________________
here. This statement can either give rise to a doubt (Sandeha) or deny what is said before (Akşepa) or laydown a universal proposition, Arthāntaranyāsa, but none of these ways or figures can agree with the principal sense of the verse. Whether the figure in the last half-verse is Sandeha or Akşepa or Arthāntaranyāsa, it in no way can establish Rāvana to be a hero in religion, i.e. Dharmavira. Hemachandra's remark in the gloss clearly shows that the speech of Janaka should have ended with the words a Tau, for, Rāvana harasses and tortures the world and so he is unfit to be a Dharmavīra for whom Janaka has great regard. Indeed Janaka takes into account all the good qualities of Rävaņa as these show him to be a Dharmavira, but unfortunately he is Rāvana, a dispicable torturer of mankind and so all his virtues come to nought. His prowess, his deep learning, his devotion to Lord Siva, his divine and resplendent abode, Lankā, his birth in an exalted family -- if all these qualities are found in an impious and antisocial man, they are worthless. The verse is well-sustained upto this point. But the last half-line beginning with Kva nu punah does not agree with the tone and the tenor of the verse, even if that line is interpreted to yield either the figure Sasandeha or Āksepa or to consider the sentence Nedrgvaro labhyate as containing a general proposition. The idea of Dharmavira, which is the principal sense of the verse is not at all heightened or intensified by these figures. The verse Kopatkomala etc. (KAS. aloss: verse-9) illustrates "not pressing the figure too far", Natyantanirvahah. A poet intent only on the delineation of a sentiment will always cut short a slightly introduced figure to maintain the effect of the sentiment. This verse from Amaru describes a lover being taken to task by his beloved in a soft and tender manner for his flirtations with another woman, and declares that such a lover is really fortunate. In this verse, we have a metaphor in the noose of her creeper-like arms' (Bāhulatikāpāśa) which is. appropriately cut short. Otherwise, as explained in the Viveka Commentary, which brings out the hidden sense of
86
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org