काव्यप्रकाश (आचार्य मम्मट - सम्पूर्ण १० उल्लास सटीक)

१५
६७ श्लोकान्ते–एषां लक्षणमाह ।
७० शुष्केन्धनाग्निवत् । शुष्केन्धनाग्निवत् ।
७१ दोषत्यागात्परे स्थिताः । दोषत्यागात्परेस्थिता ।
७४ आद्यतृतीयाभ्याम् । आद्ययोगतृतीयाभ्याम्
७६ गुणोमतः –
गुणः स्मृतः
७७ अष्टमः–अथ शब्दालङ्कारः ।
७८ वर्णसाम्यमनुप्रासः वर्णसाम्यमनुप्रासः ।
८० केषांचिदेता वैदर्भी । एषांविदेता वैदर्भी ।
८७ तद्धिते तथा । तद्धिते यथा ।
९० विपर्यास उपमेयोपमा तयोः । विपर्यास उपमानोपमेययोः ।
९४ परस्य यः । परस्परः ।
९५ श्लेषः स वाक्य एकस्मिन् । श्लेषः स वाच्य एकस्मिन् ।
९६ अभवन् वस्तु० अभवद्वस्तु० ।
९७ क्रिययैव च सापरा । क्रिययैव हि सापरा ।
१०६ ०विषयः । ०विषये ।

१६

१०८ वा तदन्येन समर्थ्यते। वा यदन्यो न समर्थ्यते। यत्र
११२ सन्न नेतरः। सन्न चेतरः।
११४ ०वाचकत्वेन यद्वचः। वाचकत्वेन वस्तु यत्॥
११७ परिकरस्तु सः। परिकरस्तथा।
१२६ गुणक्रिये। गुणे क्रियाभ्याम्
१२९ समेन लक्ष्मणा वस्तुवस्तुना यन्निगृह्यते। समेनवलक्षणा वस्तु वस्तुना यद्विगृह्यते।
१३० परस्परम्। विशेषणतया यत्र वस्तु। परस्परम्। विशेषणतया न तद्वस्तु।
१३१ यथानुभवमर्थस्य। यथानुभवदृष्टस्य।
१३६ स्वमुत्सृज्य गुणं योगादत्युज्ज्वल- स्वमुत्सृज्य गुणा योगादित्यज्ज्वलगुणस्य तत्।
गुणस्य यत्।
१३८ यदिह स्थितिः। यदिहा स्थितिः।
१४० स्फुटमेकत्र विषये। स्फुटमेकार्थविषये।
१४२ तमसंख्यकः श्लोकोऽयं नास्ति मुद्रितेषु इत्येष मार्गोभिन्नोऽप्यभिन्नरूपो भासते यत्।
ग्रन्थेषु। न तद्विचित्रं यदमूत्र सम्यक्‌विनिर्मितिः संघटनैतन हेतुः।

काव्यप्रकाशः
प्रथम उल्लासः
ग्रन्थारम्भे विघ्नविघाताय समुचितेष्टदेवता ग्रन्थकृत् परामृशति—
नियतिकृतनियमरहितां ह्लादैकमयीमनन्यपरतन्त्राम् ।
नवरसरुचिरां निर्मितिमादधती भारती कवेर्जयति ॥ १ ॥
नियतिशक्त्या नियतरूपा सुखदुःखमोहस्वभावा परमाण्वाद्यु-
पादानकर्मादिसहकारिकारणपरतन्त्रा षड्रसा न च हृद्यैव तै ,
तादृशी ब्रह्मणो निर्मितिर्निर्माणम् । एतद्विलक्षणा तु कविवाङ्-
निर्मितिः । अत एव जयति । जयत्यर्थेन च नमस्कार आक्षिप्यते
इति तां प्रत्यस्मि प्रणत इति लभ्यते ॥१॥
KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
CHAPTER I
[OF THE AIM, SOURCE AND KINDS OF POETRY.]
In the beginning, the author invokes the appropriate
divinity for the destruction of all obstacles.
Splendid is the poet's speech, comprehending a creation which
is without the restraints of Nature's laws, full of pleasure alone,
independent of other helps, rejoicing in a nine-fold Rasa.—(1)
Brahmā's creation is subject to the laws of Nature,
is full of pleasure, pain and delusion, is dependent
upon material and co-operative causes, such as atoms and
actions (matter and motion) respectively—has only six
tastes, and these, too, not always of an agreeable nature.
The creation of the poet's speech, on the contrary, is
different, and hence is 'splendid'—an expression which
implies reverence to it. 1.

