Appointment with Kalidasa

Author(s): G K Bhatt
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Appointment with Kalidasa
united as word and sense’.91 Reversing the simile it is possible to say that word and sense, especially in literary art, are as inseparably joined as Śiva and Pärvati. In the sphere of literature a word cannot exist without a signiticant sense and no sense can be imagined except through words. This togetherness (sāhit ya) of word and sense costitutes the texture of literary art (Sahitya-kalā). But this also means that words are important in literature only in so far as they convey a sense, namely the intent of the poet, the emotional experience he intends to communicate. The poets often forget, particularly in the composition of longer poems and in narrative or descriptive passages, the relative value of word and sense, and are tempted to play with words only. It is true that the play with words has an ornamental effect; figures of word like alliteration, rhyme, and the picturesque arrange nent of letters (citrabandha) which is a particular feature of Sanskrit poetry, owe their existence to word-play. It has a charm of its own; but it is not true or high poctry by common consent. Kālidāsa too was tempted to try his hand at word-play, as the nineth canto of Raghuvamsa shows; but the important thing is that he checked this temptation. The later Sanskrit poets revelled in the display of erudition, of mastery over words and in verbal acrobatics. In the history of Sanskrit literature this is a period of decadence. As a matter of fact, renowned literary critics and theorists had pointed out that poetry which has charm only of words and patterned arrangement of words, and of the manufactured ornaments of rhetorical figures, is of a very low order.92 The awareness, therefore, that Kālidāsa shows about the proper function of word and sense, and of the nature of high poetry, is very imporant for the art of literature.
Gañadāsa, the professor of dance in the Malavikāgnimitra has expressed some definite views on the nature and function of nitya. Natya, which for Kalidasa denotes dance and abhinaya, the histrionic or the representational aspect of drama, is described here as a 'visual sacrifice' (cākşușa kratu).93 A dramatic (or a dance) performance is to be enjoyed with our eyes (and ears); but in describing it as a sacrifice, a number of things are further suggested, like the grandeur and splendour of spectacle; association of religion and solemnity; the co-operation of many in a single accomplishment; a link joining several people from different levels of society in a team work; which are applicable to sacrificial as well as dramatic performances, Kālidāsa states through Gandāsa, that näțya has two forms, the vigorous and the tender, demonstrated by the tändava and the lasya of Rudra-Siva and Umā. It may be assumed that a dramatic spectacle was in the early stages a mimetic dance performance. This is borne out by the information available from the Nāļ yaśāstra of Bharatamuni; and Kalidāsa is probably speaking here about the origin and evolution of drama as a performing art.94 From the point of view of the audience there is no doubt that drama is in its own class as a source of entertainment for all kinds of tastes. It is so because drama represents the many facets of human life; and it is one form of art which is a meeting place of several other arts like literature, dance, music, histrionics, architecture, engineering. painting and other handicrafts.