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12
RATI-VILAPA,
DEVISAMBHOGAVARNANA AND ALAMKARIKAS
Kālidāsa is pre-eminently a poet of the sentiments of eroticism and pathos. The fourth and the eighth cantos of Kumarasambhava deal with the lament of Rati and the love-making of Siva and Parvati, who are regarded as the parents of the world. The present paper confines itself to a discussion of these topics with special reference to the comments on and criticism against Kalidasa's poetic art by some of the top-ranking writers on poetics and an examination of their criticism. We first take up Rativilāpa for consideration and then the Devi - ( Parvati ) sambhoga-varnana..
(i) Rati - Vilapa
It is just proper that a poet should write mainly with a view to portraying rasa (sentiment). The story or plot is only a means towards that end. There are many pitfalls against which a poet must guard himself if he aims at successfully portraying the intended rasa in his literary work. One of these pitfalls is :
परिपोषं गतस्यापि पौनःपुन्येन दीपनम् ।
(ret स्याद्विरोधाय वृत्त्यनौचित्यमेव ॥)
Anandavardhana comments on this line as follows :
पुनश्चायमन्यो रसभङ्गहेतुरवधारणीयो यत्परिपोषं गतस्यापि रसस्य पौनःपुन्येन दीपनम् । उपभुक्तो हि रसः स्वसामग्री लब्धपरिपोषः पुनः पुनः परामृश्यमाणः परिम्लान कुसुमकल्पः कल्पते | 2
Anandavardhana means to say: "Repeated feeding of a sentiment, although it has been fully developed, causes an impediment to that sentiment. A sentiment, which has been fully developed by a description of its appropriate vibhāvas, anubhavas and vyabhicari-bhavas and is duly relished appears like a faded flower if it is overfed again and again (by further description of the bhavas).
He however does not add any concrete instance to illustrate his view. Abhinavagupta, his famous commentator, however, refers to Rativilāpa 3
"In Rati's Lament Kalidasa has in and again over-elaborated the sentiment of pathos which has alre been ful developed"
ननु कालिदासः परिपोषं गतस्यापि करुणस्य रतिविलासेषु (? - विलापेषु) पौनःपुन्येन दीपनमकार्षीत् तत् कोऽयं रसविरोधिना परिहारनिर्दग्ध इत्याशड्वयाह-पूर्व इति । न हि वसिष्ठादिभिः कथञ्चिद् यदि स्मृतिमार्गस्त्यक्तस्तद्वद्वयमपि तथा त्यजामः । अचिन्त्य हेतुकत्वादुपरिचरितानाम् (? अचिन्त्य हेतुकत्वाद् मुनिचरितानाम् ) इति भावः |
1. Dhvanyaloka. III. 19
2. Ibid III. 19 Vṛtti p. 364
3-4. Locana on Dhvany aloka III. 19 (pp. 364-65)
