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...

Go directly to: Footnotes, Concepts.

(2) [This exemplifies kaṣṭa (difficult to understand):]

न वंशी-करम् आसाद्य यमानुजनि-भङ्गतः |
कस्याविशदतां याति मनो मान-परिप्लुतम् ||

na vaṃśī-karam āsādya yamānujani-bhaṅgataḥ |
kasyāviśadatāṃ yāti mano māna-pariplutam[1] ||

na—does not; vaṃśī—of the flute; karam—the sweet sound; āsādya—having obtained (i.e. having heard); yama-anujani—the rules (niyamas, “they arise after yama (restraints)”); bhaṅgataḥ—because of breaking; kasyāḥ—of which girl?; viśadatām—cheerfulness; yāti—attains; manaḥ—mind; māna—because of loving anger; pariplutam—overwhelmed; navam—in such a way that there is novelty; śīkaram—a drop of water; āsādya—after obtaining; yama-anujani—of the Yamunā (“whose birth occurred after Yama’s”); bhaṅgataḥ—on account of the waves; kasya—of which man?; aviśadatām—unclarity; yāti—attains; manaḥ—mind; māna—by false pride; pariplutam—overcome.

Which girl’s mind overwhelmed by a pique would not be in good spirits by breaking all the rules upon hearing the sweet sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute? (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 7.55)

Upon getting a thrill from a drop of water thrust from the Yamunā’s waves, whose mind immersed in false pride does not become clear? (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 7.56)

atra yamānujanir yamunā, pakṣe niyamaḥ, yama-niyamāsana iti gaṇana-kramād iti kaṣṭo’rthaḥ.

Here the word yamānujani means both niyama and Yamunā. The sense of ‘niyama’ is perceived from the sequence of the enumeration in: yama-niyamāsana and so on (Yoga-sūtra 2.29): That meaning is hard to catch.

Commentary:

Kavikarṇapūra gives the same example of kaṣṭa. Still, he and Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa (7.117) specify that kaṣṭa is actually not a fault in citra-kāvya (picture poetry) and the like (yamaka, verses of few consonants, etc.).[2] Kavikarṇapūra shows the two verses as an example of a yamaka of a whole verse: The verse is the same in both interpretations, except that some syllables are connected in a different way. It can also be classed as a śleṣa (literal double meaning).

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

pariplavam (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha).

[2]:

yama-niyameti gaṇanā-kramād iti kaṣṭo’rthaḥ. kintv ayaṃ citra-kāvyādau na doṣo na ca vā guṇaḥ (Alaṅkāra-kaustubha 10.108-109).

Other Kavyashastra Concepts:

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Discover the significance of concepts within the article: ‘Text 7.86’. Further sources in the context of Kavyashastra might help you critically compare this page with similair documents:

Yamaka, Sweet sound.

Other concepts within the broader category of Hinduism context and sources.

False pride, Krishna's flute.
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