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...

विसर्ग-व्यग्र-चित्तोऽपि विधिर् युक्त-विधानकः ।
पिचु-मर्द-फले काकः सहकारे कृतः पिकः ॥

visarga-vyagra-citto'pi vidhir yukta-vidhānakaḥ |
picu-marda-phale kākaḥ sahakāre kṛtaḥ pikaḥ ||

visarga—with creation; vyagra—is busy; cittaḥ—he whose mind; api—although; vidhiḥ—the creator; yukta—a proper; vidhānakaḥ—ordainer; picu-marda—of a neem tree; phale—in regard to the fruit; kākaḥ—a crow; sahakāre—in regard to mango trees; kṛtaḥ—was made; pikaḥ—a cuckoo.

Although the creator is busily engaged in creation, he ordains things well: The crows eat bitter neem berries, and the cuckoos eat mango blossoms.

Commentary:

The verse features two sama ornaments. The combination of crows and bitter neem berries illustrates a combination of nonresplendent things: That is Mammaṭa’s example (Kāvya-prakāśa verse 536). The combination of cuckoos and mango blossoms is a combination of resplendent things.

The following example by Paṇḍitarāja Jagannātha illustrates a good match between two entities on account of a contrast:

anāthaḥ snehārdrāṃ vigalita-gatiḥ puṇya-gati-dāṃ
  patan viśvoddhartrīṃ gada-vigalitaḥ siddha-bhiṣajam
|
tṛṣārtaḥ pīyūṣa-prakara-nidhim atyanta-śiśukaḥ
  savitrīṃ prāptas tvām aham iha vidadhyāḥ samucitam
||

“O Gaṅgā, I have attained you. I am helpless and you melt out of affection. I have no destination and you bestow a good destination. I am falling and you uplift everyone. I am rent by disease and you are a perfect physician. I am afflicted by thirst and you are a reservoir of nectar. I am very boyish and you are a mother. Now, kindly do what is appropriate” (Rasa-gaṅgādhara, KM p. 461).

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