Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana
by Gaurapada Dāsa | 2015 | 234,703 words
Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s Sahitya-kaumudi covers all aspects of poetical theory except the topic of dramaturgy. All the definitions of poetical concepts are taken from Mammata’s Kavya-prakasha, the most authoritative work on Sanskrit poetical rhetoric. Baladeva Vidyabhushana added the eleventh chapter, where he expounds additional ornaments from Visv...
Text 2.38
उदाहरणम्,
udāharaṇam,
This illustrates Suggestiveness based on Denotation:
akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrtiḥ prasṛmara-ruci-ruddha-tārakā-pāliḥ |
kalita-śyāmā-lalito rādhā-preyān vidhur jayati ||
akhila-rasa-amṛta-mūrtiḥ—He whose form is the topmost bliss, in which all the rasas exist[1] (or the moon, whose form is that because of which there is the nectar that is a complete relishment) (or whose orb is of the nature of nectar, in regard to which the relishment is unbroken[2]); prasṛmara-ruci-ruddha-tārakā-pāliḥ—He by whom Tārakā and Pāli (or Pālī) are rendered submissive by means of a luster which spreads out by nature[3] (or the moon, by whom a multitude of stars is covered by means of a radiance which nicely spreads out[4]); kalita-śyāmā-lalitaḥ—He by whom Śyāmalā and Lalitā are counted, i.e. are accepted as His own[5] (or the moon, by whom the lovelines of the night is made) (or by whom the diversion of night is accepted[6]); rādhā-preyān—He is dearest to Rādhā[7] (or He greatly pleases Rādhā[8]) (or the moon has more affection for the constellation named Viśākhā[9]); vidhuḥ—Kṛṣṇa (or the moon); jayati—is glorious (He abides with all eminence[10]) (or the moon abides with more eminence than all[11]).
[First interpretation:]
Kṛṣṇa is glorious. His form is the entire nectar of rasa. He renders Tārakā and Pāli submissive with His expansive luster, He counts Śyāmā and Lalitā as His own, and He greatly loves Rādhā.
[Second interpretation:]
The moon abides with eminence: It covers the stars with its nicely diffused radiance and thus makes the loveliness of the night. When it greatly likes the Rādhā constellation (on the full moon night of Vaiśākha), its orb brings about a complete relishment, the nectar. (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.1)
atra prakaraṇāt kṛṣṇo vācyas candras tu vyaṅgyas tayor upamānopameya-bhāvaś ca.[12]
Owing to the context, the sense of vidhu (Kṛṣṇa; moon) as ‘Kṛṣṇa’ is literally expressive. The sense of ‘moon’, however, is implied. They have the relation of upameya (subject of the comparison) and upamāna (standard of comparison).
Commentary:
One implied idea is that the Lord is surrounded by the gopīs like the moon is surrounded by stars. Jīva Gosvāmī says Tārakā and Pāli are foremost among the lower group of gopīs, whereas Śyāmalā and Lalitā are prominent among the gopīs below Śrī Rādhā, who is the very best.[13] Moreover, Jīva Gosvāmī says an implied similarity between Kṛṣṇa and the moon is that both cause a delight at night.[14] Another point of similarity, according to him, is this: Each one realizes that his own grandeur can be fully effected only by approaching Rādhā.[15] On the side of the moon, the gist is that the full moon of Vaiśākha, April-May, has high prestige in poetry. The constellation named Rādhā is also named Viśākhā, by the definition: rādhā viśākhā (Amara-koṣa 1.3.22). The grammatical explanation is that according to tradition, the month of Vaiśākha is so called because on the full moon day the moon is conjoined with the Viśākhā constellation.
This verse is Rūpa Gosvāmī’s maṅgalācaraṇa. There is no context. The meaning of vidhu as ‘Kṛṣṇa’ and the meaning of vidhu as ‘moon’ constitute a literal double meaning (śleṣa), according to Jīva Gosvāmī, who adds that the simile is implied by that.[16] Viśvanātha Cakravartī only says there is a simile.[17] Jīva Gosvāmī says the simile is partial in the sense that the moon is material.[18]
Thus the verse does not illustrate the topic under discussion since there is no factor of Denotation that narrows possible meanings down to only one literal meaning so that another meaning can only be implied. An example of that is in Commentary 10.212 (in the verse that begins madhyena), where the word hari literally means “lion” but can also be suggestive of Hari.
