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MEANING AND EXPRESSION IN POETRY
325
But here the verbal music renders the sense vivid and tangible. The alliterations and assonances bring out the cohesive simultaneity of different semantic units.1
All the Gunas, the Alamkaras and the Ritis, the metres and the rhythm are needed for poetry for they help the poet transmit his synthetic perception. Whenever they cease to perform this function they also cease to have any meaning. So, to say that the Gunas or the Ritis or the Alamkaras are important in themselves is to sacrifice the end for the means. Dandin in holding the Samadhi Guna to be the main stay of poetry only holds this synthetic perception to be the vital requirement of poetry, poetry is distinguishable from ordinary speech for there is the expression of novel semantic combinations in poetry. Any disorder, delay or obstruction in the realization of the Semantic organisation would hamper the capability of poetry to suggest the sentiments. Rajasekhara's 'ukti' also essentially includes this synthetic perception; apart from it, it is not 'ukti' but sheer Śabdavalt. Vicakṣpā's
poem :
लंकागिरिमेहलाहिं खलिदा सम्भोअखिष्णोरई फारफ्फुल्लफणावलीकवलणे पत्ता दरिद्दत्तणं । ते एहिं मलआणिला विरहिणीणीसाससम्पक्किणो
a afa fagam̃-fa agar argongoor faзr 11
is not beautiful only for the suggestion which can be elicited from it that sighs of separated women can work wonders", the passage rises to beauty specially on account of successful fusion of scattered elements like the serpent's fondness for fragrant breezes, enhanced frequency and richness of the southern breezes in tne spring season and women in separation emitting heavy sighs, specially in the spring season. Out of the synthetic fusion of the above elements a whole and composite picture emerges which is beautiful on account of the discordant elements cohering to produce a semantic harmony.
The following passage that Rajasekhara quotes in KavyaM. as an example of ukti shows the deliberate attempt on the part of the poet to
1.
2.
KM (1-19)
Metre or at least rhythm of some sort is essential to poetry for it is akin to the cohesion of different semantic units which cohesion helps the transmission of the images in their entirety. The basic difference between prose and poetry is the respective order and simultaneity of the semantic units
in them.
Vide Kavya P, Ullasa-4, Verse 69.
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