Kalplata Vivek

Author(s): Murari Lal Nagar, Harishankar Shastry
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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10 at its subject in the absence of some other word like "Kavya'. Yet from the contents of Viveka, we can infer the scope of Kalpalata. This work purports to deal with Sanskrit Poetics. It is divided into four chapters called sections (paricchedas ). The first chapter deals with the blemishes (dosas) of Poetry, the second with the excellences (gunas) of Poetry, the third with the figures of sound (sabdalankaras ) and the last with the figures of sense (arthalankaras ). Thus it would appear that it leaves out certain controversial topics of the subject like, the definition of Poetry (Kavya-laksana), the purposes of Poetry (Kavyaprayojana ), the cause of Poetry (Kavya-hetu), the types of Poetry (Kavya-prakara) and so on. Inspite of this, Kalpalata seems to compress within its four chapters almost all the important topics of Alamkarasastra and tries to furnish, as its name Kalpalata suggests, all information and instruction about them. Viveka almost offers an apology for the addition of this new work, Kalpalata, to the already vast bulk of literature available on the subject. This reference helps us understand the scope and aim of Kalpalata. There are several dosas, gunas and alamkaras which are same in name though they are essentially quite different; there are others which are given different names by different authorities on Poetics though they are essentially the same. According to the above remarks from Viveka, Kalpalata undertook to analyse them and ultimately to bring out a syncretic reconciliation of the different views regarding the dosas, gunas and alamkaras. It thus appears that the author of Kalpalata took upon himself a very useful work of a highly critical nature. He has, in short, undertaken a survey of works on Poetics and opinions of writers on the subject right from Bharata down to Hemacandra and perhaps tried to evolve a synthesis therefrom. Scope of Pallava : Kalpapallava or Pallava, as it is often called, is, as we have seen, an auto-commentary ( svopajna-tika ) on Kalpalata. Its scope, therefore, must be essentially the same as that of the original work. But it explains and elaborates the latter. In this perhaps it is often terse, as Devasuri calls it a samketa. It is true that inspite of 1. नाममात्रभिन्नानां नाममात्राभिन्नानां दोषगुणालंकाराणाम् अस्मिन् ग्रन्थे मूलत एव यथाधिकार 341409927-4eart I ( Viveka P. 275, 11. 19-20 ) 2. यत्पल्लवे न विवृतम् / It is also called विवरण ( P. 320, 1. 21 ) 3. qua amfaait ... J9aforax 1 (Ibid P. 253, 1. 6 ) 4. area #8996a a ... I S. R. P. 29.