काव्यालङ्कार (आचार्य भामह - भारतीय काव्यशास्त्र एवं अलङ्कार-सिद्धान्त मूल महाग्रन्थ सटीक)

FIRST PARICCHHEDA 3
and proficiency in arts and contributes to pleasure
and fame.
2. This verse deals with the benefits accruing
from good poetry. It refers first to the attainment
of the fourfold पुरुषार्थs or ends in life viz., धर्म, अर्थ, काम
and मोक्ष—Virtue, wealth, enjoyments and salvation.
वैचक्षण्यं ‘Proficiency’ is to be taken along with both
the preceding and the succeeding words. कला An
art. Poetry confers proficiency in arts as well.
प्रीति or æsthetic pleasure is the next benefit said to
accrue from poetry. Next कीर्ति or fame is referred
to. Of all these benefits प्रीति or æsthetic pleasure
is the greatest benefit derived according to आलंकारिकs,
some of whom even go the length of saying that it
is the sole purpose of poetry. For आनन्द is the end
and aim of every individual and all other purposes
play only a subordinate part to it. In fact the
author of Daśarūpaka ridicules the idea of describ-
ing the attainment of the fourfold पुरुषार्थs as the pur-
pose of poetry in the following verse.
आनन्दनिष्यन्दिषु रूपकेषु व्युत्पत्तिमात्रं फलमल्पबुद्धिः ।
योऽपीतिहासादिवदाह साधुस्तस्मै नमः स्वादुपराङ्मुखाय ॥
साधुकाव्यनिबन्धनं करोति The composition of good poetry
yields all these results. Sāhityadarpaṇa cites this
verse of Bhāmaha with the modification of साधु-
काव्यनिबन्धनं into साधुकाव्यनिषेवणम्. निषेवणं is a comprehen-
sive word including both composition and study.

4 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
Poetry yields results not only to the author but
also to the reader. This verse with the same modi-
fication is cited in Dhvanyāloka Lochana, N. S. P.
Edition, Page 12. Note the adjective साधु to काव्य.
It is only good poetry that will confer the benefits
mentioned. The śāstraic prohibition—काव्यालापांश्च वर्जयेत्
refers to bad poetry. The purposes of poetry have
been enumerated by the author of Kāvya Prakāśa
on much the same lines as follows:—काव्यं यशसेऽर्थकृते
व्यवहारविदे शिवेतरक्षतये। सद्यः परनिर्वृतये कान्तासंमिततयोपदेशयुजे॥
अधनस्येव दातृत्वं क्लीबस्येवास्त्रकौशलम्।
अज्ञस्येव प्रगल्भत्वमकवेः शास्त्रवेदनम् ॥ ३ ॥
3. The knowledge of science to one who is-
not a poet is like the munificence of a penniless
person, the skill of arms to one impotent to handle
them and pomposity of an unlettered person.
3. 'क्लीवः means a eunuch; in the context, one
unable to handle weapons.
विनयेन विना का श्रीः का निशा शशिना विना।
रहिता सत्कवित्वेन कीदृशी वाग्विदग्धता ॥ ४ ॥
4. What is wealth without modesty? What
is night without the Moon? What is proficiency in
speech without good poetry?
4. विनयेन विना का श्रीः. Vide parallel:—विद्या हृद्यापि
सावद्या विना विनयसंपदा. का निशा शशिना विना. Cf. त्रियामा शशिनह्

