Vakrokti, Vakrōkti, Vakra-ukti: 15 definitions
Introduction:
Vakrokti means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
In Hinduism
Kavyashastra (science of poetry)
Source: Shodhganga: The Kavyavilasa of Ciranjiva Bhattacarya (kavyashastra)Vakrokti (वक्रोक्ति) refers to one of the 93 alaṃkāras (“figures of speech”) mentioned by Cirañjīva Bhaṭṭācārya (fl. 17th century) in his Kāvyavilāsa and is listed as one of the 89 arthālaṃkāras (figure of speech determined by the sense, as opposed to sound).—The historical development of vakraki is interesting. The ancient Ālaṃkārika Bhāmaha has treated vakrokti in his Kāvyālaṃkāra (II/85). He considers vakrokti as a general principle underline every alaṃkāra. According to Bhāmaha this vakrokti is identical with atiśayokti. Ānandavardhanain his Dhvanyāloka has mentioned the view of Bhāmaha. Daṇḍin has divided the alaṃkāras into two types—svabhāvokti and vakrokti.
According to Mammaṭa (K.P. IX/103) when a speaker says something in one sense and the hearer accepts it in a different sense, due to the working of paronomasia (śleṣa) andintonation (kākū), it is the figure vakrokti. Ruyyaka and Viśvanāha have treated this figure in the same line. But while Mammaṭa and Viśvanātha have dealt with this figure as a śabdālaṃkāra, Ruyyaka has treated it as an arthālaṃkāra.
Cirañjīva’s definition of vakrokti is as follows—“vakroktiḥ śleṣakākubhyāṃ vācyārthāntarakalpane”. According to Cirañjīva when a sense expressed by the speaker is taken in another sense different from the first one by the hearer due to paronomasia and intonation it is the figure vakrokti. In this figure it is found that a speaker has intended to express one meaning and the hearer acceptes its another sense through the influence of paronomasia or intonation.
Example of the vakraki-alaṃkāra:—
mā gā viṣādaṃ mugdhākṣi! smarārtā yāmi kaṃ sakhi! caritaṃ tava paśyāmi smarāmi tu na kañcana ||
“Oh you with fascinating eyes! don’t be dejected. Oh friend to whom I who is lovesick shall go. I am watching your condition but remembering none”.
Notes: Requested by the female friend the separated lady says that she will take resort to Mahadeva who is the destroyer of worldly desire and none other than Mahādeva. She says smarārta yāmi kaṃ, sakhi, the actual meaning is that whom shall I who is lovesick shall resort to. Here the words smarārtā yāmi kaṃ, has been taken as smara ārtā—or remember him who is yāmi kaṃ the protector of the distressed. Here we also find the use of paronomasia ślesa and the meaning intended to be expressed by the speaker has been twisted. So this is an example of the figure vakrokti based on ślesa.
Source: Shodhganga: Kuntakas evaluation of Sanskrit literatureVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति) refers to a particular “school of Sanskrit literary criticism” proposed by Kuntaka in his Vakroktijīvita in 10th Century C.E.—Kuntaka in Vakroktijīvita says, vakrokti is ‘vaidagdhya bhaṅgībhaṇiti’. It can be translated as ‘the artistic turn of speech’, which means dexterous expression of something in a most attractive way, i.e. the selection of most striking form of expression in a particular context though the word has numerous meanings.
Vakrokti is the imaginative turn given to expressions (vaidagdhyabhaṅgībhaṇiti). This Vakroktijīvita discusses the six varieties of figurativeness propounded by Kuntaka in four unmeṣas.
They are:
- Phonetic figurativeness,
- Lexical figurativeness,
- Grammatical figurativeness,
- Sentential figurativeness,
- Contextual figurativeness and
- Compositional figurativeness.
Kavyashastra (काव्यशास्त्र, kāvyaśāstra) refers to the ancient Indian tradition of poetry (kavya). Canonical literature (shastra) of the includes encyclopedic manuals dealing with prosody, rhetoric and various other guidelines serving to teach the poet how to compose literature.
In Jainism
Jain philosophy
Source: archive.org: Anekanta Jaya Pataka of Haribhadra SuriVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति) refers to “sarcasm”, as occurring in the Anekāntajayapatākā-prakaraṇa, a Śvetāmbara Jain philosophical work written by Haribhadra Sūri.—[Cf. Vol. II, P. 160, l. 8]—‘Vakrokti’ means sarcasm in general. It is also the name of a figure of speech consisting in evasive speech and reply, either by a pun (śleṣa) or by a change of tone.
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Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryvakrōkti (वक्रोक्ति).—f S Perverse speech: also equivoque, double entendre, sarcasm; covert expression of some sense other than that which is appropriate to the language employed.
Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-Englishvakrōkti (वक्रोक्ति).—f Perverse speech; double entendre.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति).—f. a figure of speech consisting in the use of evasive speech or reply, either by means of a pun, or by an affected change of tone; Mammaṭa thus defines it :-यदुक्तमन्यथा वाक्यमन्यथा- न्येन योज्यते । श्लेषेण काक्वा वा ज्ञेया सा वक्रोक्तिस्तथा द्विधा (yaduktamanyathā vākyamanyathā- nyena yojyate | śleṣeṇa kākvā vā jñeyā sā vakroktistathā dvidhā) K. P.9; for example see the opening stanza in Mu. (dhanyā keyaṃ sthitā te &c.).
