Indian Poetics

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:-

This blog is a part of a thinking activity given by Dilip Barad Sir from The English Department, MKBU, Bhavnagar. Check out Dilip Barad sir's Blog Site (Click here) for more information and knowledge about Indian Poetics and other works and writers. In this blog I like to tell something about Indian Poetics. How it emerges and help us to understand Litrature as well as according to me day to day life. 

WHAT IS INDIAN POETICS?

Let's start from the word Poetics. We all not that what is Indian but emotions which are described in Indian Poetics connected with every human being not only with the Indians.

Now Poetics means કાવ્યશાસ્ત્ર in Gujrati, छंदशास्र (काव्यशास्त्र) in Hindi. So one can easily know that how Poetics works. There is also a very well known book named 'Poetics' by Aristotle gives a theory for Literature. But the Poetics describe to buy ancient Indians called Indian poetics and has deeper meaning in it. 

Indian Poetics includes so many schools which written and described by various Munis and Acharyas. 

• Rasa School by Bharata                 
• Alankara School by Bhamaha      
• Dhvani School by Anandvardhana
• Vakrokti School by Kuntaka            
• Guna and Dosa School by Dandin
• Roti School by Vamana                  
• Aucitya School by Ksemendra      
• Ramaniyata by Panditraja Jagannatha

Indian poetics refers to the literary theory and aesthetics of poetry in the Indian subcontinent. It is rooted in ancient Indian literature, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Indian poetics also encompasses the works of later poets and literary figures, such as Kalidasa and Bharavi, who wrote in Sanskrit, as well as the literature of regional languages like Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu. (This paragraph taken from Chat GPT)

As above described by AI aslo seems to be related to other languages poetics which connects not only Indian Litrature with each other but emotions of others too. Epic Poems named Mahabharata and Ramayana has fountains of all the emotions and schools. 

In the essay "Linguistics and Poetics" by Roman Jakobson he defines Poetics as the study of 'What makes a verbal message a work of art.' 

According to Satya Dev Chaudhary, 'The Indian politics is nothing but Sanskrit Poetics which is an immortal encyclopaedia of the theories and doctrines about poetry and drama.' The Sanskrit Poetics white spread over period of one and half or two thousand years. 

There is a pdf available work under Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University. (Click here to read) 

According to G.T. Despande Indian Poetics has Five stages:-

1. Kriyakalpa
2. Kavyalakshana
3. Kavyalamkara
4. Sahitya
5. Sahityapaddhati

While according to Satya Dev Chaudhary, 'the subject matter' divided into ten Kavyaangas (constituents of poetry):-

1. Kavya-Svarupa:- The causes of poetry, the definition of poetry, various classifications of poetry and the purpose of poetry.
2. Sabdasakti:- the signification of a word.
3. Dhvani-Kavya:- a piece of poetry containing aesthetic suggestivity.
4. Gunibhuta-Vyangya-Kavya:- a piece of poetry where suggested sense is secondary to primary sense.
5. Rasa:- the poetic relish.
6. Guna:- the excellences is in poetic expression.
7. Riti:- the style of poetry.
8. Alankara:- the figurative beauty of poetry.
9. Dosa:- blemishes in poetry expression.
10. Natya-Vidhana:- Dramaturgy (the theory and practice of dramatic composition)

To know about Aristotle Poetics in detail visit my another blog (Click here).

Here is a video available on YouTube by Vinod Joshi Sir on Indian Poetics.

For Natyashastra or Rasa theory by Bharatamuni visit my another blog (Click here).

DHVANI BY AANADVARDHANA:-

Dhvani means Noise and Sound and in some case name of a girl which basically means Noise and Sound. But here Dhvani has different meaning.

The theory of Dhvani, propounded by Anandvardhana in his text 'Dhvanyaloka'. This theory lies the question of meaning - whether it should be expressed directly (Svabhavokti) or indirectly (Vyanjana). 

