Part 12 - Kavikaṇthābharaṇa and Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra

[Post-Dhvani Theory of Sanskrit Poetics (5): The Kavikaṇthābharaṇa and The Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra (11th century A.D.)]

The Kavikaṇthāvaraṇa and the Aucityavicāracarcā were written by reputed author Kṣmendra, seems to think of the Viśeṣa yet otherwise. Kavikaṇthāvaraṇa is divided into five sadhis: contrivance for poetic art, syllabus of poet, novelty for poetry, Doṣas and Guṇas of poetry and prayer for Śāstra or science. This work is well known for the kavi-śikṣā, written based on the Rājaśekhara’s Kāvyamīmāṃsā It discusses the fully the necessary training which an aspirant poet must undergo, if he should desire to be a good poet.

Kṣmendra’s another popular work is Aucityavicāracarcā In this work he establishes a new concept on Aucitya theory and established a new school in Sanskrit poetics as Aucitya School. To Kṣmendra, Rasa or the supreme aesthetic enjoyment is the highest object of poetry and then he also tries to find out that element of poetry, which helps in the easy manifestation of Rasa and due to the absence of which the experience of Rasa is endangered. At lastly, he comes to decision that such an essential element in poetry is the Aucitya or propriety, nothing other than.

To expending his own dictum, Kṣmendra develops a novel theory, where the property becomes the central pivot, round which all the poetical elements:

“aucitasya camatkārakāriṇaśārucarvaṇe |
rasajīvitabhūtasya vicāraṃ ku rute'dhunā || ”

- Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra: III

“alaṃkārāstvalaṅkārā guṇā eva guṇāḥ sadā |
aucityaṃ rasa - siddhasya sthiraṃ kāvyasya jīvitam || ”

- Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra: V

By the term of Aucitya, Kṣmendra means the adaption of parts of the verse to each other and to the whole or a certain poetic harmony of things:

“ucitaṃ prāhurācāryāḥ sadṛśaṃ kila yasya yat |
ucitasya ca yo bhāvastadaucityaṃ pracakṣate || ”

- Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra: VII

“pratibhāyāmavasthāyāṃ vicāre nāmnyāthāśiṣi |
kāvyasyāṅgeṣu ca prāhuraucityaṃ vyāpi jīvitam || ”

- Aucityavicāracarcā of Kṣmendra: X

The necessity of Aucitya in the development of rasas also has been pointed by dhvanikāra.

To whom the absence of Aucitya is the one impediment to the realization of aesthetic pleasure, because:

“anaucityādṛte nānyadrasabhaṅgasya kāraṇam |
prasiddhaucityabandhastu rasasyopaniṣatparā || ”

- Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana: III/ 30

Kṣmendra’s concepts of Aucitya is very much comprehensive and there he clearly shows how all the different principles expounded by the earlier writer could be brought under his poetic harmony. His exposition and illustration of the various kind of Aucitya are seems to very much intelligent. Further Kṣmendra very outset in his Aucityavicāracarcā, proposes to deal with the problem of Aucitya.