2) equivocation, insinuation, inuendo; सुबन्धुर्बाणभट्टश्च कविराज इति त्रयः । वक्रोक्तिमार्गनिपुणाश्चतुर्थो विद्यते न वा (subandhurbāṇabhaṭṭaśca kavirāja iti trayaḥ | vakroktimārganipuṇāścaturtho vidyate na vā) ||.
3) sarcasm.
Derivable forms: vakroktiḥ (वक्रोक्तिः).
Vakrokti is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms vakra and ukti (उक्ति).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति).—f.
(-ktiḥ) 1. Equivoque, evasion, pun, the covert expression of something else than the words used naturally imply, either from the manner in which they are uttered, or some other sense of which they are susceptible. 2. Hint, insinuation. 3. Sarcasm. It is thus defined in Sahityadarpana:— “anyasyānyārthakaṃ vākyamanyathāyojayedyadi . anyaḥ śleṣeṇa kākvā vā sā vakroktistato dvidhā ..” E. vakra crooked, dishonest, and ukti speech.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति).—f. 1. equivoque, pun. 2. sarcasm. 3. hint.
Vakrokti is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms vakra and ukti (उक्ति).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English DictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति).—[feminine] ambiguous or indirect speech, pun ([rhetorie]).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Vakrokti (वक्रोक्ति):—[from vakra > vaṅk] f. indirect mode of expression, [Manvarthamuktāvalī, kullūka bhaṭṭa’s Commentary on manu-smṛti on Manu-smṛti iii, 133]
2) [v.s. ...] a figure of speech consisting in the use of evasive speech or reply (either by means of a pun, or by an affected change of tone e.g. [Mudrārākṣasa i, 1]), [Kāvyaprakāśa]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति):—[vakro+kti] (ktiḥ) 2. f. Equivoque, evasion; pun; hint; sarcasm.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryVakrokti (वक्रोक्ति):—(nf) innuendo; an oblique utterance.
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Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusVakrōkti (ವಕ್ರೋಕ್ತಿ):—
1) [noun] a sarcastic remark or comment.
2) [noun] a speech that has two or more possible meanings.
3) [noun] (rhet.) a figure of speech consisting in the use of evasive speech or reply (either by means of a pun or by an affected change of tone).
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Vakrokti-pradhanyavada, Vakroktijivita, Vakroktikara, Vakroktipancashika, Vakroktivada, Vakroktivadi.
Ends with: Kakuvakrokti.
Full-text: Vakroktijivita, Vakroktipancashika, Shabdalankara, Vakrabhanita, Kakuvakrokti, Samsucana, Durukti, Kaku, Kuntaka, Bhamaha, Vakra, Apahnuti, Vacyalankara, Shlesha, Alamkara.
Relevant text
Search found 12 books and stories containing Vakrokti, Vakrōkti, Vakra-ukti; (plurals include: Vakroktis, Vakrōktis, uktis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 9.1 [Vakrokti] < [Chapter 9 - Ornaments of Sound]
Text 9.3 < [Chapter 9 - Ornaments of Sound]
Text 9.2 < [Chapter 9 - Ornaments of Sound]
Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study) (by Debabrata Barai)
Part 5 - Vakrokti theory and position of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā < [Chapter 4 - Position of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā in Sanskrit Poetics]
Part 10 - Vakroktijīvita of Kuntaka < [Chapter 2 - A General Outlines of Sanskrit Poetics]
Alaṃkāra (1): Vakrokti < [Chapter 3 - Contribution of Rājaśekhara to Sanskrit Poetics]
Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit literature (by Nikitha. M)
2. The concept of vakrokti in earlier poeticians < [Chapter 1 - Vakroktijīvita: A Synoptic Survey]
Introduction (Theory of vakrokti) < [Chapter 1 - Vakroktijīvita: A Synoptic Survey]
Review of literature < [Introduction]
Alamkaras mentioned by Vamana (by Pratim Bhattacharya)
8: Definition of Vakrokti Alaṃkāra < [Chapter 4 - Arthālaṃkāras mentioned by Vāmana]
9: Alaṃkāra-śāstra according to Kuntaka (10th century) < [Chapter 2 - The concept of alaṃkāra in Sanskrit Poetics]
3: Alaṃkāra-śāstra according to Bhāmaha (7th century) < [Chapter 2 - The concept of alaṃkāra in Sanskrit Poetics]
Mudrarakshasa (literary study) (by Antara Chakravarty)
3.3. Use of Vakrokti-alaṃkāra < [Chapter 3 - Use of Alaṃkāras in Mudrārākṣasa]
4. Conclusion < [Chapter 3 - Use of Alaṃkāras in Mudrārākṣasa]
3.29. Use of Vyājokti-alaṃkāra < [Chapter 3 - Use of Alaṃkāras in Mudrārākṣasa]
Satirical works of Kshemendra (study) (by Arpana Devi)
7. Prominent Satirical Works in Sanskrit < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]