काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

XVIII INTRODUCTION.
Nevertheless marked similarity also is noticeable in the
method of treatment here with that of Kauṭilya and Vātsyāyana.
For instance, the full list of subjects, treated of in the Arthaśāstra
and the Kāmasūtra, appears at the end of the first chapter and
here, likewise it is given at the end of the first chapter Śāstra-
saṅgraha. It is a matter of regret, however, that all MSS. of
the text do not contain the full list of subjects treated in all the
eighteen Adhikaraṇas; instead, we find the list complete only for
the first Adhikaraṇa or Kavirahasya with the significant remark
इत्यादि at the end.
Since the whole work in eighteen Adhikaraṇas is not found, it
is very difficult to understand the working of the author's mind in
the commencement of the Kāvyamīmāṁsā; but from the imperfect
materials thus at our command, it can be asserted, somewhat hesi-
tatingly, that the first three Adhyāyās or chapters of the first
Adhikaraṇa are intended by the author to serve as a general
introduction to the whole work of the Kāvyamīmāṁsā in eighteen
Adhikaraṇas. The first Adhikaraṇa or the Kavirahasya under
the circumstances begins from the fourth Adhyāya.
In the first of the three Adhyāyas, the author treats of the
origin of the science of poetics, and gives a comprehensive list of
subjects included therein. In the second Adhyāya, he makes an
attempt to determine the exact position of the science of poetics in
relation to the Vedas and post-Vedic literature, and declares that the
science dealt with by him should be regarded as the seventh
Vedāṅga and the fifteenth Vidyāsthāna. It is well known that the
Vedāṅgas in Sanskrit literature are six in number, and the number
of sciences has been fixed at fourteen, and in none of these lists
the science of poetics is included. In support of his contention,
Rājaśekhara goes on to say that the science of poetics has the
function of correctly interpreting the Vedic texts, and thus serves
the purpose of an auxilliary to the Vedas in the same way as the
other Vedāṅgas. He further asserts that the function of the
fourteen Vidyāsthānas, is to impart the knowledge of the Dharma
and Artha, and since from the science of poetics or Kāvyavidyā
the same result is obtained, it should also be regarded as one of
the Vidyāsthānas, and should not be distinguished from the
other fourteen sciences.