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Dhvani in Kuntaka, Bhoja and others, and Gunībhūta-vyangya and Citra-Kavya. 1049 quarrel over this, but by and large, K. may be taken as a “pra-śisya" of a "mahāguru", whom he forsakes for an untrodden track of his own ! And for exactly this, we may not blame K., but love him all the more, for he is a lone traveller, uncompromising in a way, trying to get out of the vyañjanā-inhibition, and arriving at a more practicable, more pragmatic solution of literary beauty,
Thus, Ā. suggested a three-tier system, a tri-varga-vyavasthā, so to say, or perhaps a catur-varga-vyavastha as suggested by Jagannatha, which is smashed and put aside by K., to promote a 'class-less' or 'caste-less pattern, so to say, in the field of literary criticism. But alas, the 'cāturvarnya' of the dvanivādin, as it was firmly saddled on the guna - (Karma/alamkārā”di) vibhāga, held out firmly in the minds of many aesthetes and K.'s voice is lost into wilderness without finding followers, and he dies a martyr's death as a lone champion of his cause, both unheard and unsung. He does not seem to be a leader cast in the mould of Ā., the greatest, but a path-seeker guided by the torch of his inner conviction.
All this is spelt out here in all details with necessary references from the VJ. as follows:
We will now try to examine K.'s views on various aspects of poetry with an eye to his treatment of Ā.'s dhvani. We will follow in this discussion, the natural sequence of topics as read in the VJ. In the VJ. I. 2, (pp. 2, ibid) he promises to offer, "a fresh study of poetry, like an added ornament to it.” Needless to say, that he uses the word alamkāra in a wider context to designate the whole work itself, wherein topics, like simile and the like, form its subject matter. Actually, a critical appreciation of poetic beauty is his goal. For him, the word, 'alamkāra' in this wider context signifies 'poetic beauty', and 'kāvya' or 'poetry for him is ‘alamkārya', i.e. that which is to be adorned. He observes - (vrtti, on I. 2. VJ.) (p. 2, ibid) : alamkāro vidhīyate, alamkaraṇam kriyate. kasya ? kāvyasya. kaveḥ karma kāvyam; tasya.” For him, “kāvya' i.e. poetry is 'kaveḥ karma', i.e. poetic activity. So, whatever carries the stamp of being a poet's activity is poery for K. K. thus places the concept of poetry on a very broad base, perhaps intending to include everything beginning with abhidhā and ending with vyañjană under the same banner, provided it turns out to be a genuine 'kavi-karma'. So, for him, "Kāvya' is a solid, compact whole in itself, an abstraction revealed through the medium of signs called letters. It is, so to say, "akanda-buddhi-samāsvādya”. It is incapable of any analysis, because it is of the nature of synthesis. So, when you discuss 'poetry and 'poetic beauty', it is a discussion of academic matter only. The supreme reality is that poetry is gifted with an innate poetic beauty which can not be thought of separately. He observes :
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