Text 4.78

ननु रसादीनां बहु-भेदत्वात् कथम् अष्टादशेति तत्राह,

nanu rasādīnāṃ bahu-bhedatvāt katham aṣṭādaśeti tatrāha,

In case someone wonders: “Since the rasa-ādis have many varieties, why is the total only eighteen?” he says:

rasādīnām anantatvād bheda eko hi gaṇyate ||4.42ab||

rasādīnām anantatvāt—because the rasas and so on are unlimited; bhedaḥ—variety; ekaḥ—one; hi—only; gaṇyate—is counted.

Since the rasādis are unlimited, that category is counted as one.

asaṃlakṣya-kramatvaṃ jātim ādāya rasādir eka eva gaṇyate, anyathā tad-gaṇanam aśakyam, pratyekaṃ bheda-bāhulyāt.

The rasādi-dhvani is counted as one by considering the category of asaṃlakṣya-krama as a whole, otherwise counting the varieties would be impossible, insofar as each one has many kinds.

Commentary:

Mammaṭa elaborates upon the multiplicity: anantatvād iti. tathā hi, nava rasāḥ. tatra śṛṅgārasya dvau bhedau. saṃbhogo vipralambhaś ca. sambhogasyāpi parasparāvalokanāliṅgana-paricumbanādikusumoccaya-jalakeli-sūryāstam-aya-candrodaya-ṣaḍ-ṛtuvarṇanādayo bahavo bhedāḥ. vipralambhasyābhilāṣādaya uktāḥ. tayor api vibhāvānubhāva-vyabhicāri-vaicitryam. tatrāpi nāyakayor uttama-madhyamādhama-prakṛtitvam. tatrāpi deśa-kālāvasthādibhedā ity ekasyaiva rasasyānantyam. kā gaṇanā tv anyeṣām, asaṃlakṣya-kramatvaṃ tu sāmānyam āśritya rasādi-dhvani-bheda eka eva gaṇyate.

“There are nine rasas. Among them, śṛṅgāra-rasa has two categories: sambhoga and vipralambha. Even sambhoga has many varieties, such as glancing at one another, embracing one another, kissing, picking flowers, water pastimes, a description of the sunset, a description of the moonrise, and a narration of the six seasons. The categories of vipralambha are abhilāṣa and so on (Commentary 4.15). Both sambhoga and vipralambha have varieties of vibhāvas, anubhāvas, and vyabhicāri-bhāvas. In addition, the hero and the heroine are subdivided in three types of natures: uttama (elevated), madhyama (average), and adhama (inferior). Moreover, there are particularities such as the place, the time, and the circumstances (not to mention the varieties of a heroine’s conditions: abhisārikā, vāsaka-sajjā, utkaṇṭhitā, khaṇḍitā, vipraladbhā, kalahāntaritā, proṣita-bhartṛkā and svādhīna-bhartṛkā). Therefore even one rasa is unlimited, so what need is there to detail the others?” (Kāvya-prakāśa 4.42).