2 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
इहाभिधेयं सप्रयोजनमित्याह--
काव्यं यशसेऽर्थकृते व्यवहारविदे शिवेतरक्षतये ।
सद्यः परनिर्वृतये कान्तासंमिततयोपदेशयुजे ॥ २ ॥
_ कालिदासादीनामिव यश श्रीहर्षादेर्धावकादीनामिव धनम्
राजादिगतोचिताचारपरिज्ञानम् आदित्यादेर्मयूरादीनामिवानर्थ-
निवारणम् ।
सकलप्रयोजनमौलिभूतं समनन्तरमेव रसास्वादन-
समुद्भूतं विगलितवेद्यान्तरमानन्दम् प्रभुसंमितशब्दप्रधान-
वेदादिशास्त्रेभ्यः सुहृत्संमितार्थतात्पर्यवत्पुराणादीतिहासेभ्यश्च
शब्दार्थयोर्गुणभावेन रसाङ्गभूतव्यापारप्रवणतया विलक्षणं
The author now states the subject-matter, together
with its aims :
Poetry brings fame and riches, knowledge of the ways of
the world and relief from evils, instant and perfect happiness,
and counsel sweet as from the lips of a beloved consort.—(2)
Fame—as to Kālidāsa and others , wealth—as to
Dhāvaka and other poets, from Śrī Harṣa and other
kings ; knowledge of rights and usages proper to kings
and others ; relief from evils—as to Mayūra, whose hymn
to the sun brought him a cure.
The chief aim of poetry, however, is the attainment
of the pure unmixed pleasure that follows instantane-
ously on the sensing of Rasa. When poetry exercises its
full functions, it helps the development of the various
Rasas (Emotions), sublating the direct effects of the word
and its meaning. As such poetry differs from the Veda,
in which the word, in the form of a master's command,
predominates ; it differs also from the Purāṇas, in which
the predominant element is friendly counsel (not to be

CHAPTER I 3
यत् काव्यं लोकोत्तरवर्णनानिपुणकविकर्म तत् कान्तेव
सरसतापादनेनाभिमुखीकृत्य रामादिवद्वर्तितव्यं न रावणादि-
वदित्यूपदेशं च यथायोगं कवेः सहृदयस्य च करोतीति सर्वथा
तत्र यतनीयम् ॥२॥
एवमस्य प्रयोजनमुक्त्वा कारणमाह--
शक्तिर्निपुणता लोकशास्त्रकाव्याद्यवेक्षणात् ।
काव्यज्ञशिक्षयाभ्यास इति हेतुस्तदुद्भवे ॥ ३ ॥
शक्तिः कवित्वबीजरूपः संस्कारविशेषः यां विना काव्यं
न प्रसरेत् प्रसृतं वा उपहसनीयं स्यात् । लोकस्य स्थावर-
जङ्गमात्मकलोकवृत्तस्य । शास्त्राणां छन्दोव्याकरणाभिधान-
कोशकलाचतुर्वर्गगजतुरगखङ्गादिलक्षणग्रन्थानाम् । काव्यानां
followed literally). Such poetry is the work of poets,
clever in depicting things in a manner passing the com-
prehension of ordinary men , it offers to other poets and
cultured men counsel most persuasively, like a beloved
wife, by means of a moving tenderness in the manner of
it (that is, in the words)—counsel such as that one should
behave like Rāma and not like Rāvaṇa. As such, poetry
is by all means to be studied and cultivated. 2
Having defined the aims, the author now states the
source of poetry.
Poetic genius, knowledge born of a study of the world,
of sciences and of poems, and the practice of the teachings
of those versed in writing poetry—these three together constitute
the source of poetry. (3)
(1) Poetic genius, which may be called the germ of
poetry. This is a peculiar faculty, without which there
could either be no poetical work or, if there were, would
be ridiculous.

