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Definition and Scope of Poetry figures of speech such as, 'rūpaka' i.e. metaphor etc. as external. They hold learning concerning nouns and verbs (i.e. grammatical accuracy in use of language) as (real) ornamentation of language. This is called (only) correct use of words (by us). The expertness concerning (the beauty) of meaning is not like this. For us, both the beauty of word and sense is equally welcome." By this beauty of word and sense Bhāmaha hints at poetic beauty as a whole, including the correctness of language from the point of view of grammar, and also figures of speech of both word and sense, and also 'poetic beauty in general caused due to any source of charm in poetry. We may quote Bhāmaha's exact words here which read as :
“rūpakā"dim alamkāram bāhyam ācakşate pare | supām tinām ca vyutpattim vācām vāñcchanty alamkrtim || (I. 14)
tad etad āhuḥ sausabdyam nā'rtha-vyutpattir īdṛśī | śabdábhidheyálamkāra
bhedād istam dvayam tu naḥ ll” (I. 15) Thus purity of language from the point of view of grammar is only one aspect - of poetic beauty, and also the fundamental one with which efforts in t of poetry should start. But it is not an end in itself. The wider scope of poetry, say poetic beauty, is hinted at by Bhāmaha when he is open to incorporate any source of beauty - alamkarana-in his concept of poetry. We may also observe that a difference of opinion concerning what makes for natural beauty in poetry and which are the external or artificial devices causing or adding to poetic beauty, must have existed in circles of literary critics even prior to Bhāmaha. Perhaps Bhāmaha tried to bridge the gulf, and move in the direction of harmoney. Bhāmaha is definitly aware of the wider connotation of the term 'alamkāra' as, "source of poetic beauty in general” when he refers to what he terms as, "vācām alamkřtih” - i.e. beauty of (poetic) language." We will go to see later how Vāmana has clearly used the term 'alamkāra' in the wider sense of 'saundarya' or 'poetic beauty' when he observes, “kāvyam grāhyam alamkārār”, “saundaryam alamkāraḥ”, (Vāmana, I. i; 1, 2). Perhaps the origin of this thought-current was much older than Vāmana and Bhāmaha. As observed earlier, Bhāmaha also clearly distinguishes between poetic beauty caused by mere grammatical correctness, and poetic beauty caused
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