Abhidha

Author(s): Tapasvi Nandi, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 30

[21]
the signifier and the meaning' is the signified. One might object that the indicative and suggestive words too which have their own signification may yet be termed word' and the above statement would illustrate the fallacy of "too narrow”. Our reply is that they are expressive words by implication, the metaphorical application being based on their similarity with denotative words. Similarly, the meanings alluded to are as good as denoted meaning because of the similarity in point of being understood. Thus, although 'signifying' and 'being signified' are enough qualifications to mark off the nature of word and meaning everywhere in the practical world, they do not serve the purpose of poetry whose province is supra-mundane. Therefore, their essence in the world of poetry deserves to be pointed out clearly as is done in the next verse.”
One thing is clear. Kuntaka knows the difference between pure abhidhā, gaunī, laksaņā and vyañjanā. But he refuses to accept any scheme of śabdavrttis as is done by the Kashmir school. Bhāmaha had rejected certain alamkāras as 'vārtä', and promoted the cause of "vakrābhidheya-sabdoktiḥ”. Ānandavardhana had also advised the poet to be in search of 'special word and sense that make for poetry : “yatnataḥ pratyabhijñeyau, tau sabdārthau mahākaveh” Dhv. I. 8. Kuntaka therefore chooses to concentrate only on the poetic use of word and sense and as he has to give some name to this special poetic power of a word, he gives the name 'abhidhā' to it, which is not the technical abhidhā of the Kashmir school.
Kuntaka, it seems, has no concern for the fool-proof scheme of word / meaning / word-power, as seen in the Kashmir school of thought. He is concerned only with the poetic. On the otherhand we saw Mukula carrying on from grammar and Mimāmsā, but ending in poetry. Bhoja has a much broadbased scheme as we will go to observe and he is trying to absorb both nonpoetic and poetic literature. His scheme with twelvefold relationship of word and meaning of course aims at the poetic in the end. He takes care to illustrate the varieties and sub-varieties of first eight varieties of sähitya from poetic literature and many of his illustrations are read as this or that variety of dhvani in the Dhv. So, clearly we have two trends of thought. One represented by