Arjuna now asks
ye śāstravidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhāyānvitāh ।
teṣāṃ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvamāho rājastamah ॥BG 17.1
Some people in the world possess śraddhā, but not in the rules of the śāstra but in something else imagined by themselves. What happens to them?
Among the works written by the great poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa, it is only in Harṣacarita that we come across thoughts on literary aesthetics. Although the introductory verses in Kādambarī contain a couple of statements on the art of poetry, they are not directly linked to poetic theory. Besides, they are not very illuminating. Therefore, Harṣacarita is our only source. And it does not disappoint us.
The poet has this to say about pilferers of poetry at the beginning of the work:
Back in the āśrama, Sītā heard the cry of distress, which sounded just like her husband and with great anxiety she instructed Lakṣmaṇa, “Go and find out what has happened to Rāghava, for my very life is perturbed by the sound of his cry of anguish. Rush to your brother’s rescue, Lakṣmaṇa! He has fallen into the hands of rākṣasas, like a bull fallen prey to lions.” Recalling his brother’s instruction, Lakṣmaṇa did not go. Angered by this, Sītā said, “Saumitri! You are your brother’s enemy, masquerading as a friend. You refuse to aid him when he is in danger.
There are four kinds of activities of the buddhi. The first is analysis which means separating the object of inquiry into its constituent elements. The second is classification which is grouping the various components and properties of the object of inquiry. The third is causality which is identifying the cause-effect relationship as well as the estimation of the amount of a certain substance needed to achieve a specific effect.
Harṣavardhana has made a mark in the annals of Sanskrit literature with his three plays: Priyadarśikā, Ratnāvalī and Nāgānanda. Interestingly, the prologues of these plays are largely similar. Although there is no discussion here significant to literary aesthetics, we do find a verse that lays down certain fundamental tenets:
श्रीहर्षो निपुणः कविः परिषदप्येषा गुणग्राहिणी
Rāvaṇa said to the rākṣasa Mārīca, “My dear friend, hear me. I am in immense distress and you are my sole means of solace. You know Janasthāna, where once dwelt my powerful brothers Khara, Dūṣaṇa, and Triśiras as well as my sister Śūrpaṇakhā. As per my orders, they lived there with several other rākṣasas and constantly troubled the dhārmic munis. The brothers along with fourteen thousand rākṣasas have been slain by Rāma, who, although in rage, did not utter a single harsh word.
Whatever comes next is the crux of the kaṭhopaniṣat. This is where Naciketas asked Yama to answer his question. His question surprised Yama. Not willing to answer that, he tried to convince Naciketas to ask something else as vara. He tries to entice him with different gifts. Naciketas doesn’t budge, he adamantly states that if he wants to give a vara he should answer his question. He ties up Yama with his own words and makes him give away the answer. The conversation between them is intriguing.
śraddhèyoḻamirpudu trai-
vidhyaṃ prakṛtijaguṇatrayāgatamadariṃ |
buddhi samaṃtoṃtatsad-
baddhamiral śraddhèyaduve saṃsiddhikaram ||
There are three kinds of śraddhā,
arising from the guṇa-triad born of prakṛti.
When buddhi is completely restrained by
Om, Tat, Sat, śraddhā gives rise to perfection.
{ಮಂಜುಭಾಷಿಣಿ} ರಥೋದ್ಧತಾವೃತ್ತದ ಪ್ರತಿ ಪಾದದ ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಎರಡು ಲಘುಗಳನ್ನು ಬೆಸೆದರೆ ‘ಮಂಜುಭಾಷಿಣಿ’ ಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ:
ರಥೋದ್ಧತಾ
– u – u u u – u – u –
ಮಂಜುಭಾಷಿಣಿ
[u u] – u – u u u – u – u –
ಇದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ತಕ್ಕಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ನೆಲೆಗೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಮಾಘನೇ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಕವಿಗಳು ಇದನ್ನು ಕಥನಕ್ಕೆ ಕೂಡ ಬಳಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಒಂದೆರಡು ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳನ್ನೀಗ ಕಾಣೋಣ:
ಬೆಲೆಚೀಟಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಬೆಲೆಯಂ ಪೊಗಳ್ವುದೇಂ
ತಲೆಮಾಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಬಳಿಕಲ್ತೆ ಸಲ್ವೆಯಯ್ |
As Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa sat along with Sītā in leaf hut engrossed in conversation, a rākṣasī named Śūrpaṇakhā, the sister of the ten-headed rākṣasa Rāvaṇa happened to come there. As soon as the rākṣasī saw Rāma, she grew infatuated with him. While Rāma was handsome, she was ugly; he was slim and she had a huge tummy; he had wide eyes, and her eyes were crooked; his voice was sweet and hers struck terror. He was young, noble, and well mannered, while she was old, repulsive, and ill mannered.