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

XX INTRODUCTION.
when a poet is armed with all the equipments necessary as pointed
out previously, he may commence to write and while doing so,
observe certain rules of discipline. Thereafter, in the same chapter
the routine to be followed by a poet for all the twenty four hours
is given along with certain secret hints, which may be found very
instructive. Among others, this chapter lays down that (i) a poet
should not read his composition to others so long as it is in an
incomplete stage; (ii) he should not be vain on account of his
good composition; (iii) he should obtain the opinion of his
superiors on his own composition before publication; (iv) he
should not create an enmity with impostrous poets ( v ) and he
should prepare several transcripts of his composition as soon as
final touches had been given.
At the end, the author lays down special rules to be observed
by a king when he himself happens to be either a poet or a patron
of the men of letters.
The third subject is dealt with in eight chapters (11-18) where
the author enumerates various methods considered to be definitely
injurious to the reputation of a poet, and gives copious instances
to illustrate his view-point. This part deals with plagiarism,
conventions of ancient poets, Indian geography and the geography
of the world, ancient methods of description of incidents, places
and men, computation of time, and seasonal changes. While con-
cluding, the author reminds his readers that the methods adopted
by ancient writers are the best and should be adhered to, while
modern methods which run counter to the usage established by
the ancients¹ should be abandoned. How immensely helpful these
hints are, can be realized only too well by one who can detect the
unruly tendencies in modern literature in the extreme pursuit of
the phantom of realistic art !
II. Historical Data.
As has been shown already, the contributions of the Kāvya-
mīmāṁsā to the elucidation of the cultural history of India, are
many and varied. No less important are its contributions to the
political history of Mediæval India. While illustrating the

1. Cf. देशेषु पदार्थानां व्यत्यासो दृश्यते स्वरूपस्य। तन्न तथा बध्नीयात्कविबद्धमिह प्रमाणं नः॥ p. 111.
   अनुसन्धानशून्यस्य भूषणं दूषणायते। सावधानस्य च कवेर्दूषणं भूषणायते॥ p. 112.