Text 10.123

तत्र साधर्म्यात् सामान्यं विशेषेण यथा,

tatra sādharmyāt sāmānyaṃ viśeṣeṇa yathā,

Here a generality is corroborated by a particular instance, by a similarity:

bṛhat-sahāyaḥ kāryāntaṃ kṣodīyān api gacchati |
sambhūyāmbhodhim abhyeti mahā-nadyā nagāpagā ||

bṛhat—are great; sahāyaḥ—he whose assistants; kārya—of the task; antam—the end; kṣodīyān—very little; api—although; gacchati—attains; sambhūya—after meeting; ambho-dhim—the ocean (“a receptacle of water”); abhyeti—reaches; mahā—great; nadyā—with a river; naga-apagā—a rivulet (“it goes away from a mountain”).

Though he might be insignificant, he who has great assistants attains the completion of his task. A rivulet from a mountain unites with a great river and reaches the ocean. (Māgha’s Śiśupāla-vadha 2.100) (Sāhitya-darpaṇa 10.62)

atra parārdhārthena viśeṣeṇa sāmānyātmā pūrvārdhārthaḥ sopapattikaḥ kriyate.

The first half of the verse, a generality, is corroborated by the particular instance which is the meaning of the second half.

Commentary:

This is Mammaṭa’s example:

nija-doṣāvṛta-manasām atisundaram eva bhāti viparītam |
paśyati pittopahataḥ śaśi-śubhraṃ śaṅkham api pītam ||

“For those whose minds are covered by their own faults, even a very beautiful thing is perceived in an adverse way. A person affected by jaundice sees a conch, white like the moon, as yellow” (Kāvya-prakāśa verse 478).

This is Jagannātha’s illustration of a generality corroborated by a particular instance, by a similarity:

ahann eko raṇe rāmo yātudhānān anekaśaḥ |
asahāyā mahātmāno yānti kāñcana vīratām ||

“All alone in battle, Rāma disposed of many fiends. Great souls who are unassisted acquire an incredible intrepidity” (Rasa-gaṅgādhara, KM p. 471).

Other Kavyashastra Concepts:

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Concepts being referred within the main category of Hinduism context and sources.

Great river, Receptacle of water, General principle, Insignificant person, Beautiful thing, White conch.