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DHANAPĀLA AS A PROSE WRITER
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has been deemed a nightmare that deserves to be faced boldly and persistently. 7. POETIC EMBELISHMENTS, LANGUAGE AND DICTION
fee TR T' the etymology of the word 'gadya' implies the freedom of expression in speech which is not fettered by the dicta of counting of syllables in producing intonation in poetry. Still Prose is termed within the scope of Kāvya in Sanskrit. Barring aside the metrical enumeration, prose follows the same traits of a Kāvya as verse because it is imbued with all the literary embellishments inherent in an equivocal speech meant to be construed figuratively. This tendency of resorting to evasiveness developed gradually through a period of centuries having evolved from the straight forward narratives of earlier literature mainly consisting of the aphoristic style. Dandin, Subandhu and Bāņa constitute the master minds who produced prose in its consummation thereby precluding the possibility of the existence of innumerable specimens preceding them having got into oblivion perforce due to the tendency of restraining only the best of the lot earning wider popularity of the general reader.
Dhanapāla is a faithful follower of Bāna whose Kādambarī has proved the model for his Tilakamañjarī. He has followed his predecessor in the outer frame work of the style and has couched his diction in such a way that the reader never gets palled while going through the epithet laden wordpictures of the scenes laid down by him and can never underrate the work as a second rate copy of an original. He was, however, self conscious about the tendency of the age. That is why he has prayed to the reader to rise above spite before meriting the values of his muse or else the real charm of it would lose its sentiment.' His bold saying that he would like to keep away the unrighteous critic who would like to move in front of the pathway to poetry immune from all faults, like a serpent, who in order to overtake by his own circuitous crawl blocks the way only to bite.? In this respect Dhanapāla can be compared to Bhavabhūti who says in his Mālatīmādhava' that “Those who spread censure in our case, they should know that the
1. AR 2017: 91219 faxirgi: 1
faarufa n quia T4FERT: 11 TM Intr. verse 8 Vol. I p. 16. Botad ed. 2. वार्योऽनार्यः स निर्दोषे यः काव्याध्वनि सर्पताम्।
T eam and fashrifa 94914|| TM. Vol. I cerse 9. 16. 3. Act. I verse 6 p. 8 M. R. Kale's edition. MLBD Delhi, 1967.
ये नाम केचिदिह नः प्रथयन्त्यवज्ञाम् जानन्ति ते किमपि तान्प्रति नैषः यत्नः। उत्पत्स्यतेऽस्ति मम कोऽपि समानधर्मः कालोह्ययं निरवधिर्विपुला च पृथिवी।।
