Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara (Study)

by Debabrata Barai | 2014 | 105,667 words

This page relates ‘Characteristics of Grishma-kala (summer season)’ 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 8.14 - Characteristics of Grīṣma-kāla (summer season)

According to Rājaśekhara, Gṛīṣma-kāla (summer season) is the last in the rotation of ṛtu-circle. In this time flourishes with the blossoming of Navamallikā, Śirīsa, Kāñcanaketakī and Dhatakī in full luster. Young couples use dates, fruit of rose-apple tree, Panasa, Āmra (mango), Moca, Priyala, Pugī and Coconut to remove their weariness and sloth and indulge in amorous past-time.

C.f.

kharjūrajambūpanasāmrāmocapriyālapūgīphalanālike raiḥ |
dvandvāni khedālasatāmu(ma)pāsya ratānusandhānamihādriyante || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 101

Due to the Prickly heat of this time, the sources of water supply and wells are dried up. During the hot noon time traveler’s crowd around cisterns or wells, (a drink made of barley water) Śattu is pleasing. Rājaśekhara says that, to set relief from the severe heat of summer, people should sleep at the other half of the days, engage in water sports.

The moonlight like the cool sandal paste, the waft of breeze coming in through the windows and the drops of water which scatter due to movement of the fans are the offerings of the summer seasons.

C.f.

candrikā candanapaṅkṛhadyā yā jālamārgānilavīcimālā |
yā tālavṛntairudabinduvṛṣṭirjalāñjaliṃ sā śucaye dadāti || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 107

The pearl-necklace besmeared with sandal paste and garland with lotus stalks will surely convert the summer to winter feelings.

C.f.

muktālatāścandanapaṅkadigdhā mṛṇālahārānusṛtā jalārdāḥ |
strajaśca maulau smi(si)tacampakānāṃ grīṣme'pi so'yaṃ śiśirāvatāraḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 107

The deer’s are suffered in the woods as if a mirage. The water in the rivers is reducing to a trickle due to drying up of water the living creatures in the ponds appear desperate. To escape from the evils of summer young girls smear sandal paste and wear pearl wreath on their breasts. Peoples are sleep on plantation leaves made beds.

The Mallikā flower worn in the neck may turn prickly hot summer into winter.

C.f.

hamyaṃ ramyaṃ candrikādhautṛpaṣṭhaṃ kāntocchiṣṭā vāruṇī vārimiśrā |
mālāḥ kaṇṭhe pāṭalāmallikānāṃ sadyo grīṣmaṃ hanta hemantayanti || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

In this way it is seems that, the concept of Ṛtus descriptions in the Rājaśekhara ’s Kāvyamīmāṃsā the images are associated with the human life. There Rājaśekhara discusses the season scientifically as well as poetically. In the descriptions of seasons Rājaśekhara has been influence by description of Vedas, Kālidāsas and Kauṭilyas. The idea of origin of the seasons is incorporated from the Vedas and Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra, than the concepts of the unit of time has promulgation from Taiṭṭiriya-Saṃhitā. In this description of Kāvyamīmāṃsā we may recall the Kālidāsas’s description of season in the Ṛtusaṃhāra. However, there it is noted that, the description of season in the Ṛtusaṃhāra is full of romantic way but Rājaśekhara’s description is associated only to the factual enumeration.

In the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, the four stage concepts of season by Rājaśekhara are very interesting. Those are:

  1. Ṛtusandhi,
  2. Śaiśava,
  3. Prauḍhi and
  4. Anuvṛtti.

C.f.

caturavasthaśca ṛturupanibandhanīyaḥ | tadyathā — sandhiḥ, śaiśavaṃ, prauṭhiḥ, anuvṛttiśca |”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

The Ṛtusandhi is the meeting points of two seasons. Ācārya Bharatamuni, Vāmana and Bhojarāja also discusses about this Ṛtusandhi in their works.

In the twenty-eight chapter of Nāṭyaśāstra, Bharatamuni says about the Ṛtusandhi while discussing about the concepts of music.

C.f.

chāyāsu bhavati śītaṃ prasvedī bhavati cātapasthasya |
na ca nāgato vasantī na ca niḥśeṣaḥ śiśirakālaḥ || ”

- Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharatamuni: XXVIII/ 34

In the Vasanta-kāla, a man seated in the shadow to feels cold. The sun rays make one sweat is the quality of Śiśira. In the junction time of Vasanta and Śiśira, neither the spring became mature nor does the winter go out completely.

