Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)

by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words

This page relates ‘Natyashastra of Bharata-Muni’ of the English study on the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara: a poetical encyclopedia from the 9th century dealing with the ancient Indian science of poetics and rhetoric (also know as alankara-shastra). The Kavya-mimamsa is written in eighteen chapters representing an educational framework for the poet (kavi) and instructs him in the science of applied poetics for the sake of making literature and poetry (kavya).

Part 2 - Nātyaśāstra of Bharata-Muni

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[Full title: Pre-dhvani theory of Sanskrit poetics (1): The Nātyaśāstra of Bharatamuni (2nd century B.C.–2nd century A.D.)]

Bharatamuni is traditionally regarded as the earliest known author of the poetical work Nāṭyaśāstra, which is a treatise on dramaturgy, poetics and relative subjects. It is divided by three parts i.e. sūtra, vṛtti and kārikā C.f.

“vistare ṇopadiṣṭānāmarthānāṃ sūtrabhāṣyayoḥ |
nivandho yaḥ samāsena saṃgrahaṃ taṃ vidurvudhāḥ ||
alpābhidhānenārtho yaḥ samāsenocyate vudhaiḥ|
sūtrataḥ sā tu viñjeyā kārikārthapravodhinī || ”

- Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata: VI/ 19-21

‘Nātyaśāstra as an encyclopedic is manual on theatre arts. Almost every aspect of drama and dramatic representation are discussed herein.’^[1] He was considered by the every following writer as the first exponent of Rasa theory, which is the logical to consider the Rasa School as the earliest expounded theory in Sanskrit Poetics. Bharatas’ greatest contribution to Sanskrit Poetics is his formulation of Rasasūtra, which explain the genesis of Rasa and universally accepted as the formula explaining the aesthetic experience of art.

“vibhāvānubhāvavyabhicārisaṃyogād rasaniṣpattiḥ |”

- Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata: VI/ 31

The importance of this Rasasūtra that, it is very clear from his statement and depend upon on this Rasasūtra later aestheticians developed their own theories of Rasaniṣpotti.

“nahi rasād ṛte kaścidartha pravartate |”

- Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata: VI/ 32

In the sixteenth chapter of the Nāṭyaśāstra, Bharatamuni has discusses in the various concepts which may be doubtlessly call the earliest specimens of poetics i.e. Lakṣaṇa, Guṇa, Doṣa and Alaṃkāra. There he gives as the requisites of kāvya, thirty-six Lakṣaṇa, ten Guṇa, ten Doṣas and four Alaṃkāras^[2], with his discussion of the literary aspects of drama. S. K. De realized that, ‘these apparently constituted the principle contents of the discipline as it existed at a very early period; and this may be taken, in the absence of other data, as the first known period in the history of Sanskrit Poetics’^[3].

However, the concept of underlying Lakṣaṇas is not very clear but it seems that the signified innate elements of beauty belonging to the body of poetry. According to C. Rajendra: ‘It is not surprising, therefore, that he concept of Lakṣaṇa is disregarded in later poetics which gives a prominent place for Alaṃkāras in its scheme’^[4]. In the ten Doṣas and ten Guṇas, he negated the Guṇas of the Doṣas. The Bharata’s scheme of Guṇa was virtually recognized by the latter Rīti-Guṇa theories of Bhāmaha and Daṇḍin. There Bharata has described four Alaṃkāras i.e. Upamā, Rūpaka, Dīpaka and Yamaka. Then Upamā is sub-divided into four kinds on the basis of number, Rūpaka and Dīpaka have no sub-types but Yamaka has divided into ten parts.