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Chapter XI Classification of Poetry
(Criticism Oriented)
(Criticism Oriented; - i.e. dhvani, gunībhūta-vyangya, citra, or uttama, madhyama, avara - etc.)
It has to be clearly understood in the very beginning that, taking into account the available documents, it is Ānandavardhana's Dhvanyaloka, which is the very first of its type in attempting the classification of poetry into what is termed dhvani', 'gunībhuta-vyangya', and 'citra' form purely criticism point of view. Thus any piece of poetry, be it a single independent verse, a muktaka, or a very large composition a prabandha, both in verse and prose such as the mahākāvya or a kathā or an ākhyāyirā, or a campū etc. can be put under dhvani', or the other two as well. This is classification based purely on criticism and that too from a very very special angle.
Looking at oldest available documents, it was Anandavardhana, who was the first to apply the measure of implicit sense, or 'pratīyamāna artha', in evaluating and classifying poetry. This approach of evaluating and classifying poetry from the angle of the pratiyamāna or implicit sense, was perhaps a movement in poetic criticism. Anandavardhana does not flout or discard classification of poetry from the angle of external form such as gadya or prose, padya or verse, or mixed, and also 'that which is to be presented on the stage, i.e. preksya', or otherwise, etc. He accepts all these formal types and mentions a number of them as seen in the earlier chapter. But his implicit-sense-biased thrust is having totally new dimensions and being lucky in having followers such as the great Abhinavagupta, and Vägdevatavatāra Mammata, and a host of talented critics of literary aesthetics ending with the greatest viz. PunditarājaJagannātha, Āhandavardhana was successful in establishing, i.e. promoting, a
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