Text 1.4

प्रेक्षा-वत्-प्रवृत्तये शास्त्राभिधेय-फलं तावद् आह,

prekṣā-vat-pravṛttaye śāstrābhidheya-phalaṃ tāvad āha,

For the sake of a continuation that has a vision, he simply mentions the benefit derived from the subject matter of this treatise:

kāvyaṃ yaśase'rtha-kṛte vyavahāra-vide śivetara-kṣataye |
sadyaḥ para-nirvṛtaye kāntā-sammitatayopadeśa-yuje ||1.2||

kāvyam—poetry (in verse or in prose); yaśase—for fame; artha-kṛte—for making money; vyavahāra-vide—for knowing worldly ways; śiva-itara—of inauspiciousness (“what is other than auspiciousness”); kṣataye—for the diminution; sadyaḥ—at once; para-nirvṛtaye—for high happiness; kāntā-sammitatayā—on account of being like a wife (or like a female paramour); upadeśa—with advice; yuje—which is linked.

The purpose of poetry is the attainment of fame and wealth; the knowledge of the ways of the world; a diminution of inauspiciousness; and an immediate and total happiness linked with advice, insofar as poetry is similar to a wife.

kīrtir dhana-prāptir deva-manuṣyādi-vyavahārāvagatir devatā-vandana-kṛtaḥ kleśa-nāśaḥ sapady eva rasānubhava-samudbhūtaḥ paramānandaḥ dharmādi-rūpa-hitopadeśaś ca kāvyād eva bhavatīti sarvathā tatra prayatanīyam. vedaḥ khalu śabda-prādhānyāt prabhu-sammitaḥ, purāṇādiś cārtha-prādhānyāt suhṛt-sammitaḥ śāsti, kāvyaṃ tu śabdārthayor guṇatayā rasāṅga-bhūta-vyāpāraprāvaṇyāt tad-vilakṣaṇam ataḥ kāntā-sammitaṃ tad iti.

A renown; the obtainment of wealth; the understanding of the ways of the gods, of humans, and so on; the termination, engendered by praising a deity, of afflictions; instant bliss arisen from the experience of rasa (rapture) (4.7 vṛtti); and counsel in the form of moral ethics and so on occur only from poetry, therefore eminent efforts should be made in that regard, in every way.

Indeed, owing to the predominance of word, the Veda is similar to a master and, owing to the predominance of meaning, the canon of Puranic literature instructs like a well-wisher. Poetry, however, is distinct from them on account of an inclination toward the usage of rasa, which is beyond the primary meaning of the words. Consequently poetry is similar to a beloved wife.

Commentary:

In Mammaṭa’s opinion, the purpose of writing poetry is the attainment of fame and wealth. The purpose of studying poetry is stated afterward. Kavikarṇapūra criticizes Mammaṭa’s viewpoint. According to Kavikarṇapūra, the highest gain for a poet and the relishers of poetry is the absorption in deep spiritual bliss that comes from fixing the mind on Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, beauty, and pastimes.^[1]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa paraphrases Mammaṭa, who is referring to the opinion of Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020 CE), the commentator on Ānandavardhana’s Dhvanyāloka. Abhinavagupta was the first to describe the Vedas, the Purāṇas and kāvya in terms of being a master, a friend and a wife respectively.^[2] In this regard, Jīva Gosvāmī referred to Vopadeva (thirteenth century): vedāḥ purāṇaṃ kāvyaṃ ca prabhur mitraṃ priyeva ca, bodhayantīti hi prāhus tri-vṛd bhāgavataṃ punar iti muktā-phale hemādri-kāra-vacanena ca, “The following verse is in Muktā-phala, also because of the statements of Hemādri, “They say the Vedas, the Purāṇas, and kāvya make one understand like a master, like a friend and like a wife respectively. However, the Bhāgavatam does so like all three”” (Tattva-sandarbha 26.2).

On account of the Vedic accents, in the Vedas sound is more important than its meaning. In the Purāṇas, the meanings of the words are more important than the words themselves. In poetry, relishment is all-important.

The Vedas give this command: satyaṃ vada dharmaṃ cara, “Speak truthfully. Perform your duty” (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1.11.1). Mammaṭa says poetry gives this sort of advice: “Behave like Rāma, not like Rāvaṇa.”^[3] In the old days, reading literature was one way to understand love and how to have success in love. Experiencing sweetness in reading poetry was the candy with which poets attracted people in order to teach them morality, such as the necessity to be good to be happy.

Bhāmaha wrote:

svādu-kāvya-rasonmiśraṃ śāstram apy upayuñjate |
prathamālīḍha-madhavaḥ pibanti kaṭu bheṣajam ||

“Even scriptural knowledge mixed with relishable poetry is used. Those who have first tasted honey are able to swallow bitter medicine” (Bhāmahālaṅkāra 5.3).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

yaśaḥ-prabhṛty eva phalaṃ nāsya kevalam iṣyate |
nirmāṇa-kāle śrī-kṛṣṇa-guṇa-lāvaṇya-keliṣu ||
cittasyābhiniveśena sāndrānanda-layas tu yaḥ |
sa eva paramo lābhaḥ svādakānāṃ tathaiva saḥ || (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 1.23)

[2]:

etac ca prabhu-mitra-sammitebhyaḥ śāstretihāsebhyaḥ prīti-pūrvakaṃ jāyā-sammitatvena nāṭya-kāvya-gataṃ vyutpatti-kāratvaṃ pūrvam eva nirūpitam asmābhir iti na punarukta-bhayād iha likhitam (Locana 3.30); iha prabhu-sammitebhyaḥ śruti-smṛti-prabhṛtibhyaḥ kartavyam idam ity ājñā-mātra-paramārthebhyaḥ śāstrebhyo ye na vyutpannāḥ, na cāpy asyedaṃ vṛttam amuṣmāt karmaṇa ity evaṃ yukti-yukta-karma-phala-sambandha-prakaṭana-kāribhyo mitra-sammitebhya itihāsa-śāstrebhyo labdha-vyutpattayaḥ (Locana 3.14).

[3]:

yat kāvyaṃ lokottara-varṇanā-nipuṇa-kavi-karma tat kānteva sarasatāpādanenābhimukhīkṛtya rāmādi-vad vartitavyaṃ na rāvaṇādi-vad ity upadeśaṃ ca yathā-yogaṃ kaveḥ sahṛdayasya ca karotīti sarvathā tatra yatanīyam (Kāvya-prakāśa 1.2).