FIRST PARICCHEDA 5
भाति शशी भाति त्रियामा. वाचि विदग्धता वाग्विद्ग्धता Proficiency
in speech, eloquence.
गुरुपदेशादध्येतुं शास्त्रं जडधियोऽप्यलम् ।
काव्यं तु जायते जातु कस्यचित्प्रतिभावतः ॥ ५ ॥
5. It is easy for dullards too to master the
science by instruction from teachers whereas poetry
dawns rarely and on an only person endowed with
genius.
5. जडा धीः येषां ते जडधियः Persons of dull intellect.
अलं = समर्थाः. A knowledge of sciences can be acquired
by the instruction of teachers whereas कवित्व is a
natural gift. काव्य arises very rarely. जातु At one
time; and that too on one endowed with genius.
प्रतिभा Genius, also called शक्ति. A poetic effusion is
impossible without genius. That the poetry of
great poets reveals a unique genius is brought out
in Dhvanyāloka thus:—
सरस्वती स्वादु तदर्थवस्तु निष्यन्दमाना महतां कवीनाम् ।
अलोकसामान्यमभिव्यनक्ति प्रतिस्फुरन्तं प्रतिभाविशेषम् ॥
The rarity of genius is also set out in Agni
Purāṇa cited in Sāhityadarpaṇa thus:—
नरत्वं दुर्लभं लोके विद्या तत्र सुदुर्लभा ।
कवित्वं दुर्लभं तत्र शक्तिस्तत्र सुदुर्लभा ॥
The scarcity of poets endowed with genius is
set out by Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita in a verse setting

6 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
out the contrast between music and poetry thus:—
गायन्ति वीणा अपि वेणवोऽपि गायन्ति बालाः पशवोऽपि चेदम् ।
काव्यानि कर्तुं च परीक्षितुं च द्वित्रा भवेयुर्नतु वा भवेयुः ॥
For a clear idea of प्रतिभा vide the following
extract:—
स्मृतिर्व्यतीतविषया मतिरागामिगोचरा ।
बुद्धिस्तात्कालिकी प्रोक्ता प्रज्ञा त्रैकालिकी मता ।
प्रज्ञां नवनवोन्मेषशालिनीं प्रतिभां विदुः ॥
उपेयुषामपि दिवं सन्निबन्धविधायिनाम् ।
आस्त एव निरातङ्कं कान्तं काव्यमयं वपुः ॥ ६ ॥
6. Though the authors of good literary works
have reached heaven, there stands unimpaired their
charming body in the form of poetry.
6. सन्निबन्धान् विधातुं शीलं येषां तेषां सन्निबन्धविधायिनाम् Of
persons who have composed good literary treatises,
निर्गतं आतङ्कात् निरातङ्कं Though their physical bodies are
no more, their elegant body in the form of poetry
survives. This verse is cited in Lochana N. S. P.
edition, page 12.
रुणद्धि रोदसी चास्य यावत्कीर्तिरनश्वरी ।
तावत्किलायमध्यास्ते सुकृती वैबुधं पदम् ॥ ७ ॥
7. As long as his undying fame envelops the
sky and the earth, till then does the fortunate poet
occupy the abode of the gods,

FIRST PARICCHEDA 7
7. ' रोदसी The heaven and earth. Amara :—द्यावा-
पृथिव्यौ रोदस्यौ द्यावाभूमी च रोदसी. सुकृती Fortunate. For he
enjoys a seat in heaven. विबुधानां इदं वैबुधं पदं The abode
of the gods. किल denotes repute by tradition.
अतोऽभिवाञ्छता कीर्तिं स्थेयसीमाभुवः स्थितेः ।
यत्नो विदितवेद्येन विधेयः काव्यलक्षणः ॥ ८ ॥
8. So one aspiring for a permanent fame last-
ing down to the existence of the Earth, should,
knowing what he ought to do, direct his attempts
towards poetry.
8. स्थेयसी Feminine of स्थेयस् comparative degree
of स्थिर. काव्यं लक्षणं (उद्देश्यं) यस्य सः काव्यलक्षणः In the place of
काव्यलक्षणः there is another reading काव्यलक्ष्मणि.
शब्दश्छन्दोऽभिधानार्था इतिहासाश्रयाः कथाः ।
लोको युक्तिः कलाश्चेति मन्तव्याः काव्यगैर्ह्यमी ॥ ९ ॥
9. Those engaged in poetry should care for
grammar, metres, words and their meanings, sto-
ries drawn from tradition or epics, the practice in
the world, propriety and arts.
9. As to what are the factors that contribute
to good poetry or the equipment of a poet, Mammaṭa
in his Kāvya Prakāśa says शक्तिर्निपुणता लोकशास्त्रकाव्याद्यवेक्ष-
णात् । काव्यज्ञशिक्षयाऽभ्यासः इति हेतुस्तदुद्भवे ॥ Of these शक्ति or
प्रतिभा has been already referred to. लोकशास्त्रकाव्याद्यवेक्षणात्
निपुणता is elaborately given in this verse, and काव्यज्ञ-