4 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
च महाकविसंबन्धिनाम् । आदिग्रहणादितिहासाना च विमर्श-
नाद्व्युत्पत्ति. । काव्यं कर्तुं विचारयितु च ये जानन्ति तदुपदेशेन
करणे योजने च पौनःपुन्येन प्रवृत्तिरिति । त्रयः समुदिता. न तु
व्यस्ताः तस्य काव्यस्योद्भवे निर्माणे समुल्लासे च हेतुर्न तु
हेतवं ।। ३।।
एवमस्य कारणमुक्त्वा स्वरूपमाह—
तददोषौ शब्दार्थौ सगुणावनलंकृती पुनः क्वापि ।
दोषगुणालंकारा. वक्ष्यन्ते । क्वापीत्यनेनैतदाह यत् सर्वत्र
सालंकारौ क्वचित्तु स्फुटांलंकारविरहेपि न काव्यत्वहानि. ।
यथा
(2) Facility in composition, arising from a careful
study of—' objects,' i. e., of all kinds of objects, animate
as well as inanimate ; of the sciences, such as prosody,
grammar, lexicons, fine arts, the sciences dealing with
the four ends of life, and the sciences dealing with the
distinguishing qualities of elephants, horses and the
various weapons of warfare , and of poems, the works
of great poets. The word 'ādi' implies 'history' and
the rest.
(3) Frequent attempt at writing poetry, under the
direction of men capable of writing and appreciating it.
The above three conjointly, and not singly, constitute
the source, and not the sources, of poetry. 3.
Having thus stated the cause, the author next describes
the nature or character of poetry :
It consists in word and sense—without faults and with
merits and excellences of style—which may at times be
without Figures of Speech. (4)

CHAPTER I 5
यः कौमारहरः स एव हि वरस्ता एव चैत्रक्षपास्-
ते चोन्मीलितमालतीसुरभयः प्रौढाः कदम्बानिलाः ।
सा चैवास्मि तथापि तत्र सुरतव्यापारलीलाविधौ
रेवारोधसि वेतसीतरुतले चेतः समुत्कण्ठते ॥ १ ॥
अत्र स्फुटो न कश्चिदलंकारः। रसस्य च प्राधान्यान्नालंकारता।
तद्भेदान् क्रमेणाह—
इदमुत्तममतिशयिनि व्यङ्ग्ये वाच्याद्ध्वनिर्बुधैः कथितः ॥४॥
The faults (grammatical and other mistakes), merits
(mādhurya, etc.) and ornaments of speech (Upamā, etc.)
will be described later on (chapters VII, VIII, IX and X)
The words 'at times' mean that, while generally,
poetry has some figure or other, yet, if in some case
there be no figure directly expressed, that omission
alone need not make the composition unpoetical. For
instance—
“ My husband is the same as when from me he
stole my virginity ; these lovely Chaitra-nights
are the same ; this breeze, too, comes, as of old
from the Kadamba grove, laden with the fragrance
of Mālatī blooms ; and I, too, am the same.
Yet still my heart longs for Love’s dalliances
amidst the citron-bowers of Revā’s banks.”
In this verse, there is no explicit figure of speech
The Rasa (erotic) being the primary element, there cannot
be said to be a Figure (because, as the Pradīpa says, the
Rasa is not in a subordinate position, and therefore,
there is no Rasavadalaṅkāra , a Rasa is called a Figure
only when it occupies a subordinate position ) 3
The author next states the divisions of poetry.

6 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
इदमिति काव्यम् । बुधैर्वैयाकरणैः प्रधानभूतस्फोट-
रूपव्यङ्ग्यव्यञ्जकस्य शब्दस्य ध्वनिरिति व्यवहारः कृतः ।
ततस्तन्मतानुसारिभिरन्यैरपि न्यग्भावितवाच्यव्यङ्ग्यव्यञ्जन-
क्षमस्य शब्दार्थयुगलस्य । यथा—
निःशेषच्युतचन्दनं स्तनतटं निर्मृष्टरागोऽधरो
नेत्रे दूरमनञ्जने पुलकिता तन्वी तवेयं तनुः ।
मिथ्यावादिनि दूति बान्धवजनस्याज्ञातपीडागमे
वापी स्नातुमितो गतासि न पुनस्तस्याधमस्यान्तिकम् ॥२॥
अत्र तदन्तिकमेव रन्तुं गतासीति प्राधान्येनाधमपदेन व्यज्यते ॥४॥
The poetry in which the suggested meaning dominates the
expressed is poetry of the best kind, called 'Dhvani' by the
learned—(4)
By the learned—that is by the grammarians, that
word is called Dhvani which suggests the sphota,
which is all-important (inasmuch as it is through this
sphota that a word conveys its meaning), others carry
this theory of the grammarians farther still, and apply
the word Dhvani not only to words, but also to sense,
capable of suggesting meanings other than the directly
expressed ones. As an instance of Dhvani, we have—
"The sandal-paste has vanished from thy breast,
its colour has fled from thy lip; thine eyes have
lost their jetty fringing dye—and all thy slender
frame is quivering with hair on end. Thus I learn,
O false friend, that knowest not the approach of
thy friend's sufferings, that thou hast been only to
the tank to bathe and not to that mean wretch."
Here the words 'mean wretch' suggest the real
meaning 'thou hadst gone to dally in my lover's com-
pany.' 4.