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s opinion that the above verse has a context is shared by a commentator called Mukunda.[19] However, it cannot be said that a title can be taken as a context. For instance, Viśvanātha Kavirāja says that in Veṇī-saṃhāra 1.6, the compound dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ (geese that have black feet and black beaks) is not a literal double meaning (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons) because in the previous verses the context is autumn. In that way he disregards any notion about the title, the subject matter of the book: Veṇī-saṃhāra (Duḥśāsana’s dragging Draupaḍī by her braids).[20]
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī write: akhilā rasā vakṣyamāṇāḥ śāntādyā dvādaśa yasmin tādṛśam amṛtaṃ paramānanda eva mūrtir yasya saḥ (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1) (Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī 1.1.1).
[2]:
[3]:
prasṛmarābhiḥ prasaraṇa-śīlābhī rucibhiḥ kāntibhī ruddhe vaśī-kṛte tārakā-pālī yena saḥ. pāliketi tu saṃjāyāṃ kan-vidhānāt. pālīti dīrghānto’pi kvacid dṛśyate (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1). Here Jīva Gosvāmī says Pāli is also called Pālikā and Pālī. Had Jīva Gosvāmī thought that in tāraka-pāliḥ her name was being referred to as Pālī, he would have written tārakā-pālyau yena saḥ in his analysis. Further, the word prasṛmara is formed by adding the suffix [k]mara[c], in one of the three senses (doing that as a habit or by nature; doing that as a moral duty; or doing that well), after the prefix pra and the verbal root sṛ gatau (to go, move, flow): sṛ-ghasy-adaḥ kmarac (Aṣṭādhyāyī 3.2.160).
[6]:
[7]:
The word preyān is formed as follows. The word priya conventionally means beloved, by the definition: abhīṣṭe’bhīpsitaṃ hṛdyaṃ dayitaṃ vallabhaṃ priyam (Amara-koṣa 3.1.53). The suffix īyus[u] is applied. It has the sense of the comparative suffix tara[p] (more): dvi-vacanavibhajyopapade tarab-īyasunau (Aṣṭādhyāyī 5.3.57). When īyus[u] is applied after priya, the word priya becomes pra, by the rule: priya-sthira-sphiroru-bahula-guru-vṛddha-tṛpra-dīrgha-vṛndārakāṇāṃ pra-stha-spha-var-baṃhi-gar-varṣi-trab-drāghi-vṛndāḥ (Aṣṭādhyāyī 6.4.157). Thus pra + īyas[u] becomes the nominal base preyas[u]. Preyān is the masculine first case singular of preyas[u]. In Sanskrit, by itself a comparative word often has the sense of the superlative.
[8]:
[9]:
rādhāyāṃ viśākhā-nāmnyāṃ tārāyāṃ preyān adhika-prītimān ṛturāja-pūrṇimāyāṃ tad-anugāmitvāt (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1).
[10]:
vidhuḥ śrī-kṛṣṇo jayati sarvotkarṣeṇa vartate (Bhakti-sāra-pradarśinī 1.1.1).
[11]:
evaṃ sūryādīnāṃ tāpa-śamatvādi nāstīti nopamāna-yogyatā, tato vidhuḥ sarvata utkarṣeṇa vartate iti labhyate (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1).
[12]:
Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s words lack a proper sequence. Later he specifies that Kṛṣṇa is the upameya and the moon is the upamāna (4.60). Jīva Gosvāmī says the moon is the upamāna (the vehicle, the standard of comparison): ṛturāja-pūrṇimāyāṃ tad-anugāmitvāt iti tad-anugati-mātrasādhya-sva-vaibhava-vijñatvāṃśenāpi jñeyam. upamānasya caitāni viśeṣaṇāny utkarṣa-vācakāni (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1).
[13]:
[16]:
atha ślokārtha-vyākhyā, tatraika-śleṣeṇopamāṃ sūcayaṃs tayārtha-viśeṣaṃ puṣṇāti (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1).
[17]:
[18]:
sarva-laukikātīte’pi tasmin laukikārtha-viśeṣopamā-dvārā lokānāṃ buddhi-praveśaḥ syād iti kenāpy aṃśenopameyam (Durgama-saṅgamanī 1.1.1).
[20]:
“sat-pakṣāṃ madhura-giraḥ prasādhitāśā madoddhatārambhāḥ, nipatanti dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ kāla-vaśān medinī-pṛṣṭhe.” atra śarad-varṇanayā prakaraṇena dhārtarāṣṭrādi-śabdānāṃ haṃsādyarthābhidhāne niyamanād duryodhanādi-rūpo’rthaḥ śabda-śakti-mūlo vastu-dhvaniḥ. iha ca prakṛta-prabandhābhidheyasya dvitīyārthasya sūcyatayaiva vivakṣitatvād upamānopameyabhāvo na vivakṣita iti nopamā-dhvanir na vā śleṣa iti sarvam avadātam (Sāhitya-darpaṇa 10.12).