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Prakrit Verses in Sanskrit Works on Poetics
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anthology one will not find the name of a single lover. In Vidyākara's section on villains one finds no villain's name; in the section on good men no individual good man is so identified that we could know him from other good men.94 We know nothing of the personal lives of Sanskrit poets. The persons here have melted into the types of poet. One may remark that impersonality appears in its extreme form in India only in Sanskrit." This observation of H.H. Ingalls with reference to Sanskrit love poetry in Subhāsitaratnakośa is equally true of Prakrit love poetry as represented in Gathāsaptaśati, Vajjālaggaṁ and other Prakrit anthologies.
This preference for the theme of love and the erotic sentiment should be easy to understand on psychological grounds : Love is the most dominant of all feelings, and is easily within the experience of all.” Anandavardhana was fully conversant with human psychology so well expressed by Bhāmaha :
"They (say princes undergoing instruction or pupils in general) study śāstras if they are mixed with sweet pleasurable rasa. Children who first lick honey easily take a bitter dose of medicine."96 Keeping in mind this aspect of human psychology Anandavardhana most probably chose to cite erotic Prakrit găthas to illustrate the theory of dhvani and its varieties. His lead is enthusiastically followed by later alamkarikas, particularly by Bhoja who cited in his two alaṁkāra works about two thousand Prakrit verses.
14. Prakrit Poetry highly erotic but not obscene : In some quarters it is alleged that the ālamkārikas cite Prakrit verses which are
94) Vidyākara's Subhășitaratnakośa translated by Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Harward
University Press, 1965. 95) तत्र कामस्य सकलजातिसुलभतयात्यन्तपरिचितत्वेन सर्वान् प्रति हृद्यता ।
- Abhinavabhārati Vol. I, p. 267 And, HIT: Port forha: goed i
- śrgāra-Prakāśa XIII, p. 565 And also, Ret R HIRUT AUTHafaqurace poteze: Cho AUT TETTHAT:
: - Dhvanyāloka III. 29-30 96) Falcantara ASi Qiyayayout प्रथमालीढमधव: पिबन्ति कटुभेषजम् ।।
- Bhāmaha : Kāvyālaskāra V. 3