शिक्ष्याऽभ्यासः is set out in the next verse. Since अभि-
धानं is separately mentioned, शब्दः in the verse means
rules relating to the formation of words i.e., शब्दशास्त्रं
or the science of grammar. छन्दः Metres i.e., छन्दःशास्त्रं
the science of prosody. अभिधानानि Appropriate expres-
sions. अर्थाः Ideas. इतिहासाश्रयाः कथाः Stories from tra-
ditional epics like Rāmāyaṇa and Mahā Bhārata ;
stories with any historical background. लोकः The
ways of the world. युक्तिः Conformity with the rules
of न्याय, मीमांसा and the like ; conformity with Logic
and Exegesis. कलाः Fine arts like music, painting,
sculpture and dance. मन्तव्याः All these are to be cared
for. काव्यगैः By those engaged in poetry. The last
foot of the verse is obscured by a number of differ-
ent readings. In the place of काव्यगैर्ह्यमी the other read-
ings are काव्ययैर्वशी, काव्ययैरमी, काव्ययैर्ह्यमी, काव्यतैर्वेशी and काव्य-
वैखरी. Mr. D. T. Tatacharya gives the last foot as
मन्तव्या काव्यवैखरी. Mr. Naganatha Sastri has suggested
the reading काव्यगैर्ह्यमी, and we have adopted his read-
ing. Uttuṅgodaya while commenting on Lochana
reads मन्तव्याः काव्यहेतवः. While commenting on the
Dhvanyāloka passage—भक्तमाहुस्तमन्ये, Lochana refers
to Udbhaṭa's interpretation of the verse thus:—भाम-
होक्तं 'शब्दश्छन्दोभिधानार्थाः' इत्यभिधानस्य शब्दाद्भेदं व्याख्यातुं भट्टोद्भटो बभाषे
—शब्दानां अभिधानं अभिधाव्यापारो मुख्यो गुणवृत्तिश्च इति । (N. S. P.
edition, page 10). According to Udbhaṭa, अभिधानं
means अभिधाव्यापार The primary and secondary denota-
tions of words.

FIRST PARICCHEDA 9
शब्दाभिधेये विज्ञाय कृत्वा तद्विदुपासनम् ।
विलोक्यान्पानिबन्धांश्च कार्यः काव्यक्रियादरः ॥ १० ॥
10. One should engage in the composition of
poetry after knowing words and their meanings and
after serving under experts and after examining the
works of others.
10. In this verse the Kāvya Prakāś passage
—काव्यज्ञशिक्षयाभ्यासः is amplified. शब्दश्च अभिधेयं च ते शब्दाभि-
धेये विज्ञाय After knowing the correct words and mean-
ings. तद्विदुपासनं कृत्वा After undergoing training under
काव्यज्ञs. अन्यनिबन्धांश्च विलोक्य And after a study of the trea-
tises of other poets. This is for acquiring practice
through comparative study. काव्यक्रियादरः कार्यः One
should engage himself in the composition of
poetry.
सर्वथा पदमप्येकं न निगाद्यमवद्यवत् ।
विलक्ष्मणा हि काव्येन दुःसुतेनेव निन्द्यते ॥ ११ ॥
11. By all means a single faulty word should
be avoided. One is condemned by defective poetry
as by a bad son.
11. Cf. Daṇḍin's Kāvyādarśa—तदल्पमपि नोपेक्ष्यं
काव्ये दुष्टं कथंचन । स्याद्वपुः सुन्दरमपि श्वित्रेणैकेन दुर्भगम् ॥
नाकवित्वमधर्माय व्याधये दण्डनाय वा ।
कुकवित्वं पुनः साक्षान्मृतिमाहुर्मनीषिणः ॥ १२ ॥

