Kavyanushasana Critical Study

Author(s): A N Upadhye
Publisher: A N Upadhye

Page 95

of the leading lights of ancient theories on poetics such as Bhāmaha, Dandin, Udbhața, Rudrata and others. As all these theorists considered poetry to be a togetherness of word and sense, it followed for them that beauty of word and beauty of meaning should constitute the beauty of the whole poetic work. Hence, the figures of speech both pertaining to the word and the sense came to occupy a very important place in Poetics and consequently entire treatises came to be written on the subject of Alamkāra, and most of them were titled as works on Alamkāraśāstra. This state of affairs in that early period of Sanskrit poetics unmistakably points to the central place assigned to 'Alamkāra' in poetry. According to prominent authors like BhāmahaUdbhata and others. there can hardly be any poetry in the absence of figures. In fact, in their theories, 'Alamkāra' was considered to be the main source
ic beauty and the most important element of the poetic expression. An even the Riti School, which laid much store by Guņa, gave equal importance to Alamkāra. Vāmana, for instance, declares that the term Kāvya properly applies to aword and a sense whose charm is enhanced by the Guņas and the Alainkāras and considers them to be the sine qua non of poetry.
But with the advent of the Dhavani School, there arose a new kind of poetics which not only postulated Rasa or Dhvani to be the soul of poetry but relegated word, sense, excellences etc. to a subordinate position. Thus the new School of Poetics completely revolutionised the idea of poetry as well as the concept of poetic beauty. Keeping Rasa or Dhvani at the centre of the poetic process, it overturned the old theories of Alamkāra, Riti etc, as the chief element in poetry, and reorganized the various elements in relation to Rasa or Dhvani. which was termed the soul of poetry. The author of the Dhvanyāloka clearly says that Dhvani is the soui of a poem and Rasadhvani is the best type of Dhvani. This Rasadhvani. occurs where Rasa, Bhāva, Rasābhāsa, Bhāvabhāsa etc. constitutes the principal element and where the words, the expressed
70