Theory of Indian poetics

ASSIGNMENT

PAPER No. 3

The Literary Criticism

• Dabhi Rita A.
• M. A Sem :- 2
• Roll no. :- 20
• Topic :- The theory of Indian poetics
• email : dabhirita1198@gmail.com
• Enrollment no. :- 2069108420200007
• Submitted :-Department of English                             Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar
•                       University

♦️ Introduction :-

             The Sanskrit word for literature is Sahitya, which etymologically means coordination, balance, concord, and  contrast. Literature is defined by one school of Indian poetics as the art where the word and sense meet an equal term and enhance one another's beauty and worth. The word Sahitya was taken by Abhinavagupta when he described poetry as an overflowing of some emotion of a poet's heart into the heart of his readers or hearers. Indian Aesthetics takes its start from the projections of Bharata in his magnificent work entitled "Natyashastra". We have noted that Indian literary theories carry out a sustained analysis of how meaning is constituted in language, of form and devices. So, let's discuss the major theories of Indian poetics.

School	Thinkers	Texts
Rasa	Bharata	Natyashastra (Second century B.C.)
Alamkara	Bhanaha	Kavyalankara (Sixth century A.D.)
Riti	Vamana	Kavyalankarasutra ( Ninth century A.D.)
Vakrokti	Kuntaka	Vakroktjivita ( Eleventh century A.D.)
Guna - Dosa	Dandin	Kavyadarsa ( Listed above)
Dhvani	Anandavardhana	Dhvanyaloka ( Ninth century A.D.)
Aucitya	Ksemendra	Aucityavicaracarca Eleventh century A.D.)

📖 Rasa :-

                 Rasa literary means taste, relish, aesthetic, emotion etc. The theory of  rasa originated with Bharata in Natyashastra.  It claims that the object or meaning that is sought to be conveyed in literary compositions is in the nature of an  emotional effect of diverse human experience on men's mind and heart.The word 'rasa' is proved to have been in use as early as 200 BC. The Vedas and Upanishads explain the term in different yet congruous ways. Rasa signifies the aesthetic pleasure that the audience enjoys while witnessing the successful enactment of a play. Rasa is thus the favourable response to art.

                       The theory thus becomes in effect a theory of literary experience which is strongly rooted in the empirical human reality. Bharata , the first announcer of the theory, gives the most comprehensive analysis of its sources, nature and its categories. The rasa theory has been accepted as the core literary theory by all major poeticians  both before and after Abhinavagupta. Subsequently, the theory found major commentators in Dhanika Dhananjaya who re-examined Bharata's typology of drama and added to it a typology of uparupakas, subplay, play within plays, and one act plays.

📖 Alamkara :-

                       Bhamaha is the first alamkarika poetician. Bhamaha ( Kavyalankara)  talks of the pleasure of multiplicity of meaning inherent in certain alamkaras such as arthantaranyasa , vibhavana and samasokti. In Chapter 2 and 3 of Kavyalankara, he describes 35 figures of speech. Others who continued the tradition are Dandin, Udbhata and Vamana.  In anandavardhana, alamkara was sought to be integrated with dhvani and rasa.  There is a form of suggestion (dhvani) which is evoked by figures of speech and which  thus contributes to aesthetic experience (rasa). The literal meaning of alankara being embellishment, it can be equated with the western "metaphor". Alamkara are like beautiful jewels on a pretty woman; they enhance the beauty of literary  piece. They also help to draw a line of demarcation between prose and poetry.

                               

                            The categories of alamkara have been classified by different poeticians into different kinds of systems. For example, Rudrata divided all alankaras into two types-- those based on phonetics (shabdalankar) form and those based on meaning ( arthalankara). And then further subdivides each into four and five subtypes respectively. Further subclassification of these leads to a total of sixty-eight alamkaras. Ruyyaka classified alamkaras into seven classes on the basis of their content, on the basis of how meaning is constituted :

• Sadrsya ( similarity)
• Virodha ( opposition)
• Srnkhalabadha ( chain- bound)
• Tarka nyaya ( reasoning, logic)
• Lokanyaya ( popular logic)
• Kavyanyaya ( logic of poetry ) and
• Gudhartha pratiti ( inference of meaning)

 Mammata enumerates sixty-one figures and groups them into seven types.

•  Upma ( simile),
•  Rupaka (metaphor),
• Aprastuta prasamsa (indirect description),
•  Dipaka (stringed figures),
•  Vyatireka ( dissimilitude),
• Virodha (contradiction), and
• Samuccaya ( concatenation ).

📖 Riti :-

               Riti stands for the different styles of writing each of which portrays a different emotion. Riti is a theory of language of literature. Riti is described for the first time in Bharata's Natyashastra itself under the rubric of vrtti, it is Vamana who developed it into a theory. Vamana believes that Riti is a soul of poetry-- " ritiratma kavyasya".

