical literature.
In Sanskrit also the context is only an occasion and
not the chief thing. The story, the material is subservi-
ent to the poetry woven round the story. The introduc-
tion into the epic narration of cities, gardens, mountains,
of the context, descriptions which seldom explain the
situation, have been pointed out to as a great blot on
Sanskrit literature. It has been very often complained
that versification comes from the head and not from
the heart, that poetic composition is not an expression
of feeling, but is more an intellectual feat consisting of
choice selection and orderly arrangement of ideas learn-
ed from previous poets, and that the choice of subject
is from the very limited field of a few Purâņas. It is
also complained that Sanskrit poetry is concerned with
things high up in the air and does not tackle the pro-
blems of life. The rigidity and monotony of metre is
another factor that is held forth as an impediment to
true poetic expression.
It will be necessary to write a big volume to explain
the true point of view from which alone one can have
a correct and sympathetic understanding of Sanskrit
poetry. All that I can say is that students of European
classical literature do not condemn many of the things
which are considered as blots in Sanskrit epics, but on
the other hand they praise classical literature for these
very things. The long-drawn-out, never ending similes
in European classics have very little to do with the
actual context and seldom make the context clear. The
context is only an occasion for a long description and
still scholars only praise the similes in classical literature.
In Sanskrit also the context is only an occasion and
not the chief thing. The story, the material is subservi-
ent to the poetry woven round the story. The introduc-
tion into the epic narration of cities, gardens, mountains,