10 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
12. Not being a poet does not conduce to sin
sickness or punishment. But being a bad poet, wise
men declare, is directly tantamount to death.
12. Not being an author does not entail any
evil. But being a bad author brings infamy. In the
place of नाकवित्वं at the beginning of the verse, Mr.
D. T. Tatacharya reads merely अकवित्वं perhaps
on better manuscript authority. But the inter-
pretation of the reading omitting न involves a good
deal of strain. Mr. Naganatha Sastri reads न at
the beginning. The citation in Kāmadhenu, com-
mentary on Vāmanālaṁkāra (I-iii-22) also reads न
at the beginning.
रूपकादिरलंकारस्तस्यान्यैर्बहुधोदितः ।
न कान्तमपि निर्भूषं विभाति वनितामुखम् ॥ १३ ॥
13. Its adornment like Rūpaka and others is
propounded by others in several ways. Even the
charming face of a damsel does not shine, stripped
of ornament.
13. Having dealt with the purposes & equip-
ment of poetry, the author proceeds to deal with
its adornment. In Verse 15 the author declares that
the classification of literary embellishments into
two classes viz., शब्दालंकार and अर्थालंकार is acceptable to
him. In fact these three Verses 13, 14 & 15 are
bodily quoted by Mammaṭa in his Kāvya Prakāśa,
Ullāsa VI to substantiate the twofold classification of

FIRST PARICCHEDA 11
Alaṃkāras. Alliterations and other charming ar-
rangements of sound come under the head of शब्दालंकार
which is dealt with in the 2nd Paricchheda of this
book. उपमा, रूपक and other figures of speech dealt
with in Paricchhedas 2 & 3 of this book come under
the head of अर्थालंकार as they relate to the sense, not to
the sound. From the 1st half of the verse it is known
that rhetoricians before Bhāmaha had accepted fi-
gures of speech. रूपकं आदि यस्य सः रूपकादिः अलंकारः. रूपकं is
identified with metaphor. Ancients have mention-
ed elaborately about रूपक, उपमा and other अर्थालंकारs.
They are in fact an adornment of poetry. This idea
is substantiated by an analogy set out in the 2nd
half of the verse.
रूपकादिमलंकारं बाह्यमाचक्षते परे ।
सुपां तिङां च व्युत्पत्तिं वाचां वाञ्छन्त्यलंकृतिम् ॥१४॥
14. Others say that Rūpaka and the like em-
bellishments are external. They deem the proper
forms of nouns and verbs as an adornment.
14. A different school of thinkers hold that
figures of speech are बाह्य extraneous i. e., not intrin-
sically connected with poetry. According to them
the grammatical forms of words constitute a good
composition. That is because according to them काव्यं
consists of words that can be read, heard or under-
stood. They perhaps think that sense is beyond the

12 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
pale of poetry. This view is entirely wrong. For
words and meanings together really constitute poe-
try. Mammaṭa representing the Siddhānta says—
शब्दार्थौ काव्यं. The view set out in the 1st half of the
verse that figures of speech are not an adornment
of poetry raises the question, ‘Then what else?’ ac-
cording to their school. The answer for the same
is furnished by the 2nd half of the verse. They
think that a proper formation of nouns and verbs
constitutes literary adornment. सुप् means a suffix
added to noun-stems and तिङ् is a suffix added to roots.
सुप् is used here in the sense of सुबन्त or a noun and
तिङ् in the sense of तिङन्त or a predicate. This verse
is cited by Mammaṭa in Kāvya Prakāśa, 6th Ullāsa
and by Premachandra in his commentary on Kāvyā-
darśa I—1.
तदेतदाहुः सौशब्द्यं नार्थव्युत्पत्तिरीदृशी ।
शब्दाभिधेयालंकारभेदादिष्टं द्वयं तु नः ॥ १५ ॥
15. Thus they prefer the proper formation of
words. But the proper presentation of ideas is not
the same as that. We prefer a combination of both
viz., elegant words and elegant ideas.
15. Bhāmaha condemns the school of thinkers
referred to in the previous verse. What they aim
at is no literary excellence but only सौशब्द्यं or gram-
matical correctness of words, but here in poetics we

