Part 5n - Alaṃkāra (14): Bhrāntimān or error

Bhrāntimān^[1] or error is the apprehension, from resemblance, of an object as being what it is not, if it is suggested by poetical imagination. As for example, in the verse, paripītasarvamadirāraso’pyaho^[2] ……., there is the reference of one damsel’s sticking to the wine-glass, even though all the wine has been drank up. The similarity of the lustre of her lips reflected on the glass makes her fancy that there is still some wine in the glass, for which she is not ready to abandon that wine-glass.^[3] Hence, the verse under discussion stands as an illustration of the figure Bhrāntimān. Some other examples are—pīnatvadairghyādiguṇo’dhyaśāyi^[4] ….., asitaḥ śikhāmaṇirathetarayā^[5] …, āśaṅkyeva pidhāsyato’mbarapathaṃ^[6] ……..