Analysis of Śvabhāvokti

This alaṅkāra occurs in many places in the play.

(i) This alaṅkāra is used to describe Pāṇḍu who had just now risen from sleep and is still yawning.

He is seen yawning with a loud noise; his eyes are ruddy; mouth is wide open, with a very thick and red long tongue, stretched out; and in this act his shoulders are lifted fully up with all his ten fingers twisted (II.8):

āraktasaṅkucadapāṅgamudagradaṃṣṭraṃvyādāya vaktramurupāṭaladīrghajihvam |
uccairbhujau valayitau grāthitāṅgulīkau kurvan saśabdamiha jṛmbhaṇamātanoti ||

Here the appearance of a person as he is waking up is described quite naturally and hence the alaṅkāra is Śvabhāvokti.^[1]

(ii) There is a splendid natural description of a mid-day in the king’s garden–because of the heat of the sun, the beautiful peacocks are seen sitting near the waterfalls flowing down from the mountain; on the banks of the rivers, inside the holes of big trees, the snakes are seen sleeping enjoying the gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of the lotuses (IV.3):

āsīdanti viśālaśailaśikharabhraśyannadīnirjharāṃ
  śuklāpāṅgakulāni sūryakiraṇaiḥ śūnyāmaraṇyāvanīm |
āvartasphuṭapuṇḍarīkamukulapreṅkholanodgandhinā
  tṛpyanto marutā svapanti ca nadītīre bileṣūragāḥ ||

(iii) The beating of the drums announcing the approach of mid-day makes the parrots in the cages flutter out of fear; and all who had who had been engrossed in different action stop their work and listen to the drum. This natural scenery is presented by the poet beautifully as an example of Svabhāvokti (IV.2):

prāsādodarapuṣjitapratiravaprāgbhāradīrghīkṛtaṃ
  sadyaḥ paṣjaragarbha eva cakitānudbhrāmayantaṃ śukān |
kāryavyāpriyamāṇamānavamukhaṃ karṣantamātmonmukhaṃ
  madhyāhnāgamasūcanāya paṭaho dhatte dhvaniṃ tāḍitaḥ ||

(iv) Svabhāvokti has been handled effectively even while depicting an emotional moment. On seeing Jñāna Śarmā who had for long been his friend and had been away for sometime now, king Jīva is overwhelmed with joy and is moved emotionally beyond words that tears come from his eyes. His voice is choked as he controls his tears and addresses Jñāna Śarmā.

This moving scene is well presented by the poet quite naturally with no embellishments (VI.8):

ātha suciraviyogāt saṃdihānaḥ sakhitvekimapi vivaśacetā nirbharairharṣabhāraiḥ |
kathamapi samudaśrurbāṣpasaṃruddhakaṇṭho vacanamidamavocanmattahaṃsasvareṇa ||

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See, com. p. 82: ciraṃnidrābhaṅagena ye kila vikārāḥ prakṛtyaiva prādurbhaveyustānatra nipuṇaṃ svabhāvoktyā nirvarṇitavān kaviḥ |