CHAPTER I 7
अतादृशि गुणीभूतव्यङ्ग्यं व्यङ्ग्ये तु मध्यमम् ।
अतादृशि वाच्यादनतिशायिनि । यथा--
ग्रामतरुणं तरुण्या नववञ्जुलमञ्जरीसनाथकरम् ।
पश्यन्त्या भवति मुहुर्नितरां मलिना मुखच्छाया ॥ ३ ॥
अत्र वञ्जुललतागृहे दत्तसंकेता न गतेति व्यङ्ग्यं गुणीभूतं
तदपेक्षया वाच्यस्यैव चमत्कारित्वात् ॥
शब्दचित्रं वाच्यचित्रमव्यङ्ग्यं त्ववरं स्मृतम् ॥ ५ ॥
चित्रमिति गुणालंकारयुक्तम् । अव्यङ्ग्यमिति स्फुट-
प्रतीयमानार्थरहितम् । अवरम् अधमम् । यथा--
स्वच्छन्दोच्छलदच्छकच्छकुहरच्छातेतराम्वुच्छटा-
मूर्च्छन्मोहमहर्षिहर्षविहितस्नानाह्निका ह्नाय वः ।
When the suggested meaning is not dominant, as described
above, the poetry is but of middle excellence, and is called
the Poetry of Subordinate Suggestion—(5)
Example.—“There is a cloud on the face of the
young damsel at the sight of the country youth, with a
bunch of fresh Vañjula flowers.”
Here the suggested meaning—‘thou hadst promised
to bear me company in the Vañjula-bower, but thou never
didst go there,’ is subordinate to the more beautiful ex-
pressed meaning ‘cloud on the face.’
Non-suggestive poetry, consisting of fanciful words and
meanings, is of the inferior kind called ‘Fanciful’ by the
learned.—(5)
Fanciful—that, is possessing ‘merits’ and ‘figures,’
non-suggestive, i.e., devoid of any clearly suggested
meaning, ‘inferior’—of the lowest kind. Example :
svachhandochchhaladachchhakachchhakuharachchhātētarāmbuchchhatā
mūrcchhanmohamaharṣiharṣavihitasnānāhnikāhnāya vaḥ ।

8 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
भिद्यादुद्यदुदारदर्दुरदरीदीर्घादरिद्रद्रुम-
द्रोहोद्रेकमहोर्मिमेदुरमदा मन्दाकिनी मन्दताम् ॥ ४ ॥
विनिर्गतं मानदमात्ममन्दिराद् भवत्युपश्रुत्य यदृच्छयापि यम् ।
ससम्भ्रमेन्द्रद्रुतपातितार्गला निमीलिताक्षीव भियामरावती ॥ ५ ॥
इति काव्यप्रकाशे काव्यस्य प्रयोजनकारणस्वरूपविशेष-
निर्णयो नाम प्रथम उल्लासः ॥ १ ॥
bhidyādudyadudāradarduradarī dīrghādarīdradruma-
drohodrekamahormimeduramada mandākinī mandatām ॥
“ May Gaṅgā, the divine, all your doubts and errors
remove !—Gaṅgā, on whose sacred banks the happy
Ṛṣis perform their daily rites who have their delusions
washed away by the lovely sparkling of water dashing
against the rocky bank-holes full of big frogs, whose
pride is enhanced by the high waves rising on account
of the wide-spreading trees having fallen in.”
And again :—vinirgataṁ mānadamātmamandirād
bhavatyupaśrutya yadṛchhayāpi yam ।
sasambhramendradrutapātitārgalā
nimīlitākṣīva bhiyāmarāvatī ॥
(Full of fear as soon as Amarāvatī hears that he
has moved beyond his palace-gates—the pride of all
the Demon race—though it may be put for a pleasure
stroll, her gates are barred up in all haste and hurry by
agitated Indra and she wears the aspect of a maiden with
closed eyes.) 5.
Thus ends Chapter I, in which are determined the
aim, source and nature of Poetry.

