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Dhvani was later taken over by the aestheticians who follow the grammarians' views in vital matters and styled it as the pair of word and sense, which is capable of suggesting a clear that sense that outshines the expressed meaning. It is Mammața uses Dhvani for both the Sabda and the Artha, i.e., the Kavya. It is also clear that Dhvani is a sense found only in literature. As indicated in the definition of Vyañjanavṛtti in Su. 20 of chapter one, this suggested sense presupposes reader the sympathetic and imaginative response of the or the Sahrdaya. Mammata's explanation of Dhvani as a term and a concept carries considerable weight since he is regarded as the staunchest supporter and the most authorised spokesmen of the Dhvani theory which was securely established in the Dhvanyaloka by Anandavardhana and which was ably explained by Abhinavagupta in his Locana Commentary.
The Theory of Dhvani or Poetic Suggestion
According to the Dhvani-theorists,
sense.
Dhvani is the soul of poetry and it is revealed by an entirely distinct power of a word called Suggestion or Vyañjana. This Dhvani, as a sense, is always Vyangya and is absolutely distinct from the Vacya sense, as well as the metaphorical or the indicated The Dhvanyaloka refers to three different schools of ancient Älamkarikas who were reluctant to admit that Dhvani or Vyangyartha is the soul of poetry. These are (1) the Abhāvavādins who are ignorant of the true nature of Dhvani being believers in the expressive capacity of words only; (2) the Lakṣaṇāvādins or Bhaktavādins who are troubled constantly by doubts concerning the existence of Dhvani as the most important element in (or the soul of) poetry; and lastly (3) the Anirdeśyavādins who suffer from an inability to define Dhvani in a logical way, though they accept that there is such a thing as Dhvani. But despite the opposition of these antidhvani theorists, slowly more and more theorists veered round the concept of Dhvani and it was finally raised to the status of the Atmā or soul of Poetry by the Dhvani-theorists.
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