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...

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(9) [This is an example of patat-prakarṣa (falling eminence):]

प्रोज्ज्वल-ज्वलन-ज्वालाविकटोरु-सटा-च्छटः |
श्वासाक्षिप्त-कुल-क्ष्मा-भृत् पातु वो नर-केशरी ||

projjvala-jvalana-jvālāvikaṭoru-saṭā-cchaṭaḥ |
śvāsākṣipta-kula-kṣmā-bhṛt pātu vo nara-keśarī ||

projjvala—blazing; jvalana—of a fire; jvālā—like an illumination; vikaṭa—is dreadful (formidable); uru—large; saṭā—of the mane; chaṭaḥ—He whose mass; śvāsa—with an exhalation; ākṣipta—are cast away; kula-kṣmā-bhṛt—He by whom mountain ranges (kṣmā-bhṛt = supporters of the Earth); pātu—may He protect; vaḥ—all of you; nara-keśarī—[partially] a man and [partially] a lion.[1]

The mass of His broad mane is formidable because it resembles the illumination of a blazing fire. He can cast aside a mountain range with His exhalation. May He who is half-man and half-lion protect you all. (Sāhitya-darpaṇa 7.8)

atrānuprāsa-prakarṣaḥ krameṇa patitaḥ.

In this verse, the eminence of alliteration gradually decreases.

Commentary:

The first line features an alliteration of jval. The second line contains an alliteration of . The third line has an alliteration of k. The fourth line is devoid of alliteration.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Compounds such as nara-siṃha where each word has the sense of ‘partially’ are formed by the rule: kiñcittvena vibhāge gamye’pi (Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa 926); ktena nañ-viśiṣṭenānaṣ (Aṣṭādhyāyī 2.1.60).

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