Dr. Ganesh is a noted scholar of Indian aesthetics. Apart from studying a staggering number of works in this discipline, he has conceived original ideas, unknotted ticklish issues and provided insights into ancient concepts. He has peppered the present work with several such insights, as is his wont. Let us sample a few.
Vanitākavitotsavaḥ is a unique Sanskrit play written by Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh, an eminent contemporary poet. As the title indicates, it is a celebration of poetry composed by women. This work was first written around thirty years ago and was then published in Saṃskṛta-pratibhā, a quarterly journal brought out by Sahitya Akademi. It was recently revised and published as a book.[1]
As a devout follower of Ānandavardhana, Sāyaṇācārya accepts three śabda-vṛttis: abhidhā, lakṣaṇā and vyañjanā. He does not admit tātparya:
Let us now examine some of the salient features of Poetics expounded by Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi.
Kṣemendra was a man of many talents who straddled the realms of śāstra and kāvya. Although he composed several works in both these genres, his attainments as a poet outshine his scholarly contribution. Kṣemendra’s thoughts on literary aesthetics embedded in poetic works, though not pathbreaking, have an intrinsic value as the utterances of a prolific author. Let us examine some.
The poet communicates his aesthetic intent at the beginning of the satirical work Deśopadeśa: