Mudrarakshasa (literary study)

by Antara Chakravarty | 2015 | 58,556 words

This page relates ‘Use of Upama-alamkara’ of the English study on the Mudrarakshasa: an ancient Sanskrit dramatic play (Nataka) authored by Vishakhadatta which deals with the life of king Chandragupta. This study investigates the Mudra Rakshasa from a literary perspective, such as metrics, themes, rhetorics and other poetical elements. Chandragupta ruled the Mauryan Empire during the 4th century BCE, hence this text can also be studied as a historical textbook of ancient India.

3.4. Use of Upamā-alaṃkāra

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[Full title: Use of Alaṃkāra in Mudrārākṣasa: Arthālaṃkāras, Sādṛśyamūlaka (or Sādṛṣyagarbha) (1). Upamā]

Upamā comes in the first place amongst the Sādṛśyamulakālaṃkāra. It is called, sakalālamkaramulā. Upamā or Simile is the resemblance between two things expressed in a single sentence and unaccompanied with the statement of difference.^[1]

Bharata even says to the extent that, anything that denotes similarity is Upamā. cf.—

yat kiñcit kāvyabandheṣu sādṛśyenopamīyate/
upamā nāma sā jñeyā guṇakṛtisamāśrayā//^[2]

This alaṃkāra is so charming and attractive that every writer is lured in to useing this alaṃkāra in his literary piece according to necessity. Apayaīikṣita, the author of Citramīmāṃsā has rightly compared upamā with an ever charming heroine who is capable of performing different roles according to dramatic necessity.^[3]

In an Upamālaṃkāra, there remain four elements—

upameya—the thing which is to be resembled.
upamāna—the thing with which upameya is to be resembled.
sāmānya-dharma—the common characteristics between upameya and upamāna.
upamya-vāci-śabdāḥ—words indicating resemblance, like iva, sadṛśa, nyāya, etc.

Wherein all the four elements are present is called a Pūrṇopamā, the absence of any of them is a Luptopamā. In this way there are various divisions of Upamālaṃkāras. Viśākhadatta has nicely delineated different types of Upamālaṃkāras almost all over his drama.

Such as, in the first act, there is a verse—

śocayanto’vanatairnarādhipabhayāddhikśabdagarbhairmukhairmāmagrāsanato’vakṛṣṭamavaśaṃ ye dṛṣṭavantaḥ purā/
te paśyanti tathaiva samprati janānandaṃ mayā sānvayaṃ siṃheneva gajendramadṛśikharāt siṃhāsanātpātitaṃ//^[4]

Here, Cāṇakya wants to pull king Nanda down along with his successors like a lion pulling down an elephant from the top of a hill. Now, siṃha, gajendra, adṛśikhara are upamānas; Cāṇakya, sānvaya Nanda, siṃhāsana are upameyas and falling down is the sādhāraṇa-dharma or common characteristic herein. Therefore, this is a fine example of Pūrṇopamā which enhances the beauty of Vīrarasa herein.

Again, in the chanting of Vaitālika—

ākāśaṃ kāśapuṣpacchavimabhibhavatā bhasmanā śuklayantī śītāṃśoraṃśujālairjaladharamalināṃ kliśnatī kṛttimaibhīṃ/
kāpālīmudvahantī srajamiva dhavalāṃ kaumudīmityapūrvā hāsyaśrīrājahaṃsā haratu tanuriva kleśamaiśī śaradvaḥ//^[5]

There is Śliṣṭopamā. Because, the verse has dual meanings and, at the same time, contains all the elements of the Upamālaṃkāra. Over and above these, there are many verses in this drama comprising of different types of Upamālaṃkāras. We have cited here only two of them, but there are many more verses which can be mentioned here in the following. Such as, I.13,23,27; II. 3,4,6,8,9,16,17; III.5,8,9,11,25,27,28; IV.14,17; V. 10,13,21,22,23; VI. 1,5,6,10,11,13,16,18; VII.4,7,12,14…and so on.