Some Aspects of Rasa Theory

Author(s): V M Kulkarni
Publisher: B L Institute of Indology

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SOME ASPECTS OE THE RASA THEORY
that the essence of poetry is the presence of creative imagination in the poet and of sensitive responsiveness in the cultured reader.21 Sensitive readers and critics are indispensable for the proper evaluation of poetry. Even good poetry is wasted on incompetent readers and critics, and even ordinary poetry becomes exalted when it is evaluated by competent and sensitive critics.22
While speaking of vācika abhinaya which is concerned with the recitation. of speeches assigned to various characters in a drama with appropriate intonation and modulation of the voice, in chapter 16, Bharata deals with three important topics in poetics having a vital bearing on rasa. These topics are: (1) the ten literary qualities or excellences (gunas), (2) the ten blemishes (dosas) and (3) the four stylistic figures (alankāras) namely upamă (simile), dipaka (zeugma), ripaka (metaphor) and yamaka (rhyme). The guņas, doșas and alaňkäras belong in the first instance to the words used in a drama and to the senses conveyed by them. But in the last instance they have the effect of augmenting or spoiling the beauty of the portrayal of emotions in a drama. Though the number and nature of the guņas, dosas and alankāras have undergone considerable modifications in their treatment by later writers on poetics, still their vital bearing on the portrayal of emotional situations in poetry and drama is unanimously recognised by all. The connection between poetry and drama on the one hand and the presence of gunas and absence of dosas on the other is invariable and vital.The connection between poetry and alankāras is, however, not vital and invariable.23 But, as
21. सरस्वत्यास्तत्त्वं कविसहृदयाख्यं विजयते। 22. Locana, II. p. 260 : सजनैः (=सहृदयैः) विना काव्यम् इत्येष शब्दोऽपि ध्वंसते। तेषु तु सत्सु शब्दसंदर्भमात्रमपि
काव्यशब्दव्यपदेशभाक् सुभगम् आस्ते। Vamana, KavyālaikārasUtra, III 1. 1-3 : काव्यशोभायाः कर्तारो धर्माः गुणाः । तदतिशयहेतवस्त्वलंकाराः। पूर्वे (=गुणाः) नित्याः । Vamana implies by sutra No. 3, that alankāras are anitya, i.e., dispensable and variable attributes of poetry. Compare Dhvanyāloke II, 6 : तमर्थमवलम्बन्ते येऽङ्गिनं ते गुणाः स्मृताः। अङ्गाश्रितास्त्वलंकाराः मन्तव्याः कटकादिवत् ॥; Sahityadarpana, X. 1 : शब्दार्थयोरस्थिराः ये धर्माः शोभातिशायिनः । रसादीनुपकुर्वन्तोऽलंकारास्तेऽङ्गदादिवत् ॥ Kavyaprckāsa, VIII. 66 : ये रसस्याझिनो धमीः शौर्यादय इवात्मनः। उत्कर्षहेतवस्ते स्युरचलस्थितयो गुणाः ॥; Sahityadarpana, VIII.1:रसस्याङ्गित्वमाप्तस्य धर्माः शौर्यादयो यथा। गुणाः माधुर्यमोजोऽथ प्रसाद इति ते त्रिधा | Kavyaprakāsa VIII. 67 : उपकुर्वन्ति तं सन्तं येऽद्वारेण जातुचित्। हारादिवदलंकारास्तेऽनुप्रासोफ्मादयः ॥ The employment of alankāras, though not indispensable, is quite common in poetry. Coripare Dhvanyāloka, III. p. 507 : वाच्यालंकारसंकीर्णत्वम् अलक्ष्यक्रमव्यङ्ग्यापेक्षया रसवति सालंकारे काव्ये सर्वत्र सुव्यवस्थितम्; on which Abhinavagupta says : ईदृशमेव काव्यं भवति । Dhvar.yāloka I. p. 87 : विविधवाच्यवाचकरचनाप्रपञ्चचारुणः काव्यस्य स एव अर्थः सारभूतः, which is explained by Abhinavagupta (pp. 87-88) as : विविधं तत्तदभिव्यञ्जनीयरसानुगुण्येन विचित्रं कृत्वा वाच्ये वाचके रचनायां च प्रपञ्चेन यत् चारु शब्दार्थालंकारगुणयुक्तम् इत्यर्थः ।। Dhvanyāloka, I. p. 45 : ललितोचितसंनिवेशचारुणः काव्यस्य, on which Abhinavagupta says : ललितशब्देन गुणालंकारानुग्रहम् आह। Vamana, Kavyālaikārasutravrtti I.1-1 says : काव्यशब्दोऽयं गुणालंकारसंस्कृतयोः शब्दार्थयोः वर्तते। Bhoja, Sarasvatikaithābharana