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Sanskrit Aesthetics
93
reader) is not present in such examples as gangāyāṁ ghoṣaḥ and agnir mänavakaḥ) (because they do not possess sufficient beauty).' Earlier, while commenting on Dhyan yaloka I.1 Abhinavagupta has already said :
अतिरमणीयम् इति भाक्ताद् व्यतिरेकमाह-न हि सिंहो बटुः, 'गङ्गायां घोषः' इत्यत्र रम्यता काचित् ।
-Locana p. 37
Dhvani is essentially extremly lovely-beautiful. And this essential feature of dhvani distinguishes it from secondary usage. For in the examples of secondary usage like 'Thu bəy is lion', 'There is a settlement of cowherds on Gangā', there is no beauty at all.'
Again in the course of commenting on Dhvan yā loka I. 13 (p. 105) Abhinavagupta notes that beauty is really essential to poetry :
यच्चोक्त 'चारुत्वप्रतीतिस्तहि काव्यस्यात्मा स्यात्' इति तदङ्गीकुर्म एव । नाम्नि खल्वयं विवाद इति ।
-Locana p. 105
As for what has been said (by a critic) : Then the perception of beauty will be the soul of poetry,' we actually accept this. The only dispute-between you and us is about the name (namely, whether to call this cărutva-pratiti or to call it dhvani.
Abhinavagupta asserts :
. चारुरूपं विश्रान्तिस्थानम् , तदभावे स व्यञ्जकत्वव्यापारो नैवोन्मीलति, प्रत्यावृत्य वाच्य एव विश्रान्तः, क्षणदृष्टनष्टदिव्यविभवप्राकृतपुरुषवत् ।
-Locana p. 433
Beautiful means 'that which gives rise to aesthetic repose.' In its absence the function of suggestion does not unfold itself, because, recoiling backwards, it comes to rest in the literal sense itself (i.e. it spends its power in justifying the literal sense). It is like a man who sees heavenly wealth for one moment only, and the next moment it is gone.'
These passages from Locana incidentally provide us with Abhinava. gupta's definition of beauty in the context of poetry, one of the fine arts : Beauty is that which gives rise to aesthetic repose. This definition could be made applicable to other fine arts as well.
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