17: Alaṃkāra-śāstra according to Jayadeva (12th century)

Jayadeva is the author of a popular rhetoric text named ‘Candrāloka’. He is also known as ‘Pīyūṣavarṣa’ and he has composed a drama called ‘Prasannarāghava’. Jayadeva has often quoted verses and definitions furnished by Ruyyaka and Mammaṭāand therefore he has been placed between the last quarter of the 12th century and the 1st half of the 13th century.

Jayadeva’s ‘Candrāloka’ is composed in ten (10) chapters or ‘mayūkhas’ comprising of 350 verses written in the ‘anuṣṭup’ metre.

Jayadeva defines poetry in accordance with the predecessors like Mammaṭāetc and puts forth ‘sālaṃkāratva’ as one of the essential features of a poetical composition—

nirdoṣālakṣaṇavatīsarītirguṇabhūṣaṇāt/
sālaṃkārarasānekavṛttirvāk kāvyanāmabhāk//
  —Candrāloka (of Jayadeva) 1.7.

He also criticises Mammaṭā’s definition of poetry. Mammaṭa has opined that a poetical composition can even be regarded as good poetry if it is devoid of poetic figures.

Jayadeva opposes this point of view of Mammaṭāas he feels that acknowledging this view will be as ridiculous as admitting coldness in fire—

aṅgīkaroti yaḥ kāvyaṃ śabdārthāvanalaṃkṛtī/
asau na manyate kasmādanuṣṇamanalaṃkṛtī//
  —Candrāloka (of Jayadeva) 1.8.

The 5th chapter of ‘Candrāloka’ named ‘Alaṃkāranirūpaṇaḥ’ is the most considerable part of the work and it deals with śabdālaṃkāras, arthālaṃkāras and alaṃkārānukramaṇikā. Jayadeva has followed Mammaṭāclosely in his definition of alaṃkāras. According to him, the alaṃkāras originate from the popularity of word and sense or the intuition of the poet.

Alike Mammaṭā, he maintains that the alaṃkāras render charm or beauty to a poem like the ornaments bring charm to human body—

śabdārthayoḥ prasiddhyāvākaveḥ prauḍhivaśena vā/
hārādivadalaṃkārasanniveśo manoharaḥ//
  —Candrāloka (of Jayadeva) 5.1.

Jayadeva has defined and illustrated one hundred (100) figures of speech in his work.