CHAPTER II 9
द्वितीय उल्लासः
क्रमेण शब्दार्थयो स्वरूपमाह-
स्याद्वाचको लाक्षणिकः शब्दोऽत्र व्यञ्जकस्त्रिधा ।
अत्रेति काव्ये । एषां स्वरूपं वक्ष्यते ॥
वाच्यादयस्तदर्थाः स्युः
वाच्यलक्ष्यव्यङ्ग्याः ॥
तात्पर्यार्थोऽपि केषुचित् ॥ ६ ॥
आकाङ्क्षायोग्यतासंनिधिवशाद्वक्ष्यमाणस्वरूपाणां पदा-
र्थानां समन्वये तात्पर्यार्थो विशेषवपुरपदार्थोऽपि वाक्यार्थः
समुल्लसतीत्यभिहितान्वयवादिनां मतम् ॥
वाच्य एव वाक्यार्थ इत्यन्विताभिधानवादिनः ॥६॥
CHAPTER II
[ OF THE NATURE OF WORDS AND
THEIR MEANINGS. ]
The author describes, in due order, the nature of words
and their sense :-
Words here are of three kinds—the Expressive, the
Indicative and the Suggestive.
'Here' in poetry,—the exact nature of these is going
to be defined later on.
The meanings thereof are the Expressed and so forth.
That is, the Expressed, the Indicated and the Suggested.
According to some, the Import also -- (6)
The opinion held by the Abhihitānvayavādin Mīmām-
sakas (the followers of Kumārila) is that when the
denotations of a number of words—which are going to
be described later on—become related together, through
'mutual requirement,' 'compatibility' and 'proximity,'
there appears a resultant in the shape of the 'meaning of
the sentence,'—which is not expressed by any single
word constituting that sentence, and which, being, on
that account, of a peculiar character, comes to be called
by the name 'Tātparyārtha' or 'Import'.
The Anvitābhidhānavādins (followers of Prabhākara) on
the other hand, hold that the 'meaning of the sentence'
is the expressed meaning of the words themselves.

10 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
सर्वेषां प्रायशोऽर्थानां व्यञ्जकत्वमपीष्यते ।
तत्र वाच्यस्य यथा--
माए घरोवअरणं अज्ज हु णत्थि त्ति साहिअं तुमए ।
ता भण कि करणिज्जं एमेअ ण वासरो ठाइ ॥ ६ ॥
अत्र स्वैरविहारार्थिनीति व्यज्यते ।
लक्ष्यस्य यथा--
साहेन्ती सहि सुहअं खणे खणे दुम्मिआसि मज्झकए ।
सब्भावणेहकरणिज्जसरिसं दाव विरइअं तुमए ॥ ७ ॥
[By the former view, each word of the sentence expresses its
meaning, and these word-meanings, becoming related together, give
rise to the 'meaning of the sentence',—while by the latter view the
connected meaning of the sentence is also expressed by the words
themselves, as, according to this view, words have no meaning
apart from the sentence in which they occur ]
Almost all the various kinds of meanings are held to be
suggestive also.
As an example of 'suggestion' by the Expressed
meaning, we have the following :-
"You said, O mother, that house-hold requisites are
wanting. Say, then, what is to be done? Day-light will
not long continue";—where the meaning suggested is
that the woman speaking is desirous of roaming about for
enjoyment. 6.
[This suggestion has been inferred through the character of the
speaker, who is known to be a woman of loose character, if it came from
a virtuous person, the speech would convey no such suggestion at
all.]
As an example of suggestion by the Indicated meaning,
we have the following :-

CHAPTER II 11
अत्र मत्प्रियं रमयन्त्या त्वया शत्रुत्वमाचरितमिति
लक्ष्यम् । तेन च कामुकविषयं सापराधत्वप्रकाशनं व्यङ्ग्यम् ।
व्यङ्ग्यस्य यथा—
उअ णिच्चलणिप्पंदा भिसिणीपत्तम्मि रेहइ वलाआ ।
णिम्मलमरगअभाअणपरिट्ठिआ संखसुत्तिव्व ॥ ८ ॥
अत्र निष्पन्दत्वेन आश्वस्तत्वम् । तेन च जनरहितत्वम् ।
अतः संकेतस्थानमेतदिति कयाचित् कंचित्प्रत्युच्यते । अथवा
मिथ्या वदसि न त्वमत्रागतोभूरिति व्यज्यते ॥
“O friend ! you have for my sake been put to great
trouble in having to pursue that handsome man ; but
what you have done was prompted only by your good-
ness, kindness and affection for me ;”—where the mean-
ing Indicated (by the clear marks of infidelity perceived by
the speaker) that ‘ by giving the pleasure of your company
to my beloved, you have acted like my enemy ’ ;—and
what is suggested by this indicated meaning is that the lover
has proved unfaithful to his own beloved (by misbehaving
with her friend).
[This suggestion is based upon the fact of the speaker being the
beloved of the man to whom she had sent messages through her
friend.]
As an example of suggestion by the Suggested meaning
we have the following :—
“ See, the white crane, still and unperturbed, is shin-
ing on the lotus-leaf like a conch-shell resting on a dish
of flawless emerald.” The speaker says expressly that
the bird is sitting quiet, unmoved, and suggests thereby
the security of the spot, betokening the absence of in-
truders ; the suggestion, therefore, is that the spot is just
suited for their meeting. On the other hand, the suggestion

