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‘Dhvani' and other thought-currents such as guņa,......
1155 "Those which inhere in this principal element are regarded as qualities (=excellences). And figures are to be known as those that are associated with its parts even like ornaments such as the braeclet." (II. 6)
Those that ever inhere in the principal element of poetry) viz. sentiment etc., are qualities like the quality of valour and so forth (in the world). On the other hand, those that relate to its component parts only, viz., the expressed sense and the expression, are to be regarded as figures or ornaments like the bracelet and so on (in the world).” (Trans. K. Kris., pp. 49, ibid).,
Anandavardhana clearly observes that 'gunas' or excellences are primarily connected with 'rasā"di', the soul like bravery or other quality of a person, and figures are like ornaments placed on a human body. Now, we have to be very careful in understanding this metaphorical use of language. Actually poetry itself is an abstract art, it is abstraction, and so there is nothing physical about it in the sense in which we understand physicality. It is foolish,-and some of the so called selfanointed experts of sāhitya-śāstra who write in Hindi, or any other modern Indian language such as Gujarati, or even some of those who write in English today look absolutely foolish when they hold that alamkāras or figures of speech are "external” to poetry like external ornaments put on physical body. No; it is never like that. Actually beauty in poetry takes various shapes and forms some of which are grasped by even those who are not capable of digging deep into the matter, while others are grasped only by those who can interpret subtle experiments by a good poet, i.e. a real mahā-kavi. Alamkāras or figures are those forms of poetic beauty which are easily understood and therefore enjoyed by readers of mediocre celibre also. It does not require deeper sensitivity to discern an alamkāra. Thus, metaphorically speaking, poetic figures are like ornaments external to our body and such things which could be sighted by almost all. So, this form of poetic beauty is as easily discernible as an ornament placed on a human body. This does not make it as external as the physical ornament which can be taken off, changed, sold, replaced and even put into a bank-loker when not required. An upamā of Kālidāsa is not that way replaceable or something which can be removed from his poetry without harming the inherent poetic beauty. Thus an alamkāra is as inherent as any other source of beauty in poetry, Ānandavardhana will explain this later but for the present by resorting to this metaphor he only wants to suggest that poetic beauty has various forms, some of which are easily discernible, while others are comparatively more subtle to be grasped only by men of highly cultivated taste. Here, ‘guna' is held to be subtler than 'alamkāra'. This way only we have
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