________________
‘Dhvani' and other thought-currents such as guņa,....
1185 -"If someone says, 'I will define a sword,' and then starts saying, “that which can be stretched or shortened, which covers the body, which is delicate and made of beautiful fibres, that which can be folded or unfolded, that which can be easily torn is a sword). Now, if somebody else stops him intervening with a remark that, 'Such a definition fits with a piece of cloth and not a sword." then that person would say, "No, only such a definition of sword is acceptable to me," (then how can we prevent him ? Same is the case with those who defy dhvani). The idea is that only the well-known qualities can make for a definition.
Anandavardhana further gives a third view of the dhvany-abhāva-vādins. He observes : "punar apare tasya abhāvam anyatha kathayeyuh.' na sambhavaty eva dhvanir nāma apūrvah kaścit. kāmanīyakam anativartamānasya tasya ukteșy eva cărutva-hetusv antarbhāvāt. teşām anyatamasyaiva vā apūrva-samākhyā-mātrakarane yat-kiñcana kathanam syāt.” (vrtti, Dhv. I. i.; pp. 4, ibid) :- "Yet another opinion about its non-existence is : "It is indeed impossible that 'suggestion' can be something unknown before. Since it is not distinct from a source of charm, it gets naturally included in the causes of charm already enunciated. By coining a novel designation to just one of them nothing profound will have been stated.” (Trans. K. Kris.; pp. 5, ibid).
The objector says that as the ways of speech are endless, an insignificant element could have been left out unexplained by the famous framers of the rules of poetry. This is possible. So, it is surprising that persons should close their eyes under the self-assumed illusion of being 'perceptive critics' and dance about with joy saying that they have discovered 'dhvani' in some hitherto unnamed element causing beauty. Thousands of other great men have expounded, and are still expounding, figurative elements of poetic speech. Such an over excitement is not noticed here. So, dhvani is but a fabrication; and it will not be possible for the supporters of dhvani to demostrate any element of truth about it which can bear scrutiny. -Anandavardhana observes : (vrtti on Dhv. I. i.; pp. 4, ibid) :
tasmāt pravāda-matram dhvaniḥ. na tv asya kşodakşamam tattvam kiñcid api prakāśayitum sakyam." Anandavardhana quotes a caustic remark against dhvani, which could be from some Manoratha Kavi, his contemporary, as suggested by Abhinavagupta in the Locana. The Dhvanikara observes (pp. 4, vrtti, Dhv. I. i, ibid) -
: "tathā ca anyena krta eva atra ślokah
yasminn asti na vastu kiñcana
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
