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4 DWĀTRIMSIKAS OF SIDDHASENA
175
clever and severely critical discussion proves up to the hilt that there is no connection necessarily between old and truth. In proving that old is not necessarily always gold, he takes a very bold stand", and does not care for the slander that he is likely to incor at the hands of his orthodox enemies and takes bis stand merely on merci. less reasoning and logic, and asks his readers boldly to kick a thing away, if it is false and accept, if it is logically sound. Ultimately on the strength of the same logic he accepts Mahā vira as the highest Āpta. Kā lidāsa in his Mālavikāgnimitra bas severely condemned the attitude of blind conservatism, the attitude of regarding everything old as gold and to see defects in everything new; but then he has limited his remarks to the province of poetry only. Siddhasena, on the other hand, offers his remarks in a similar strain, but applies them impartially to every possible thing and thus widens its range. We have already said that this Dwā. of Siddhagena is a vast commentary on the Sūtra-like verse“ gerufania 7 Eng Far" etc. of Kálidāsa in Mālavikāgnimitra. The 4th line of Kālidāsa's verse has been adopted by Siddhasena with a very slight change in words and idea in his first Dwā.
In the 8th Dwă, there is a critical discussion of JalpKathā employed for the sake of a rival's defeat, and one's own victory. Even between brothers who employ this trick of Jalpa enmity is sure to arise. Persons taking
1 Cf. Dwa.6.1, 5, 8, 16.
2 Cf. FU4rsyafazarat: Dwa. 1. 9 with 78: 994qaaga: Malavika. Act I prologue.
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