Part 7.14 - Poetic conventions regarding to the God Kāmadeva

In poetic convention, there are four types of conventions relating to the Kāmadeva viz.

1. Kāmadeva is corporeal and non-corporeal,
2. Kāmadeva’s arrows are flowers and bow is the rainbow,
3. The row of bees is his bow string and
4. The monster and the fish on his banner.

(i) In the Kumārasaṃbhava illustrate the non-corporeal Kāmadeva by the śloka:

“krodhaṃ prabho saṃhara saṃhare ti yāvad giraḥ khe marutāṃ caranti |
tāvatsa vahnirbhavanetrajanmā bhasmāvaśeṣaṃ madanaṃ cakāra || ”

- Kumārasambhava of Kālidāsa: Canto-III/ 72

Therefore Rājaśekhara says about the non-corporeal nature of Kāmadeva as:

“dhanurmālā maurvī kvaṇadalikulaṃ lakṣyamabalāmano
  bhedyaṃ śabdaprabhṛti ya(taya) ime pañcaviśikhāḥ |
iyān jetuṃ yasya tribhuvanamanaṅgasya vibhavaḥ
  sa vaḥ kāmaḥ kāmāndiśatu dayitāpāṅgavasatiḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVI, Pp- 87

And the corporeal nature of Kāmadeva as:

“ayaṃ sa bhuvamatrayaprathitasaṃyamaḥ śaṅkaro
  bibhartti vapuṣā'dhunā virahakātaraḥ kāminīm |
anena kila nirjitā vayamiti priyāyāḥ karaṃ
  karaṇe paritāḍayan jayati jātahāsaḥ smaraḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVI, Pp- 87

Here, from the both of the śloka describe the Kāmadeva is corporeal and noncorporeal in the poetic composition.

(ii) In the poetic composition, Kāma is described endowed with Vasanta-Kāla, in which the flowers get bloomed and attract all living being with its smell. Rājaśekhara doesn’t accept these types of poetic convention in poetic descriptions.

In the Naiṣadhayacarita illustrate this flowery bow of Kāmadeva as:

“rajapadaṃ ṣaṭapadakojustam hitvātmanaḥ puṣpamayaṃ purāṇaṃ |
avyatmabhūrādriyatām sa bhaimayā bhūyugamantaradṛṣṭamuṣṭicāpam || ”

- Naiṣadhayacarita of Śriharṣa

Here in this śloka describe the bow of Kāma is made by flowers.

The five arrows of Kāmadeva i.e. Aravinda, Aśoka, Cuta, Navamalika and Nīlotpala are explained in the Amarkoṣa as:

“śambarārirmanasijaḥ ku sumeṣurananyajaḥ |
puṣpadhanvā ratipatirmakaradhvaja ātmabhūḥ || ”

- Amarkoṣa of Amarsiṃha: I/ 1/ 27

In the Gītagovinda, Joydeva also explain about this concept and compare the lips, throat, eyes, nose and teeth of Rādha with the Bandhuka, Madhuka, Nīlotpala, Tila and Kunda flowers. But Rājaśekhara not recognized these types of convention and not gives any such illustration in his Kāvyamīmāṃsā.

(iii) In this types of convention has been illustrated in the Ṛtusaṃhāra as:

“praphu llacūtāṅku ratīkṣṇasāyako dvirephamālāvilasaddhanurguṇaḥ |
manāṃsi vedvuṃ surataprasaṅgināṃ vasantayoddhā samupāgataḥ priye || ”

- Ṛtusaṃhāra of Kālidāsa: Ch-VI/1

Here the Kāma, the God of Eros describe in the form of a warrior. However Rājaśekhara doesn’t mention about this convention.

(iv) In this popular convention is included among the celestial convention by Rājaśekhara, but in the Kāvyānuśāsanaviveka Hemacandra says it as the niyamas. In the works of Kavikalpalatāvṛṭṭi and Alaṃkāraśekhara also agree with Hemacandra’s concepts.

To illustrated in this convention Rājaśekhara says that

“cāpaṃ puṣpamayaṃ gṛhāṇa makaraḥ ke tuḥ samucchrīyatāṃ
  cetolakṣyabhidaśca pañca viśikhāḥ pāṇau punaḥ santu te |
dagdhā kāpi tavākṛteḥ pratikṛtiḥ kāmo'si kiṃ gūhase
  rūpaṃ darśaya nātra śaṅkarabhayaṃ sarve vayaṃ vaiṣṇavāḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVI, Pp- 86

And also,

“mīnadhvajastvamasi no na ca puṣpadhavā ke liprakāśa tava manmathatā tathāpi |
itthaṃ tvayā virahitasya mayopalabdhāḥ kāntājanasya jananātha ciraṃ vilāpāḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVI, Pp- 86

Here the both śloka describe Kāmadeva as monster-bannered and fish-bannered.