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V. M. Kulkarni
"In the province of kāvya where we perceive suggested sense, the notions of satya (truth) and asatya (falsehood) are meaningless. To examine kávya through the well-known pramāņas (means of valid knowledge) would simply lead to ridicule."
काव्यविषये च व्यङ्ग्यप्रतीतीनां सत्यासत्यनिरूपणस्याप्रयोजकत्वमेवेति तत्र प्रमाणान्तरव्यापारपरीशेपहासायैव संपद्यते ।
-Locana p. 455
He means to say that things in kavya have no place in the everyday world of space and time, and wing to this lack of ontological or physical status the question of reality or upreality does not apply to them. That bowever does not mean they are unreal. In fact, the distinction of existence or non-existence does not at all arise in th: ircase.
Abhinavagupta elucidates this passage of Ānandavardhana by citing a dissimilar example (vaidharmya-drstanta):
We are not to examine these statements in kavya as to whether they are true and consider whether they command us to do something as the Vedic sentences enjoining agnistoma sacrifice do. They simply directly contribute to giving aesthetic delight and only indirectly to refining or influencing our character and culture of miod and heart). It is essentially of the nature of alaukika camtk ara.
न हि तेषां वाक्यानामग्निष्टोमादिवाक्यवत्सत्यार्थप्रतिपादनद्वारेण प्रवर्तकत्वाय प्रामाण्यमन्विध्यते, प्रीतिमात्रपर्यवसायित्वात् । प्रीतेरेव चालौकिकचमत्काररूपाया व्युत्पत्त्यङ्गत्वात् । एतचोक्तं वितत्य प्राक् । उपहासायैवेति-नायं सहृदयः केवलं शुष्कतर्कोपक्रमकर्कशहृदयः प्रतीति परामष्टुं नालमित्येष उपहासः ।
- Locana, p. 455 It is evoked in a reader when a vastu or alamkara or rasadi is/are portrayed by the poet in bis kāvya. The rasādi-dhvani is given the place of supremacy as it is the source of the highest delight next only to that of Brahma-realisation. Naturally, emotions are the central theme and content of kávya according to both Ajandavardhana and Abhinavagupta, the two greatest aestheticians India has so far produced. Dhvani : The Method of Kävya :
Anandavardhana regards "Sabdārtbau" (word and sense) as only the outer vesture of kavya and emotion as its ātman'. Now emotions are never conveyed by the mere naming of them. They can be conveyed or communicated only indirectly through an appropriate portrayal of their causes and effects. This indirect method of conveying emotions and feeling
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