                 Two other words used for riti are marga and vrtti. Letter Anandavardhana distinguished these styles on the basis of the use of particular kinds of compounds. Dandin uses the term marga and talks of two margas. Mammata designates the different modes as vrtti. Vishvanatha considers proper organisation of language as riti words and phrases have to be properly selected and organised in poetry and this is necessary for rasas and bhavas. Ritis are defined by gunas as well. Riti may be called 'diction', particularly when guna/ Dosa become part of the discussion. Here we find that Riti correlates with themes, effect on the heareres and sentiments. The riti theory is important because it is style that makes statements poetic.

📖  Dhvani :-

                       The dhvani theory was first stated by Anandavardhana in the ninth century in the Sanskrit treatise Dhvanyaloka. As articulated in dhvanyaloka, dhvani become an all embracing principle that explains the structure and function of the other major element of literature- the aesthetic effect (rasa),  the figural mode and devices (alankara), the stylistic values ( riti) and excellences and defects ( guna-dosa).

Dhvani theory is a theory of meaning, of symbolism, and this principle leads to the poetry of suggestion being accepted is the highest kind of poetry. Anandavardhana uses the term dhvani to designate the universe of suggestion,

'Kavyasya atma dhvani '

                                                          ~ ( Dhvanyaloka)

                    In Dhvanyaloka, Anandavardhana has presented a structural analysis of indirect literary meaning. In Todorov's view, Anandavardhana " was perhaps the greatest of all theorists of textual symbolism". And also here we find two main types of dhvani like, Sphota ( grammar) and Vyanjana  ( kavyashastra poetics).  Anandavardhana is openly indebted to Bhartrhari's Sphota theory and he acknowledged it in Dhvanyaloka. And also he proposes three levels of meaning, abhidha, laksana, Vyanjana. Here the literary meaning of  vyanjana, may be communicated by words, sentences, discourse, gesture and even sounds. The rasa theory was popularised by the dhvani theorists who linked it to the principle of dhvani. Dhvani is the method, the means for achieving or evoking rasa.Anandavardhana gives us extensive examples of practical criticism and literary analysis. His principle of dhvani, to be precise, means that, if there is more suggestion ( vyanjana) than statement ( vacya) in a literary piece, it contains dhvani. The dhvani theory meaning came in for criticism at the hands of natya and mimamsa thinkers.

📖  Vakrokti :-

                           Vakrokti (deviant speech) deals with syntax, and also Vakrokti is a theory of language and literature.  Kuntaka made vakrokti a full-fledged theory of literariness.  Kuntaka who gave the definition of vakrokti is "both words and meanings marked by artistic turn of speech" ( Vakroktjivita). Vakrokti literally means deviant or marked expression.  Kuntaka classifies vakrokti into six heads (1) in syllables, or their arrangements, (2) in the base substances, (3) in inflected forms of substantives, (4) in sentences, invading figure of speech, (5) in topics or sections, and (6) in the whole composition. These cover the entire range of literary compositions. Six gunas are identified in literary style : aucitya (propriety), saubhagya (splendour), abhijatya ( classicality), madhurya (sweetness), prasada (perspicuity), lavanya ( grace). These are defined as a kind of language used to achieve particular effects. Kuntaka incorporates rasa, alamkara, riti and Gina theories into his vakrokti siddhanta. And also vakrokti theory is a useful framework for stylistic analysis of literature.

📖  Aucitya :-

               Ksemendra  made aucitya the central element of literariness. Ksemendra defines aucitya as the property of an expression (signifier) being an exact and appropriate analogue of the expressed (signified).  The theory of property or appropriateness claim that in all aspects of literary composition, there is the possibility of a perfect, the most appropriate choice of subject, of idea, of words, of device. So, Ksemendra in his Aucityavicaracarca comments: aucityam rasasidhasya sthiram kavyasya j1vitam (aucitya is the life of rasa). The concept of propriety with reference to custom, subject, character and sentiment recurse in almost all theorists and is often discussed in association with figure of speech, guns/ Dosa and ritis. Anandavardhana relates this principle specifically to rasa.

📖  Conclusion :-

                       After discussing all schools or we can say that theory we find that, it is a very important point that all the critics tried to find the soul of poetry. And also each and every critic has their own belief and their own counterpoint to convince the readers. And also the rasa siddhanta occupies the pride of place among the school of Indian poetics.

📖 Work cited :

• Chaudhury, Pravas Jivan. “Indian Poetics.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 19, no. 3, 1961, pp. 289–294. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/428071. Accessed 8 Mar. 2020.

• Kamila, Kanchan. “A Comparative Study of the Indian Poetics and the Western Poetics/Prof. Mohit K.Ray.” Academia.edu - Share Research, www.academia.edu/35016023/A_Comparative_Study_of_the_Indian_Poetics_and_the_Western_Poetics_Prof._Mohit_K.Ray

• Raghavan, Venkatarama, and Nagendra. An Introduction to Indian Poetics. Macmillan and Company Limited, 1970.