12 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
वाचकादीनां क्रमेण स्वरूपमाह
साक्षात्संकेतितं योर्थमभिधत्ते स वाचकः॥ ७ ॥
इहागृहीतसंकेतस्य शब्दस्यार्थप्रतीतेरभावात्संकेतसहाय एव
शब्दोऽर्थविशेषं प्रतिपादयतीति यस्य यत्राव्यवधानेन संकेतो
गृह्यते स तस्य वाचकः ॥७॥
सङ्केतितश्चतुर्भेदो जात्यादिर्जातिरेव वा ।
यद्यप्यर्थक्रियाकारितया प्रवृत्तिनिवृत्तियोग्या व्यक्तिरेव
तथाप्यानन्त्याद् व्यभिचाराच्च तत्र संकेतः कर्तुं न युज्यत इति
गौः शुक्लश्चलो डित्थ इत्यादीनां विषयविभागो न प्राप्नोतीति
च। तदुपाधावेव संकेतः।
may be, “ since the bird is sitting so peacefully, you could
not have come here ere this ; your protestation that you
had come here is consequently false.”
[This suggestion is based upon the fact of the two interlocutors
being lovers.]
The author now proceeds to describe in due order
the character of the Expressive and other kinds of words :—
That which denotes the direct conventional meaning is the
‘ Expressive ’ word.—(7)
As a matter of fact, in ordinary parlance, there is
no comprehension of the meaning of a word, the con-
vention regarding whose denotation is not known ;
thus it is only when the word is helped by its usage that
it expresses a certain meaning ; and when the conventional
denotation is apprehended directly, without the inter-
vention of any other agency, the word is said to be ‘ ex-
pressive ’ of that denotation or meaning. 7.
The conventional denotation is four-fold, consisting of Com-
munity and the rest,—or (according to some) Community alone.

CHAPTER II 13
उपाधिश्च द्विविधः—वस्तुधर्मो वक्तृयदृच्छासंनिवेशितश्च ।
वस्तुधर्मोपि द्विविधः—सिद्धः साध्यश्च । सिद्धोपि द्विविधः—
पदार्थस्य प्राणप्रदो विशेषाधानहेतुश्च । तत्राद्यो जातिः ।
उक्तं हि वाक्यपदीये—"न हि गौः स्वरूपेण गौर्नाप्यगौः । गोत्वा-
भिसंबन्धात्तु गौः" इति ।
Though in every case it is the individual that is
endowed with intelligent activity, and as such capable
of acting and desisting from action ;—yet it is not right
to restrict the conventional denotation to that alone,
as this would make the convention either indefinite
(if it were applied to all individuals, whose number is
infinite) or wrong (if it were restricted to any one or only
a few individuals, and hence not applicable to other in-
dividuals) ; and also because (if the convention were
restricted to individuals alone), no such distinction or
differentiation would be possible as we have in the ex-
pression—‘This (a) ox (community) which is (b) white
(attribute) and (c) Dittha (by name) is (d) walking (action).’
[As per hypotheses, every one of these four words would denote the
individual only, which is one and the same.]
For these reasons the only reasonable course is to
take the conventional denotation as appertaining only
to the characteristic appurtenant to the individual.
This characteristic of things is of two kinds—(a) that
which belongs to the thing by its very nature and (b)
that which is fastened upon it by the speaker ; the former
of these again is of two kinds—(c) that which is an accom-
plished entity and (d) that which has got to be accom-
plished ; the former of these again, is of two kinds—(e)
that which constitutes the very essence of the thing de-
noted by the word and (f) that which is the means of the

