Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)

by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words

This page relates ‘Rajashekhara’s concepts of the Universe’ 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 8.1 - Rājaśekhara’s concepts of the Universe

In the begaining of seventeen chapters of Kāvyamīmāṃsā Rājaśekhara discussed the different opinion about the divisions of the universe.

C.f.

(i) jagajjagadekadeśāśca deśaḥ | “dyāvāpṛthivyātmakamekaṃ jagat” ityeke |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 89

The universe is a single one inclusive of both ‘Dyuḥ’ and ‘Pṛthivī’. Thus says that:

halamagu balasyaiko'naṅvānharasya na lāṅgalaṃ
  kramaparimitā bhūmirviṣṇorna gaurna ca lāṅgalam
|
pravahati kṛṣirnādyāpyeṣāṃ dvitīyagavaṃ vinā
  jagati sakale nedṛgdṛṣṭaṃ daridraku ṭu mbakam
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 89

(ii) “divaspṛthivyau dve jagatī ityapare |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 89

The universe is two as ‘Dyuḥ’ and ‘Pṛthivī’.

Thus says in quite change of ‘cāsya’ Instead of ‘vāsya’ in the Kāvyālaṃkāra of Bhāmaha as:

rūṇaddhi rodasī vā (cā)sya yāvatkīrttiranaśvarī |
tāvatkilāyamadhyāste sukṛtī vaibudhaṃ padam || ”

- Kāvyālaṃkāra of Bhamaha: Ch- 1/7
- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

(iii) “svargyamartyapātālabhedāttrīṇi jaganti ityeke |”

And,

tānyeva bhūrbhuvaḥsvaḥ” ityanye |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

There are three types of world i.e.

  1. Svargaloka (haven),
  2. Martyaloka (human world) and
  3. Pātālaloka (nether world).

Sometimes they are known by the name:

  1. Bhūḥ,
  2. Bhūvaḥ and
  3. Svaḥ.

Thus also says quoted as an example from ‘varṇaśle ṣa’ in the

Sarasvatīkaṇṭhāvaraṇa as:

tvameva deva pātālamāśānāṃ tvaṃ nibandhanam |
tvaṃ cāmaramarūdbhūmire ko lokatrayāyase || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

(iv) “maharjanastapaḥsatyamityetaiḥ saha sapta” ityapare |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

The number of worlds therefore seven is including with them:

  1. Maharloka,
  2. Janaloka,
  3. Tapoloka and
  4. Satyaloka.

Thus gives a description of the place of king Harṣa, the patron of Bāṇabhaṭṭa as:

saṃstambhinī pṛthunitambataṭairdharitryāḥ saṃvāhinī jalamucāṃ calake tuhastaiḥ|
harṣasya saptabhuvanaprathitorūkīrtteḥ prāsādapaṅktiriyamucchikharā vibhāti || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

(v) “tāni saptabhirvāyuskandhaiḥ saha caturdaśa” iti ke cit |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

Some says that,

“These seven words along with seven divisions of winds together from fourteen worlds”.

Thus, Rājaśekhara incorporated from Vāmana’s Kāvyālaṃkārasūṭra-vṛtti as:

niravadhi ca nirāśrayaṃ ca yasya sthitamanivartitakautukaprapañcam |
prathama iha bhavānsūkarmamūrtirjayati caturdaśalokavallikaṃ daḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90
- Kāvyālaṃkārasūṭra-vṛtti of Vāmana: Ch-IV/3/32

(vi) “tāni saptabhiḥ pātālaiḥ sahaikaviṃśatiḥ” iti ke cit |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

Another one thinks that, these fourteen worlds added with seven Pātālas (nether worlds) makes the total number of worlds twenty-one.

Thus says:

harahāsaharāvāsaharahāranibhaprabhāḥ |
kīrttayastava limpantu bhuvanānyekaviṃśatim || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

Then Rājaśekhara also recognized all these views and says that, collectively they are conceptualized as one but when extra-ordinarily conceptualized it becomes manifested in many forms.

C.f.

sarvamupapannam” iti yāyāvarīyaḥ |
aviśeṣavivakṣā yadekayati, viśeṣavivakṣātvanekayati
|

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVII, Pp- 90

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