Part 2.4 - Rājaśekhara’s view on Kāvya (poetry)

However, Rājaśekhara in this part directly not given any definition of Kāvya (poetry), but there also reflected his concepts about Kāvya (poetry) by the description of Kāvya-puruṣa.

In this chapter when Sarasvatī (Goddess of Learning) say to Kāvyapuruṣa

as: “śavdārthau te śarīraṃ , saṃskṛtaṃ mukhaṃ, prākṛtaṃ bāhu jaghanamapabhraṃśaḥ”.

There he also defines the characteristic of a kāvya (poetry). There Rājaśekhara gives the equal importance Śabda (word) and Artha (meaning) in a Kāvya (poetry).

Here this concept may be the echo of Bhāmaha’s definition of Kāvya (poetry). As:

‘śavdārthau sahitau kāvyam’^[1].

There Rājaśekhara also says about the Kāvya (poetry) is always:

‘samaḥ prasanno madhura udāra ojasvī cāsi’^[2].

Means:

“kāvya (poetry) is complete, happy, sweet and large-hearted.”

In the middle of ninth century A.D. Ānandavardhana says, in a Kāvya (poetry) Rasa-dhvani is soul of poetry (kāvyasātamā) when he tries to establish the Dhvani School in Sanskrit poetics. But in this view of Ānandavardhana have go to the vast controversy and this time flourished Yāyāvarīya Rājaśekhara in the domain of Sanskrit poetics with his magnum-opus Kāvyamīmāṃsā.

Thus Rājaśekhara may be says only rasa is Ātmā (soul) of Kāvya (poetry) and says:

“rasa ātmā, romāṇi chandsi, praśnottarapravalhikādikaṃ ca vākke liḥ, anuprāsopamādayaśca tvāmalaṅaku rvanti |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-III, Pp- 6

In this way according to Rājaśekhara, in a kāvya (poetry) Śabda (word) and Artha (meaning) is the major element. There Artha (meaning) are based on the Śabda (word) and both are called by the word ‘śavdārthau’.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Kāvyālaṃkāra (of Bhāmaha) of Bhāmaha: I/ 16

[2]:

Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-III, Pp- 6