14 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
द्वितीयो गुणः। शुक्लादिना हि लब्धसत्ताक वस्तु विशिष्यते।
साध्यः पूर्वापरीभूतावयवः क्रियारूपः।
डित्थादिशब्दानामन्त्यबुद्धिनिर्ग्राह्यं संहृतक्रमं स्वरूपं वक्त्रा
यदृच्छया डित्थादिष्वर्थेषूपाधित्वेन संनिवेश्यत इति सोयं
संज्ञारूपो यदृच्छात्मक इति।
imposition upon it of some distinguishing feature ; of
these latter two, the former i. e. (e) is the Community,—as
has been declared in Vākyapadīya, 'By itself the ox is
neither an ox nor a non-ox, it is only by reason of its being
related to the community ox that it is called an "ox"
[which means that the community is the very essence of
the thing denoted];'—the latter [i. e. (f)] is the quality,
because when the thing has obtained its essence (become an
entity), it is the quality of whiteness and so forth, that serves
to distinguish it ;—(d) that which has got to be accom-
plished is the action, consisting of a series of steps appearing
one after the other ;—lastly, when the speaker, of his own
accord, fastens upon a particular object the distinguishing
characteristic in the shape of any such haphazard group
of letters as 'Dittha', 'Davittha' and so forth, solely
as a collocation of letter-sounds ending with the last
syllable, and not as occurring in any distinct order of
sequence, this group of letters is what forms the name of
the object concerned, and is what is classed as a proper
noun (b). This is what the author of the Mahābhāṣya
(on Pāṇini-sūtra, 'ṛḷk') has declared in the following
words—'The denotation of words is fourfold, as signi-
fied in the expression, "the ox which is white and named
Ḍittha is walking."'
As regards the Atomic Dimension and such other
Eternal Qualities (as, e.g. the Infinite Dimension, Sound

CHAPTER II 15
"गौःशुक्लश्चलो डित्थ इत्यादौ चतुष्टयी शब्दानां प्रवृत्तिः"
इति महाभाष्यकारः। परमाण्वादीना तु गुणमध्यपाठात् पारि-
भाषिकं गुणत्वम्। गुणक्रियायदृच्छाना वस्तुत एकरूपाणामप्या-
श्रयभेदाद् भेद इव लक्ष्यते। यथैकस्य मुखस्य खड्गमुकुरतैलाद्या-
लम्बनभेदात्।
and so forth) which, being eternal qualities, are coeval
with the substances to which they belong, of which latter,
on that account, they are the very 'essence', and as such
included under the category of 'community',—these
have even so been classed under the category of 'quality'
(and not under 'community'), only in view of the fact
that they have been classed (by the Vaiśeṣikas) under
'qualities'; but in reality they can be called 'quality'
only in a figurative or indirect sense.
As for qualities, actions and proper names, even
though each of them is, in reality one only (there being
only one whiteness, only one act of walking and only one
proper name 'Dittha', each of these being comprehen-
sive respectively of all individual shades of whiteness, of
all kinds of walking and of all instances of the utterance
of the particular name by several persons), yet it appears
as if there were some diversity in them, the reason whereof
lies in the fact of their subsisting in diverse individuals;
just as, for instance, though the face reflected is one only,
yet when it is reflected in diverse reflecting substances,
—such as the polished sword, the mirror, the oil and so
forth,—it has the appearance of being diverse.
[Hence as the diversity, in the case of quality, action and name is
only apparent, not real, the denotation of these does not involve either
'vagueness' or 'wrongness' which has been found in the case of the
denotation of individuals.]

16 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
हिमपयःशङ्खाद्याश्रयेषु परमार्थतो भिन्नेषु शुक्लादिषु यद्वशेन
शुक्ल. शुक्ल इत्याद्यभिन्नाभिधानप्रत्ययोत्पत्तिस्तत् शुक्लत्वादि
सामान्यम् । गुडतण्डुलादिपाकादिष्वेवमेव पाकत्वादि । बाल-
वृद्धशुकाद्युदीरितेषु डित्थादिशब्देषु च प्रतिक्षणं भिद्यमानेषु
डित्थाद्यर्थेषु वा डित्थत्वाद्यस्तीति सर्वेषां शब्दानां जातिरेव
'प्रवृत्तिनिमित्तमित्यन्ये । तद्वान् अपोहो वा शब्दार्थ. कैश्चिदुक्त
इति ग्रन्थगौरवभयात् प्रकृतानुपयोगाच्च न दर्शितम् ॥७॥
Some people (1. e. the Mīmāṁsakas) have argued as
follows :—"(a) Even though the quality of whiteness
subsisting in such varied substances as the snow, the
milk, the conch and other things is in reality diverse, yet
there is something in them by virtue of which all of them
are spoken of and comprehended under the single common
name 'whiteness' ; and this something is what has been
called the 'community of whiteness',—(b) similarly, in
the cooking of such diverse things as molasses, rice and so
forth, there is the 'community of cooking';—(c) as also
in the name 'Ḍittha' as pronounced by such diverse
individuals as the boy, the grown up man, the parrot and
so forth ; or as applied to such and such objects named
'Ḍittha' as are undergoing transformation at every mo-
ment, there is the 'community of the name Ḍittha';—and
from all this it is clear that the denotation of the word
consists (in all cases) in the community only (and not in
quality, action and name also.)"—7
There is another view held by others (i.e. the Naiyāyikas)
viz., that what is denoted by the word is the Individual as
belonging to the Community.
Yet others (Bauddhas) have held the view that what is

