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Sanskrit Sahityaśästra
idea of breach of propriety however strikes the mind of the reader only subsequently and not while reading the description, as is made clear by Abhinavagupta in the context of 'rasābhāsa' :
औचित्येन प्रवृत्तौ चित्तवृत्तेरास्वाद्यत्वे स्थायिन्या रसो, व्यभिचारिण्या भाषः, अनौ चित्येन तदाभासः रावणस्येव सीतायां रतेः । यद्यपि तत्र हास्यरसरूपतैष, 'शुङ्गाराद्धि भवेद्वास्यः' इति वचनात् । तथापि पाश्चात्येयं सामाजिकानां स्थितिः, तन्मयीभवनदशायां तु रतेरेषास्वाद्यतेति शृङ्गारतैव भाति पौर्वापर्यविवेकावधीरणेन.......
-Locana pp. 78-79.
Since the notions of propriety and impropriety differ in different times and climes one should not give them undue importance in judging a work of art. Anandavardhana's aesthetic approach to poetry seems to have been ignored completely by later writers on poetics who emphatically denounce the Devisamboga-varṇana and are not prepared to accept his view that the fault is concealed by the poet's genius and artistic description.
145
Although adverse criticism is levelled against the 8th Canto by some of the alatkarikas as stated above it is greatly popular with them. Compared with any other canto of Kumarasambhava the quotations from its 8th Canto are the largest-numbering about 40 or so. The honour of quoting the largest number of verses from this Canto goes to Bhoja who quotes five verses in Sarasvarkanthabharaṇa and twenty-three verses in Sehgüraprakaia. Among others, Vāmana, Kuntaka, Ksemendra, Dhanika, Ruyyaka, and Hemacandra quote from this Canto to illustrate points of poetics. We may now take up some of these verses quoted by them and see for ourselves how very beautiful they are.
Dhanika in his commentary, called Avaloka, on Dhananjaya's Dasarupaka cites the following verse as an example of mugdha näyikā:
-व्याहृता प्रतिषचो न संदधे गन्तुमैच्छदवलम्बितांशुका ।
सेवते स्म शयनं पराङ्मुखी सा तथापि रतये पिनाकिनः || "
"Addressed she did not reply; when he held her garment she wished to free herself and go away; with her face averted (turned aside) she slept on the bed; yet nonetheless did she delight Siva." The timid shyness of the newly wedded bride and her lover's ruses (tricks) are deftly, delicately and delightfully drawn in this exceedingly beautiful verse.
Here is a very lovely verse which expresses rather less but suggests much more. Kuntaka, Bhoja and Hemacandra cite it in the context of Vrida:
दर्पणे च परिभोगदर्शिनी, पृष्ठतः प्रणयिनो निषेदुषः ।
ree fareng बिम्बमात्मनः कानि कानि न चकार लब्जया ||
10 Kumāra VIII 2
11 Kumāra VIII 11
19
