Srngaramanjari Katha

Author(s): Bhojdev, Kalpalata K Munshi
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 60

A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE SMK
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The Svabhāvokti sometimes blossoms into a lovely word-picture which impresses with its vividness and richness of details. A few examples are given below. One is of an old monkey left alone on a tree when the whole forest is burning due to the heat of the summer: क्वचित् सर्वतः प्रज्वलद्दवदहनज्वालावलीकवलितक्षितिरुहाखिलप्रान्तभागतया कुतोप्यात्मनः शरणमनवेक्ष्यमाणेन भ्रमितकन्धरं चकितचकितमुभयतोऽप्यवकृष्याङगमतिदीनं दिक्षु चक्षुर्विक्षिपता पश्चादवनमितकर्णयुगलेनातिश्लथमुक्तपुच्छेन विषादात् क्षणमेकमतिनिश्चलेन मुहुर्मुहुनिमिषोन्मेषान् विदधता शुष्यत्तालुना विदीर्णवदनतया प्रकटितदशनपङक्तिनाऽतिमात्रदीनाननेन प्रसृतधूमव्याकुलावमीलल्लोचनेन क्षण एवात्मानं दग्धमिव मन्यमानेन झगिति चक्षरुन्मील्य प्रत्यङगमालोकयता निपतनभयाद् गाढतरगृहीतशाखेन क्षोभवशविसंस्थुलीभवत्करग्रहतया किमपि भ्रष्टेन पुनरुत्पतता भयातिशयात् सद्योऽवसीदद्वपुषा मुहुर्मुहुरनभिव्यक्तचीत्कारेण उपर्युपरि प्रतिशाखमितस्ततः समारोहतकाकिना जरन्मर्कटेनारुह्यमाणजीर्णोत्तुङगतरुशिखराम्। (p. ५०) Another is of a group of elephants passing urine. The description is natural and vivid: अपरैश्च पीत्वा पयस्तट एव किञ्चिदघोनमितजघनभागैरुत्फुल्लकुक्षिभिः स्तोकोत्तम्भितश्रवणपल्लवैरवनितलस्रस्तहस्तैरीषद्विधृतकन्धरैः श्रवणाभिमुखत्र्यश्रितैकनेत्रविभागैः सावधानमाणितमूत्रधाराध्वनिभिर्मूत्रीयमाणः (करिकुलै:)। (p. ५१)
is another picture-a picture of a woman in the yantra-dhārāgļha who has just come out of water and from whose hair water is dripping down: क्वचिन्मज्जनोत्तीर्णस्वर्णपुत्रिकानिश्चोत्यमानकबरीवालकलापप्रान्तेभ्यः।(p. ६) It is a complete picture in a few choice words.
Descriptions of seasons, towns, etc. are considered a necessary feature in Sanskrit literary compositions. In the Epics, and the great works like those of Kālidāsa and Băna we come across such descriptions. Bhoja has followed the conventions and as he himself says in the beginning कथा हि कीय॑माना नगरादिवर्णनपूरःसराः सौन्दर्यमावहति(p.१) This work is full of descriptions of towns, gardens, lakes, seasons and the like.
The descriptions of the town and its essential features such as the lakes, fountain houses and the like shed considerable light on the town-planning of those days, and have therefore been discussed in the sixth chapter.
The descriptions of Nature in all its aspects are vivid and picturesque. The exactness with which the author has observed the changes in the seasons, the vividness with which he has described the glory of the day and the night, the noon and the eventide, the sunset and the moonrise, and the keen eye with which he has observed the blooming and decaying of the flora* speak of his intimacy with Nature. From the various descriptions of nature we read in Sanskrit literature we can infer that nature exercised great influence on man's life in those days. It is because of this close relationship between man and nature that nature was regarded even by the writers on poetics as one of the Uddipana-vibhāvas, excitant deter* See Index C.