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Sanskrit Aestheties
insight into the nature of poetry is, in point of depth, next only to that of the poet. Abhinavagupta thus defines the sahrdayas: "Those people who are capable of identifying with the subject-matter, as the mirror of their hearts has been polished through constant repetition and study of poetry, and who sympathetically respond in their own hearts-those (people) are known as sahrday as sensitive, sympathetic and responsive readers spectators."
येषां काव्यानुशोलनाभ्यासवशाद्विशदीभूते मनोमुकुरे वर्णनीयतन्मयी भवनयेोग्यता से स्वहृदयसंवादभाजः सहृदयाः ।
-Locana pp. 38-39
We thus find what place of supremacy pratibha enjoys in the realm of creative literature, one of the fine arts and we might go a step further and assert, in the sphere of all the fine arts.
Poets on the Nature of Beauty: Every one of us is familiar with the two oft-quoted subhasita type slokas :
किमप्यस्ति स्वभावेन सुन्दरं वाप्यसुन्दरम् | यदेव रोचते यस्मै भवेत्तत्तस्य सुन्दरम् ||
And,
दधि मधुरं मधु मधुरं द्राक्षा मधुरा सुधापि मधुरेव । तस्य तदेव हि मधुरं यस्य मनो यत्र संलग्नम् ।
"There is nothing in the world which is inherently beautiful or ugly. A thing which one likes becomes a thing of beauty to him."
And,
"Curds is sweet or pleasant or agreeable to taste, so is honey, so are grapes and so too nectar. Of these pleasant or agreeable things that thing alone, to which he is attached, is a pleasant or agreeable thing to him.”
Again,
तं चिय परमत्येणं रमणिज्जं जत्थ हिययवीसामो | हरिसंति असोयलया जेण पायप्पहारेहिं ॥
[ तदेव परमार्थेन रमणीयं यत्र हृदयविश्रामः । हृष्यन्ति अशोकलताः येन पादप्रहारैः ॥ ]
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