CHAPTER II 17
स मुख्योऽर्थस्तत्र मुख्यो व्यापारोऽस्याभिधोच्यते ॥ ८ ॥
स इति साक्षात्संकेतितः । अस्येति शब्दस्य ॥ ८ ॥
मुख्यार्थबाधे तद्योगे रूढितोऽथ प्रयोजनात् ।
अन्योऽर्थो लक्ष्यते यत्सा लक्षणारोपिता क्रिया ॥ ९ ॥
‘कर्मणि कुशलः’ इत्यादौ दर्भग्रहणाद्ययोगात् ‘गङ्गायां
घोषः’ इत्यादौ च गङ्गादीनां घोषाद्याधारत्वासंभवात् मुख्यार्थस्य
बाधे विवेचकत्वादौ सामीप्ये च संबन्धे रूढितः प्रसिद्धेः तथा
denoted by the word is the ‘Apoha’, i.e., ‘the negation
of the contrary’.
[e. g., what the word ‘ox’ denotes is ‘the negation of the ‘non-ox’,
this view being in accordance with the Bauddha theory that there
is absolutely no positive entity in the world.]
All these various views are not set forth here, as it
would unduly prolong our work, and it would not serve
any useful purpose in regard to the real subject-matter
of the treatise.
That is the primary meaning; and this is the primary
function of it (the word), called ‘denotation’.—(8)
‘That’—i.e., the directly conventional;—‘of it’, of
the word. 8.
When the primary meaning is precluded (by incompati-
bility), another meaning, in affinity therewith, comes to be
implied,—either on the basis of usage or for a special
purpose,—this process of imposed implication is called ‘Indica-
tion’, Lakṣaṇā.—(9)
(a) In the expression ‘karmaṇi kuśalaḥ’, (used in
the sense of ‘expert in his work’) the primary meaning
of the word ‘kuśalaḥ’ is ‘grass-chopper’, and this
idea of ‘grass-chopping’ is not compatible with the
sense of the sentence;—similarly in the expression
2

18 KĀVYAPRAKĀŚA
गङ्गातटे घोष इत्यादेः प्रयोगात् येषां न तथा प्रतिपत्तिः तेषां
पावनत्वादीना धर्माणां तथाप्रतिपादनात्मनः प्रयोजनाच्च मुख्येन
अमुख्योऽर्थो लक्ष्यते यत् स आरोपितः शब्दव्यापारः सान्तरार्थ-
निष्ठो लक्षणा ॥ ९॥
‘ gaṅgāyāṁ ghoṣaḥ ’ (used in the sense of ‘ the ranch in the
Gaṅgā ’) the primary meaning of the term ‘ Gaṅgā ’ is
the river itself, and this is incompatible as the location for
the ranch ;—hence in both these cases ‘ the primary mean-
ing is barred ’; and ‘ another ’ secondary meaning comes
to be implied by the primary meaning in each of these
two cases,—(a) the term ‘ kuśala ’, implying the sense of
the ‘ expert ’, which is ‘ in affinity with ’ the primary sense
of ‘ grass-chopping,’ in this that just as the ‘ expert in
business is possessed of discrimination so is the grass-
chopper also (who cuts what he needs and rejects what he
does not need),—and (b) the term ‘ Gaṅgā ’ implying
the sense of ‘ the bank,’ which is ‘ in affinity with ’ the
primary sense of the ‘ river ’ in this that it is situated in
close proximity ,—and while in (a), the case of the term
‘ kuśala ’, the said implication is based upon ‘ usage ’
(by which the term is generally used in the sense of ‘expert’),
while in (b), in that of the term ‘ Gaṅgā,’ the said impli-
cation proceeds on the basis of the ‘ purpose ’ of pointing
out those properties of ‘ sanctity ’ and the rest which could
not be expressed by the use of such expressions as ‘ gaṅgā-
tate ghoṣaḥ ’ (‘ the ranch on the bank of the Gaṅgā ’); this
function of indirect implication is ‘ imposed ’ upon the
word, in the sense that it is not direct (from the word to
the meaning), but indirect, through certain intervening
factors (in the shape of the ‘ incompatibility of the primary
meaning ’ and the rest mentioned in the text). 9.