FIRST PARICCHEDA 13
are concerned with the excellence of ideas. अर्थव्युत्पत्तिः
न ईदृशी An investigation of the sense is no mere gram-
matical correctness. In the 2nd half of the verse
Bhāmaha states that he cares both for the adorn-
ment of words and adornment of meanings. But be
it noted that the adornment of words which has a
bearing on sounds and falls within the purview of
शब्दालंकार is not the same as the grammatical correct-
ness of the discarded school of thinkers. Verse
cited in Kāvya Prakāśa, 6th Ullāsa.
शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं गद्यं पद्यं च तद्द्विधा।
संस्कृतं प्राकृतं चान्यदपभ्रंश इति त्रिधा ॥ १६ ॥
16. The word and its meaning together con-
stitute a Kāvya. It is of two kinds—Prose and
poetry. There is also a threefold classification
into Sanskrit, Prākrit and the other one—Apa-
bhraṁśa (colloquial language).
16. शब्दश्च अर्थश्च शब्दार्थौ सहितौ काव्यं Words and mean-
ings together constitute a काव्य or literature. This-
is more or less the definition of काव्य. Based on this
is the definition given by Mammaṭa in Kāvya Pra-
kāśa viz., अदोषौ सगुणौ सालंकारौ शब्दार्थौ काव्यं. The defini-
tion given by Sāhityadarpaṇa is वाक्यं रसात्मकं काव्यम् and
the one given by Rasagaṅgādhara is रमणीयार्थप्रतिपादक-
शब्दः काव्यम् or more fully चमत्कारजनकभावनाविषयार्थप्रतिपादक-
शब्दः काव्यम्. After defining काव्य Bhāmaha proceeds to

14 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
give several divisions of काव्य. First he gives a
twofold classification, then a threefold, both in
this verse, then a fourfold classification in the next
verse and a fivefold classification in the next after
that. The twofold classification of काव्य is into गद्यं and
पद्यं Prose and poetry to which Daṇḍin adds a third
one—मिश्रं Mixed Prose and poetry under which are to
be included the नाटक literature and the चम्पू literature.
The threefold classification is made from the point
of view of the language into संस्कृत, प्राकृत and अपभ्रंश
to which also Daṇḍin adds a fourth one viz., मिश्रं.
संस्कृतं lit., the perfect, is the language of the gods,
scientifically regulated by great sages like Pāṇini
and Patañjali. प्राकृतं is directly descended of and a
corruption of Sanskrit. अपभ्रंश is the dialect of cow-
herds, shepherds, huntsmen and barbaric tribes, a
still more gross corruption of Sanskrit. मिश्रं men-
tioned by Daṇḍin is a mixture of one or more of the
above languages. For a clearer idea of this clas-
sification note the following extract from Daṇḍin’s
Kāvyādarśa :—
तदेतद्वाङ्मयं भूयः संस्कृतं प्राकृतं तथा ।
अपभ्रंशश्च मिश्रं चेत्याहुरायाश्चतुर्विधम् ॥
संस्कृतं नाम दैवी वागन्वाख्याता महर्षिभिः ।
तद्भवस्तत्समो देशीत्यनेकः प्राकृतक्रमः ॥
महाराष्ट्रियाश्रयां भाषां प्रकृष्टं प्राकृतं विदुः ।
सागरः सूक्तिरत्नानां सेतुबन्धादि यन्मयम् ॥

