Part 6 - Haraṇa (Plagiarism)

Ancient Ācārya Vāmaṇa, Ānandavardhana and Mammaṭa in their works discuss some treatment about the subject matter of haraṇa (plagiarism). But it is not properly elaborately discussed by them, they only touches few point about it. They did not appreciate it very much, yet the Alaṃkāra School encouraged it as an intellectual literary play. Therefore, in the Kāvyamīmāṃsā Yāyāvarīya Rājaśekhara discusses details account of it. He defines plagiarism (haraṇa) as an adaption or appropriation of the word and meaning from the other work of earlier poet.

“paraprayuktayoḥ śavdārthayorupanivandho haraṇam |”

-Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XI, Pp- 56

The using of words and ideas from the work of another is called appropriations. It is mainly two stems:

1. Hiding (that which may be avoided) and
2. Adding (that which may be adopted).

The former is mainly devised of words alone are five classes:-

“tayoḥ śavdaharaṇameva tāvatpañcadhā padataḥ, pādataḥ, ardhdataḥृvattataḥ, pravandhataśca |”

-Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XI, Pp- 56

1. Arising from a Pada (word or Term)
2. A Pāda (a foot)
3. Artha (a hemistich or a half line/ a stanza)
4. Vṛtta (a verse/ meters) and
5. Prabandha (a context, whole of a stanza).

At lastly Yāyāvarīya Rājaśekhara various angle of those type of borrowing and adding something new in word, phrase, sense and writes up something old, which may be accounted a mahākavi (great poet):

“śavdārthoktiṣu yaḥ paśyediha kiñcana nūtanam |
ullikhetkiñcana prācyaṃ mānyatāṃ sa mahākaviḥ || ”

-Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XI, Pp- 62

In the next Yāyāvarīya Rājaśekhara discusses with arthaharaṇa (appropriation or adoption of the idea or meaning).

Artha is divided into three classes:

1. anyayoni (derivative),
2. nihnuta-yoni (the route of a Concealed origin) and
3. ayon (the spontaneous/ original or creative, not derivative).

Anyayoniḥ (derivative) has to sub-divisions: pratibimbakalpa and ālekhyaprakhya; Nihnuta-yoni (the route of a Concealed origin) also two subdivisions: tulyadehi-tulya and parapūrapraveśa-sadṛsa and Ayoni (the spontaneous/ original or creative, not derivative) is no any sub-division.

There Rājaśekhara’s does not agree with Ratneśvara’s (a commentator on Sarasvatīkantḥābharaṇa, II/39) four verities of Parapūrapraveśa-sadṛśa. He defines eight verities of Parapūrapraveśa-sadṛśa, it is Rājaśekhara’s original contribution to Sanskrit poetics.

In this rather lapse on Rājaśekhara is fully a deal with the Śabdārtha-haraṇa with its various aspects. Rājaśekhara’s rich illustration makes different identities in the history of Sanskrit poetics.