Dhvanyaloka consists of 138 karikas, written in simple verse (Sloka or Arta meter) and intended to be memorized. Karikas usually introduced with some search remark as 'This is a supportive (Parikara) stanza' or 'Herewith a summarising (sanksepa, sangraha) stanza'. 

If we look at the simple definition of Dhvani it says 'In which the word and meaning become secondary and that which manifests the concrete meaning is called Dhvani'. Ex. Darkened means the light has gone but it has to be taken to mean that someone has died. 

Anandvardhana writes about Dhavni:-

इति काव्यार्थविवेको योऽयं चेतश्चमत्कृतिविधायी।

सूरिभिरनुसृतसारैरस्मदुपज्ञो न विस्मार्यः॥

ध्वनिकृतामालंकारिकसरणिव्यवस्थापकत्वात्

He also described that Dhvani adorns like a woman's beauty. 

• अर्थः चैत्सिक इति ।
• मुहावरा लक्षणम् ।
• Sound connected with likes and dislikes.
• The cause of sound is motion or movement.
• Sounds are signals and they signal.

Acharya Mammat (मम्मट) gave three words:-

• Abhidha (अभिधा):- The first meaning that emerges while reading is Abhidha.
• Lakshna (लक्षणा):- Deduct the original meaning and take the nearest meaning.
• Vyanajana (व्यंजना):- If you get a direct meaning but you don't have to take it, instead of taking another meaning.

Dhvani divided into three parts:-

1. Vastu Dhvani
2. Alankar Dhvani
3. Ras Dhvani

VAKROKTI BY KUNTAKA:-

According to Kuntaka, 'a certain strikingness of expression (Vakrokti) which is essence (Jivita) of poetry'. The Vakrokti is a mere Poetic figure (kavyalamkara) based upon a play of words and occurs as a kind of pretended speech, in which a sentence or word spoken in one sense by a speaker is taken in another sense another speaker, either because it may be uttered with a peculiar Intonation (kaku) with changes its meaning or because it may be supposed to admit of a double meaning (slesa), the object of this intentional mistake being that of making a suitable or clever reply.

According to Mammata, 'Vakrokti is when a sentence expresses one meaning take in one way and another taken in another, the combination being effected by puns (slesa) or by tone of voice (kaku). 

According to Bhamaha Vakrokti 'not as an Alamkara but as a characteristic mode of expression which underlines all Alamkara and which this forms an essential element of poetry itself, whose meaning can be manifested by Vakrokti alone...'

Here is a video on this available on YouTube which might help you to understand about Vakrokti.

There are six types of Vakrata:-

1. Varna-Vinyasa-Vakrata
2. Pada-Purvardha-Vakrata
3. Pada-Parardha-Vakrata
4. Vakya-Vakrata
5. Prakarana-Vakrata
6. Prabanha-Vakrata

ALAMKARA:-

Natyashastra contains the seeds of Alamkara. Bhamaha is considered as an originator of the Alamkara School in Sanskrit Poetics. He deemed to be the advocate of the Alamkara School of Poetics. His KAVYALAMKARA is the earliest work on ALAMKARA. It is divided into six chapters and contains 398 verses. The word Alamkara derived from the word ALAM - It means Gold in Greek - which in Sanskrit means the making of adornments and beautification.

Alamkaras divided into two parts which includes different Alamkaras:-

• Sabdalamkara 
• Arthalamkara

Here are some other Alamkaras given below:-

• Anupras is a Sabdalamkara known as allitration.
• Yamaka is a Sabdalamkara. 
•  Rupaka is an Arthalamkara.
• Dipaka is an Arthalamkara.
• Upma
• Atisayokti
• Utpreksha
• Prativastupama
• Vibhavana
• Vyatireka
• Svabhavokti
• Akshep
• Arthantranyas
• Samsokti
• Vakrokti

NOTE:- If you find any problem or question or suggestions please let me know☺️.