FIRST PARICCHEDA 15
शौरसेनी च गौडी च लाटी चान्या च तादृशी ।
याति प्राकृतमित्येव व्यवहारेषु संनिधिम् ॥
आभीरादिगिरः काव्येष्वपभ्रंश इति स्मृताः ।
शास्त्रे तु संस्कृतादन्यदपभ्रंशतयोदितम् ॥ I-32 to 36.
वृत्तं देवादिचरितशंसि चोत्पाद्यवस्तु च ।
कलाशास्त्राश्रयं चेति चतुर्धा भिद्यते पुनः ॥ १७ ॥
17. Again there is a fourfold classification
thus--that which relates the past history of the
gods and the like, that whose plot is conceived of
by the poet, that which relates to arts and that
which relates to sciences.
17. The fourfold classification of काव्य proceeds
from the point of view of the topic dealt with. वृत्तं
यत् देवादीनां चरितं तच्छंसि Giving the past history of the
gods and the like ; literature with a historical back-
ground. उत्पाद्यं वस्तु यस्य उत्पाद्यवस्तु Containing a plot
entirely conceived of by the poet ; fiction.
कलाश्रयं Relative of arts. शास्त्राश्रयं Literature based on
sciences.
सर्गबन्धोऽभिनेयार्थं तथैवाख्यायिकाकथे ।
अनिबद्धं च काव्यादि तत्पुनः पञ्चधोच्यते ॥ १८ ॥
18. Again there is a fivefold classification—
that which is constituted of a number of cantos,
that which can be staged, an Ākhyāyikā, a Kathā
and sporadic poetry.

16 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
18. सर्गबन्धः Constituted of a number of sargas
or chapters. This is equated with Mahākāvya. अभिने-
यार्थ Whose contents can be staged. The whole Nā-
ṭaka literature comes under this class. आख्यायिका and
कथा are two species of prose works dealt with later
on. अनिबद्ध is sporadic poetry or stray verses not run-
ning into a chapter. In the place of काव्यादि in the
2nd half of the verse Mr. D. T. Tatacharya suggests
a better reading-काव्यज्ञैः. The five classes of काव्य men-
tioned in this verse are explained in order in 12
verses beginning from the next. सर्गबन्ध or Mahā-
kāvya is dealt with in Verses 19 to 23, अभिनेयार्थ in
Verse 24, आख्यायिका in Verses 25 to 27, कथा in Verses
28 & 29 and अनिबद्ध in Verse 30.
सर्गबन्धो महाकाव्यं महतां च महच्च यत् ।
अग्राम्यशब्दमर्थ्यं च सालंकारं सदाश्रयम् ॥ १९ ॥
मन्त्रदूतप्रयाणाजिनायकाभ्युदयैश्च यत् ।
पञ्चभिः सन्धिभिर्युक्तं नातिव्याख्येयमृद्धिमत् ॥ २० ॥
चतुर्वर्गाभिधानेऽपि भूयसाऽर्थोपदेशकृत् ।
युक्तं लोकस्वभावेन रसैश्च सकलैः पृथक् ॥ २१ ॥
19. That which is constituted of a number of
Sargas is called a Mahākāvya. It is big among big
poems, consisting of decent words and decent ideas,
provided with embellishments and relative of a
noble hero.

FIRST PARICCHHEDA 17
20. It deals with deliberations in council, em-
ployment of ambassadors, march or expedition, war
or battle and the hero’s victory or glory. It should
contain five sandhis or stages in the development of
the plot. It should be easy reading, not requiring
much commentary and should abound in happy situ-
ations.
21. Though it deals with all the four ends of
life, it should largely contain instruction in the
field of temporal greatness. It should conform to
the practice in the world, and it should distinctly
embody the several emotions.
19. सर्गबन्धः A poem constituted of a number of
sargas. It is also called महाकाव्यं as distinguished from
खण्डकाव्यं महतां महत् The big of big poems or the poems
of great men like Vālmīki, Kālidāsa etc. ग्राम्य Vul-
gar. अग्राम्यशब्दं Possessed of refined words. अर्थ्यं अर्था-
दनपेतं Possessed of refined ideas. अलंकारैः सह वर्तत इति
सालंकारं Provided with figures of speech. आश्रय means
a नायक or hero. सन् आश्रयः यस्य तत् सदाश्रयं Treating of a
noble hero It will be seen that the definition thus
insists upon शब्द, अर्थ, अलंकार and नायक. The definition
is not yet complete. The rest of it is given in the
next verse.
20. मन्त्रः Diplomacy ; deliberations with minis-
ters. दूतः Embassy ; sending of ambassadors. प्रयाणं
2

