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THE POETIC MEANING
The next few Sūtras of the first Chapter (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 ), seven Sūtras to be precise, with the gloss and the supplementary material collected in the Viveka Commentary exhaustively discuss the problem of the aesthetic meaning. Since Hemachandra has defined poetry as constituted by word and sense, devoid of blemishes, possessed of excellences and, as a rule, possessed of figures of speech and since he has already briefly explained Dosas, Gunas and Alamkāras in their relation to the principal element in a poem, viz., Rasa, he now takes up the question of words and meanings in poetry. In fact Mammata has treated of Word and Sense immediately after the definition and division of poetry since Word and Sense are the most important elements of a poem. However, as will be clear, Hemachandra's method of treatment is somewhat different. Types of Meaning : Hemachandra's Fourfold Classification
Words are of four kinds-Expressive, Metaphorical, Indicative and Suggestive, corresponding to the four kinds of Senses of these words - Expressed, Metaphorical, Indicated and Suggested. The gloss explains that the Expressive or the Denotative word conveys the primary or direct meaning, the Metaphorical word, conveys the metaphorical or figurative meaning which is based
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