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OPINIONS OF RAJASEKHARA AS A CRITIC
313 life or he may inrent. His concern is to charge the idea with emotion or to present it in a striking and unexpected combination. Thus the matter-of-fact statement of the Satapatha Brahmana that Urvasi, a heavenly damsel, desired Purūravas, the son of Idā, appears as 'why talk more about that Pururavas -the son of Ida who could enamour the heavenly damsel Urvasi who in her turn could cast a spell on Indra himself with a smile'' and a knowledge-useful in crime investigationthat the thief caught with a part is to be held responsible for the whole of booty is strikingly applied in an unexpected context when Purūravas in Vikramorvasiyam demands his beloved from a swan with whom he has found her lovely bearing 2
The poet may make poetry with all sorts of prevalent beliefs. It is not necessary that he should approve all or any of these. He is not concerned with their validity-he only uses them for his poetical purposes. It will be therefore wrong to expect from him any regular exposition of a belief- for that the theologian or the philosopher is the right person; when a poet handles a belief, the result is not theology or philosophy but poetry.
Rajasekhara has furnished interesting examples of beliefs metamorphosed into poetry :
A poet substantiates the Mímāmsaka belief that the words develop specific connotation in specific context, with his experience that the word 'woman' flashes in his mind the woman he loves. )
Similarly another poet advocates the Buddhist belief that the words transmit the wish of the speaker, their specific meaning being flexible on the basis that the 'No' said by the soft and enamoured 'उर्वशीहाप्सराः पुरुरवसमैडं चकमे'
शतपथ ब्राह्मण (11, 5, 1,)
xx चन्द्राद् बुधः समभवद्भगवान्नरेन्द्रमाद्यं पुरूरवसमैडमसावसूत । तं चाप्सराः स्मरवती चकमे किमन्य दत्रोर्वशी स्मितवशीकृतशक्रचेताः ।। वह्वर्थेष्वभियुक्तेन सर्वत्र व्यपलापिना । विभावितैकदेशेन देयं यदभियुज्यते ॥
हंस प्रयच्छ मे कान्तां गतिस्तस्यास्त्वयाहृता। सम्भावितैकदेशेन देयं यदभियुज्यते ॥
(Vik. iv-17) सामान्यवाचि पदमप्यभिधीयमानं मां प्राप्य जातमभिधेयविशेषनिष्ठं । स्त्री काचिदित्यभिहिते सततं मनो मे तामेव वामनयनां विषयी करोति ।।
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