Ācārya Vāmana in his Kāvyālaṃkārasūṭra-vṛtti says about the Ṛtusandhi as:

cyutasumanasaḥ ku ndāḥ puṣpodgameṣvalasā drumā
  malayamarutaḥ sarpantīme viṭuktadhṛticchidaḥ
|
atha ca savituḥ śītollāsaṃ lunanti marīcayo
  na ca jaraṭhatāmālambamte klamodayadāyinīm
|| ”

- Kāvyālaṃkārasūṭra-vṛtti of Vamana: Ch-III/ 2 /5

From this concepts of Vāmana; Rājaśekhara takes the idea by replacing a quarter in the place of the second quarter and says the union Śiśira and Vasanta as:

cyutasumanasaḥ ku ndāḥ puṣpodgameṣvalasā drumā
  manasi ca giraṃ gṛhṇantīme giranti na kokilāḥ
|
atha ca savituḥ śītollāsaṃ lunanti marīcayo
  na ca jaraṭhatāmālambante klamodayadāyinīm
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

Then Rājaśekhara gives the explanation of śaiśava by the śloka as:

garbhagranthi| vīrudhāṃ sumanaso madhye'ṅkuraṃ pallavā
  vāñchāmātraparigrahaḥ pikavadhūkaṇṭhodare pañcamaḥ
|
kiṃ ca trīṇi jaganti jiṣṇu divasairdvitrairmanojanmano
  devasyāpi cirojjhitaṃ yadi bhavedabhyāsavaśyaṃ dhanuḥ
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 108

Here describes the features of the commencing of Vasanta-ṛtu.

To illustrated the Prauḍhi as:

sāmyaṃ samprati sevate vicakilaṃ ṣāṇāmāsikairmauktikaiḥ
  kāntiṃ karṣati kāñcanāraku sumaṃ māñjiṣṭhadhautātpaṭāt
|
huṇīnāṃ ku rute madhukamuku laṃ lāvaṇyaluṇṭākatāṃ
  laṭīnābhinibhaṃ cakāsti ca patadvṛntāgrataḥ ke saram
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

Here describes the excessive beauty of the spring by blossoming of various types of flowers.

When the sings, flowers etc. of the season gone by are visible in the present one, thus it is known by the name Anuvṛtti.

I.e.

atikrāntartuliṅgaṃ yatku sumādyanuvartate |
liṅgānuvṛttiṃ tāmāhuḥ sā ñjeyā kāvyalokataḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

It is can be learnt from the world of poet’s description of the blooming of lotuses in Vasanta, which is actually a feature of Gṛīṣma.

To illustrated this by the śloka as:

khaṃ vaste kalaviṅkakaṇṭhamalimaṃ kādambinīkambalaṃ
  carcāṃ pārayatīva darduraku laṃ kolāhalairunmadam
|
gandhaṃ muñjati siktalājasadṛśaṃ varṣeṇa dagdhā sthalī
  durlakṣyo'pi vibhāvyate kamalinīhāsena bhāsāṃ patiḥ
|| ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

One and the same flower while bloomed in summer is known as Dhūlīkadamba and in Varṣā-kāla (rainy season) it is known as Dhārākadamba.

C.f.

graiṣmikasamayavikāsī kathito dhūlīkadamba iti loke |
jaladharasamayaprāptau sa eva dhārākadambaḥ syāt || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 109

There are some believed that, in a year constitute by five seasons and they make Hemanta (dewy season) and Śiśira (winter season) being alike the nature description of both is similar.

There also pointed out that in twelve months in a year and five or six seasons.

C.f.

dvādaśamāsaḥ saṃvatsaraḥ, pañcartavo hemantaśiśirayoḥ samāsena” [ iti ] |

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 110

But Rājaśekhara think that the commencement and continuation of various seasons are described in different form. There any poet always tries to establish, try to highlighting the different characteristics of individual seasons.

Rājaśekhara advices to the poets that they should never record the things of different places in their work, they always follow the ways, methods or techniques of his predecessors.

In the different types of flower, which are blooming in different types of season thus they have different types of specialty i.e.

  1. Śobhā (beauty),
  2. Andhas (food),
  3. Gandha (smell),
  4. Rasa (essence),
  5. Phala (fruits) and
  6. Arcana (worship).

C.f.

śobhāndhogandharasaiḥ phalārcanābhyāṃ ca puṣpamupayogi |
ṣoḍhā darśitametsyātsaptamanupayogi [ tathā ] || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 111

To Rājaśekhara the fruits are divided into six kinds-

antarvyājaṃ bahirvyājaṃ bāhyāntarvyājameva ca |
sarvavyājaṃ bahuvyājaṃ nirvyājaṃ ca tathā phalam || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 111

The six types of fruits are:—

  1. Antarvyāja (useless on the inside),
  2. Bahirvyāja (useless outside),
  3. Bāhyāntarvyāja (useless in inside and outside),
  4. Sarvavyāja (useless all throughout),
  5. Bahuvyāja and
  6. Nirvyāja (without any useless part).

Then Rājaśekhara illustrates all of them and says: Lakuca are Antarvyāja, bananas belong to Bahirvyāja, mangoes are Bāhyāntarvyāja, Kakubha fruits are Sarvavyāja, the jack fruits is Bahuvyāja and Kapiṭṭha fruits are Nirvyāja.

Therefore Rājaśekhara says to the poets that, they never try to describe different seasons together in one particular place, but one or two places may be used for one season in his composition. To describe the seasons in the opposing order is not a defect for the poet, but the context of the narrative should be the reciprocation appear like an excellence.

The poet who does not care for the concept of time and season will be confused and who competent to follow this will be a Mahākavi (great poet).

C.f.

iti kālavibhāgasya darśitāृvattirīdṛśī |
kaveriha mahānmoha iha siddho mahākaviḥ || ”

- Kāvyamīmāṃsā of Rājaśekhara: Ch-XVIII, Pp- 112

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