Mudrarakshasa (literary study)
by Antara Chakravarty | 2015 | 58,556 words
This page relates ‘Use of Asangati-alamkara’ of the English study on the Mudrarakshasa: an ancient Sanskrit dramatic play (Nataka) authored by Vishakhadatta which deals with the life of king Chandragupta. This study investigates the Mudra Rakshasa from a literary perspective, such as metrics, themes, rhetorics and other poetical elements. Chandragupta ruled the Mauryan Empire during the 4th century BCE, hence this text can also be studied as a historical textbook of ancient India.
3.20. Use of Asaṅgati-alaṃkāra
[Full title: Use of Alaṃkāra in Mudrārākṣasa: Arthālaṃkāras, Virodhamūlaka (or Virodha-varga) (6). Asaṅgati]
When a cause and its effect remain in different locations, there is Asaṅgati. As defined by Viśvanātha Kavirāja in his Sāhityadarpaṇa—
Cf. kāryakāraṇayorbhinnadeśātāyāmasaṅgatiḥ|[1]
In the Mudraraksasa, Asaṅgati alaṃkāra can be seen in a few places. Such as in act III.32 in the speech of Cāṇakya, Cf.—
“It is the fault of minister himself if the king dishonours him. The tusker comes to be branded as ‘rogue’ through the carelessness of the driver.”
It is a clear example of Asaṅgati, because the twin acts: one of dishonouring the minister by the king and the other wherein a tusker is branded as a rogue are not found guilty here. Rather those acts are meant to be the fault of the minister himself and the carelessness of the driver respectively. Here in this verse Dṛṣṭāntālaṃkāra is also present.
Another good example of Asaṅgati can be found in act VII.16 of the drama Mudrārākṣasa.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Sāhityadarpaṇa,X.69