Text 5.2

तत्रागूढं यथा,

tatrāgūḍhaṃ yathā,

(1) This is an example of the second-rate implied sense called agūḍha (not subtle):

kṛṣṇasya jagad-īśasya vandyasya vibudhottamaiḥ |
śṛṇvan ninditam etasya jīvan naiva bhavāmy aham ||

kṛṣṇasya—of Kṛṣṇa; jagat-īśasya—who is the controller of the universe; vandyasya—who is praiseworthy; vibudha-uttamaiḥ—by the best learned persons; śṛṇvan—while hearing; ninditam—criticism; etasya—of Him; jīvan—while living; na eva—never (“not indeed”); bhavāmi aham—I am.

I do not live while hearing the best scholars criticize Kṛṣṇa, the praiseworthy overlord of the universe.

atra jīvann ity arthāntara-saṅkramita-vācyasya vyaṅgyam agūḍham. gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran ity-ādi, atra pibantīty atyanta-tiraskṛtavācyasya. evam anyeṣāṃ ca bodhyam.

Here the literal meaning “I do not live” changes to another sense (“I do not live happily”) (arthāntara-saṅkramita-vācya), and the implied sense is not subtle (“At that time it is better to die than to live”).

In the verse that begins gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran (2.20) (Bhāgavatam 10.44.14), the word pibanti (they drink) is a literal meaning that becomes completely obliterated (atyanta-tiraskṛta-vācya). It should be understood like this in other cases as well.

Commentary:

This category, agūḍha (not subtle), is the same as the agūḍha variety of the implied sense in purposeful figurative usage (prayojana-vatī lakṣaṇā) (2.18) and is the counterpart of a subtle implied sense (gūḍha) (4.1).

Mammaṭa expounds agūḍha as follows: gūḍḥaṃ camatkaroti, agūḍhaṃ tu sphuṭatayā vācyāyamānam iti guṇī-bhūtam eva, “A subtle implied sense is striking. An unsubtle implied sense, however, acts like the literal meaning since it is clear, thus it is only second-rate” (Kāvya-prakāśa 4.46 vṛtti). Mammaṭa’s example is almost the same as the above; Govinda Ṭhakkura comments: maraṇam eva śreya iti vyaṅgyam asahṛdayair api vācya-vat pratīyata iti guṇī-bhūtam, “The implied sense “Dying is better” is perceived as if it were a literal meaning even by persons who are not connoisseurs, thus it is second-rate” (Kāvya-pradīpa on verse 113).

Regarding pibanti (they drink), the sense of “They drink His form with their eyes” completely changes to: “They eagerly gaze at Him,” and the obvious, implied sense is that the gopīs have a deep loving attachment, according to Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (2.20). In other words, here the atyanta-tiraskṛta-vācya, “They drink with their eyes,” constitutes the virodha ornament (contradiction).

Viśvanātha Cakravartī comments: amuṣya rūpaṃ saundaryāmṛtaṃ pibanti, “They drink His form, i.e. the nectar of His beauty” (Sārārthadarśinī 10.44.14). The implied sense is that the beauty of His form can be drunk like nectar. In other words, His form is nectar, and their eyes are mouths: This is an anugrāhya anugrāhakatā saṅkara (mutually facilitated dhvanis) of two implied rūpaka ornaments (metaphor), yet it is second-rate because it is not as beautiful as the literal sense (asundara) (5.15).

Mammaṭa’s example of atyanta-tiraskṛta-vācya is: “The sun kisses the Eastern Mountain.”^[1] He explains: atra cumbanasyātyanta-tiraskṛta-vācyasya, “Here the literal sense of the verb “kisses” becomes completely obliterated” (Kāvya-prakāśa verse 114 vṛtti). This illustrates the virodha ornament (contradiction).

In addition, any obvious implied sense can be classed in the category of agūḍha even when the literal meaning holds. This means an obvious implied sense can be based on Denotation (abhidhā-mūla).

Mammaṭa gives an example:

atrāsīt phaṇi-pāśa-bandhana-vidhiḥ śaktyā bhavad-devare gāḍhaṃ vakṣasi tāḍite hanumatā droṇādrir atrāhṛtaḥ |
divyair indrajid atra lakṣmaṇa-śarair lokāntaraṃ prāpitaḥ kenāpy atra mṛgākṣi rākṣasa-pateḥ kṛttā ca kaṇṭhāṭavī ||

[Rāma speaks to Sītā upon returning to Ayodhyā after killing Rāvaṇa:]

“Here, the ways of entwining with the ropes of serpentine arms occurred. There, when Lakṣmaṇa was deeply hit on the chest with a missile, Hanumān fetched the entire Droṇa mountain. There, with his celestial arrows Lakṣmaṇa made Indrajit reach the next world. There, O doe-eyed beauty, the woodland of the ten necks of the chief Rākṣasa was razed by some particular person” (Kāvya-prakāśa, verse 115).

Mammaṭa elaborates:

atra kenāpy atrety artha-śakti-mūlānuraṇana-rūpasya. “tasyāpy atra” iti yuktaḥ pāṭhaḥ,

“The expression “by some particular person” involves a mere second-rate implied sense: “by Me, Rāma,” which is based on the power of the meaning (artha-śakti). However, changing the reading to tasyāpi, “The woodland of the ten necks of that chief Rākṣasa was cut down” is proper because in that way the implied sense is subtle, thus it is first-class” (Kāvya-prakāśa, verse 115 vṛtti).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

unnidra-kokanada-reṇu-piśaṅgitāṅgā gāyānti mañju madhupā gṛha-dīrghikāsu |
etac cakāsti ca raver nava-bandhujīva-puṣpa-cchadābham udayācala-cumbi bimbam || (Kāvya-prakāśa verse 114)