18 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
March for conquest; expedition. आजि: A battle. नाय-
काभ्युदय: The hero’s success. All these should be em-
bodied in a Kāvya. Further it should possess five
sandhis or stages in the development of the plot.
Five sandhis are enumerated in Daśarūpaka thus—
मुखप्रतिमुखे गर्भः सावमर्शोपसंहृतिः. The five sandhis are मुख,
प्रतिमुख, गर्भ, विमर्श and निर्वहण, the last two being refer-
red to in the above passage of Daśarūpaka as अवमर्श
and उपसंहृति. मुख is sowing the seed of the plot. प्रतिमुख
is the sprouting thereof. गर्भ is its gradual maturing
through steps visible and invisible. विमर्श An investi-
gation into its growth with a view to fruition. निर्वहण
is winding up of all the threads of the plot ending
in fruition or the conclusion. The following are
the descriptions of five sandhis given in Pratāpa-
rudrīya:—
मुखं बीजसमुत्पत्तिर्नानार्थरससंभवा ।
लक्ष्यालक्ष्यस्य बीजस्य व्यक्तिः प्रतिमुखं मतम् ॥
गर्भस्तु दृष्टनष्टस्य बीजस्यान्वेषणं मुहुः ।
गर्भसन्धौ प्रसिद्धस्य बीजार्थस्यावमर्शनम् ।
हेतुना येन केनापि विमर्शः सन्धिरिष्यते ॥
बीजवन्तो मुखाद्यर्था विप्रकीर्णा यथायथम् ।
ऐकार्थ्यमुपनीयन्ते यत्र निर्वहणं हि तत् ॥
नातिव्याख्येयं. A Kāvya should be intelligible with-
out the need of much comment. ऋद्धिमत् It should
abound in happy features.
21. चतुर्वर्ग is the group of four पुरुषार्थs. Amara:—
त्रिवर्गो धर्मकामार्थैश्चतुर्वर्गः समोक्षकैः. Though a Kāvya deals

FIRST PARICCHEDA 19
with all the four पुरुषार्थs it should lay stress on the
second viz., अर्थ—wealth or worldly prosperity. युक्तं
लोकस्वभावेन It should depict the ways of the world;
the relationships of men and women and so on.
रसैश्च सकलैः पृथक् It should also portray distinctly the
different Rasas or emotions. Rasas that constitute
the soul of poetry are ninefold—शृङ्गार the erotic,
हास्य the humorous, करुण the pathetic, रौद्र the furious,
वीर the heroic, भयानक the frightful, बीभत्स the loath-
some, अद्भुत the marvellous and शान्त the quietistic.
Vide the following extract—शृङ्गारहास्यकरुणा रौद्रवीरभयानकाः।
बीभत्साद्भुतशान्ताश्च रसाः पूर्वैरुदाहृताः ॥ Of course one cannot
expect the delineation of all the Rasas in a Kāvya.
But a multiplicity of Rasas is desirable, of which
one will be dominant and others subordinate. By
way of comparison it will be interesting to note
the following definition of Mahākāvya given by
Daṇḍin in Kāvyādarśa, Pari. I, Verses 14 to 19.
सर्गबन्धो महाकाव्यमुच्यते तस्य लक्षणम् ।
आशीर्नमस्क्रिया वस्तुनिर्देशो वापि तन्मुखम् ॥
इतिहासकथोद्भूतमितरद्वा सदाश्रयम् ।
चतुर्वर्गफलोपेतं चतुरोदात्तनायकम् ॥
नगरार्णवशैलर्तुचन्द्रार्कोदयवर्णनैः ।
उद्यानसलिलक्रीडामधुपानरतोत्सवैः ॥
विप्रलम्भैर्विवाहैश्च कुमारोदयवर्णनैः ।
मन्त्रदूतप्रयाणाजिनायकाभ्युदयैरपि ॥
अलंकृतमसंक्षिप्तं रसभावनिरन्तरम् ।
सर्गैरनतिविस्तीर्णैः श्रव्यवृत्तैः सुसन्धिभिः ॥

