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Dhvani in Kuntaka, Bhoja and others, and Guņībhūta-vyangya and Citra-Kāvya. 1145 this was something which could not have been totally rejected. We will go to see that he almost concedes that there is nothing on earth, no description whatsoever, which could not have even distant relation with rasā”di i.e. aesthetic relish, in the sense that even bare descriptions make for uddīpana-vibhāva in someway or the other. It is exactly this possibility which promotes Anandavardhana to accept, however tacitly, this variety of poetry as poetry, may be only for the beginners.
Anandavardhana further continues the discussion. He raises a question as to what is this 'Citra' kāvya, and answers for himself that it is that variety where there is no touch of suggested content. Actually the suggested content is said to be threefold. The objector says that of these three types the absence of two viz.' vastu vyangya and alamkāra-vyangya could be taken as the area of citra kävya. But in fact, no class of poetry is possible in which there is no involvement of rasa or bhāva, etc.-: "yatra tu rasā”dīnām a-visayatvam sa kāvya-prakāro na sambhavaty eva.” For there can be no poetry without theme or content or vastu : "yasmād a-vastusamsparsitā kāvyasya na upa-padyate." All the subjects in the universe become connected with some sentiment or emotion, at best in form of stimuli: "vastu ca sarvam eva jagad-gatam avaśyam kasyacid rasasya bhāvasya vā angarvam pratipadyate, antato vibhāvatvena." Sentiments are indeed so many states of mind; and nothing in the world can be imagined which does not bring about a particular state of mind in man. We may say that this is a great observation concerning human psychology. If anything is possible, which has no mental effect as its consequence, such a thing, then, can not be a poets concern at all. Now, when something does become a subject of the poets activity, how can one speak of it as 'citra' or bare portrait ? :" cittavrtti-viśesā hi rasā”dayah; na ca tad asti vastu kiñcid yan na citta-vrtti-viśesam upajanayati; tad anutpādane vā kavi-visayatā eva tasya na syāt, kavi-visayaś ca citratayā kaścin nirūpyate” It is possible that some poetic content takes the form of 'citra'.
We may observe that it is this inherent beauty of any content which becomes the subject of a poets activity, and also the beauty in itself of a poets efforts that have prompted Kuntaka to accept Vaktratā' as the 'Jivita' i.e. soul of poetry in place of the suggested content.
Anandavardhana knows that he cannot totally reject this approach to poetry. So, he accepts the fact that there is nothing on earth which is totally divorced from the cause of rasa-bhāva etc. But, he came across many trivial efforts on the parts of pseudo-poets '“kavim manyamānāh”, who placed there worthless pieces as poetry. Perhaps Anandavardhana was sick of such efforts and we may say, quite
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