महावीरचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - वीररस-प्रधान रामकथा नाटक सम्पूर्ण ७ अङ्क सटीक)

Introduction [lxxxvi]

Bhavabhūti as a Poet

46. Bhavabhūti's shortcomings.—So far as it is possible to separate
the functions of a dramatist from those of a poet, we will now try to bring
out some of the special qualities of Bhavabhūti's poetry; and first we will
speak of his shortcomings because they are so very few. Most of them are
on the surface, and are the more often felt because critics attempt to apply
to the poet standards which belong neither to his country nor to his time;
but some are radical defects, and belong as much to the man as to his
works. Thus, especially in his early works, the poet does not seem to have
risen above the standards imposed upon him from without. He came after
Bāṇa, or at least at a time when long mouth-filling words were regarded as
the very essence of poetic composition. Words had to be arranged in a
particular way so as to give a particular rīti, a particular kind of alliterative
effect, which was supposed to represent a particular kind of emotional
mood. Softer emotions were expressed in simpler words, the more fiery or
warlike emotions in harsh, guttural sounds, uttered in rapid succession.¹
The result has been those long descriptive passages in the Mālatī-Mādhava
and elsewhere, which do not even contain ideas sufficiently poetic to offer
a sort of a justification for the poet. It may be that his own audience was
trained to such language, and grasped it more readily than we can do now,
but the very fact that, as he advanced in his work, he gave up his earlier
and more cumbrous style in favour of the simpler style of the Uttara-
Rāma-charita, is an argument against such a supposition. Where there is
such a deliberate straining after effect we need not be surprised if here
and there we meet some infelicities of expression.² Secondly, Bhavabhūti
now and then exhibits a tendency to exaggerate, and so to transcend the
bounds of what is poetically probable. We must not, however, in this case
judge the poet too harshly. Almost all romantic writers, Oriental or non-
Oriental, modern or ancient, not infrequently indulge in exaggeration for
the sake of deeper colour and stronger effect. A third fault in Bhavabhūti
is pithily expressed by the formula that he has more passion than poetry.
As Dr. Bhandarkar puts it, where Kālidāsa suggests, Bhavabhūti expresses.
‘The characters of the latter, overcome by the force of passion, often weep
bitterly, while those of the former simply shed a few tears, if they do so at
all.’³ Now with an external manifestation of emotions as such, we need

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¹ This is best illustrated in U. R. C. v. 26,
where the first half has a different rīti
from the last half. Most of the illustra-
tions which follow are purposely chosen
from this play only.
² Thus guñjat used of an elephant's roar
(U. R. C. v. 6ᵃ); ghaṭā used of a flock of
owls (U. R. C. ii. 29ᵃ); &c.
³ Mālatī-Mādhava, 2nd ed., preface, p. xii.