20 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
सर्वत्र भिन्नवृत्तान्तरुपेतं लोकरञ्जकम् ।
काव्यं कल्पान्तरस्थायि जायते सदलंकृति ॥
नायकं प्रागुपन्यस्य वंशवीर्यश्रुतादिभिः ।
न तस्यैव वधं ब्रूयादन्योत्कर्षाभिधित्सया ॥ २२ ॥
यदि काव्यशरीरस्य न स व्यापितयेष्यते ।
न चाभ्युदयभाक्तस्य मुधादौ ग्रहणस्तवौ ॥ २३ ॥
22. After first describing a hero with regard
to his heredity, valour, learning and the like the
poet should not relate his death with a view to bring-
ing out the superiority of another.
23. If he is not intended to pervade over the
body of the poem and if he is not to meet with suc-
cess, his mention and praise at the beginning serve
no useful purpose.
22 & 23. According to Bhāmaha a hero's qua-
lities and feats should be described first and then only
those of the rival ending with the rival's defeat at
the hands of the hero. From the context नायकं in
Verse 22 refers to प्रतिनायक or a hero's rival. Bhāmaha
holds that the description of a person at the outset
bringing out his excellent traits, if he is to be killed
later, is not a desirable beginning for a poem. The
reason why a person described at first in a poem
should not meet with downfall at the hands of one-

FIRST PARICCHEDA 21
who comes later is given in Verse 23. If a person
is not intended to last down to the end of a poem or
to be crowned with success, it will be useless to refer
to him at all at the outset; for, the readers' sympa-
thies first enlisted one way will meet with a rude
shock. Daṇḍin as a reformer in the field of literary
criticism attacks this theory of Bhāmaha which
imposes restraint on the freedom of an author to
place his hero anywhere he likes and endorses his
approbation of both the methods of the treatment of
a hero in the following extract:—
नायकं प्रागुपन्यस्य गुणतस्तेन विद्विषाम् ।
निराकरणमित्येष मार्गः प्रकृतिसुन्दरः ॥
वंशवीर्यश्रुतादीनि वर्णयित्वा रिपोरपि ।
तज्जयान्नायकोत्कर्षवर्णनं च धिनोति नः ॥
(Kāvyādarśa I—21 & 22).
The first method has been resorted to in the
first and foremost Kāvya viz., Rāmāyaṇa. Rāma's
qualities are described in the first two Kāṇḍas, the
mischief of the foes in the Āraṇya Kāṇḍa, and the
plot finally works its way to the crowning victory
of Rāma in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa. In Śiśupālavadha,
Māgha expatiates upon the exploits of Śiśupāla at
the outset and then gradually works up the theme
to the final victory of Kṛṣṇa. This represents the
second of the two methods referred to herein. In
Naishadha the first method is adopted. Nala's qua-
lities form the subject-matter of the earlier portion

22 BHĀMAHĀLAṄKĀRA
of that Mahākāvya and through the intermediate
stages the final result is brought about viz., Nala’s
triumph over the gods at Damayantī’s svayaṁvara.
नाटकं द्विपदीशम्यारासकस्कन्धकादि यत् ।
उक्तं तदभिनेयार्थमुक्तोऽन्यैस्तस्य विस्तरः ॥ २४ ॥
24. Poetry that is fit to be staged comprises
Nāṭaka, Dvipadī, Śamyā, Rāsaka, Skandhaka and
the like. It is elaborately dealt with by others.
24. What is अभिनेयार्थ ? It is literature that can
be presented on the stage, a drama and the like.
This will fall under the purview of दृश्यकाव्य-literature
that can be seen on the stage as distinguished
from श्रव्यकाव्य—that which can only be heard or read.
Literature that can be presented on the stage is also
called रूपकं, of which नाटकं is the principal type. द्विपदी,
शम्या, रासक and स्कन्धक seem to be varieties of literature
presentable on the stage. They are now obscure.
उक्तोऽन्यैस्तस्य विस्तरः Bharata and other proficients in dra-
maturgy have elaborately dealt with it. The idea
is that the author does not propose to go into its de-
tails. Daśarūpaka of later origin is the most popu-
lar work of dramaturgy which holds the field.
For particulars about द्विपदी, शम्या, रासक and स्कन्धक,
see the following extracts from Bharatakośa edited: