Literature

ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದ ಹೆಸರೆತ್ತಿದೊಡನೆಯೇ ಕಂದಾಚಾರ-ಪ್ರತಿಗಾಮಿ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಅಪಪ್ರಥೆಗಳು ಅದಕ್ಕಂಟಿ ಬರುವಾಗ ಸ್ತ್ರೀವಿರೋಧಿಯೆಂಬ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ದುರುಪಾಧಿಯೂ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೋಷಕವೋ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರಿಗೆ ವೇದಾಧಿಕಾರವಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದೂ ಆಕೆಗೆ ಪ್ರಲಯಾಂತಕಬುದ್ಧಿಯೆಂದೂ ಹೆಡ್ಡತನವೆಂದೂ ನಾನಾವಿಧದ ಉಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಸಾಲುಗಟ್ಟಿ ಬಂದು ಮನುಮಹರ್ಷಿಯ “ನ ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯಮರ್ಹತಿ” ಎಂಬ ಮಹಾವಾಕ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರ್ಯವಸಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಉಕ್ತಿಗಳ ಪೂರ್ವಾಪರವನ್ನು ನಿಂದಕರಾರೂ ತಡಕಿದಂತಿಲ್ಲ.

ಇರಲಿ, ಪ್ರಸ್ತುತಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಈರ್ವರು ಮಹಾವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ನೋಡೋಣ.

अन्यून्यैः शतकात् कृतिस्स्वयमियं गूडार्थपद्यैर्यथा

कर्तव्येति ससंविदप्यतिचिरश्रान्तो मतिक्षोभितः ||

विश्रान्तोsस्म्यवशिष्टमर्धशतकं संग्रथ्य मत्संविदा

सार्धं यः परिपूरयेत्कृतिमिमां तस्मै सहस्रं नमः ||

The etymological meaning of the word ‘sāhitya’ is sahitasya bhāvaḥ – the union of several entities. In popular usage, however, it has come to mean a literary work—comprising genres like prose, verse, drama, and novel—that induces delight in its readers. Sāhitya is equivalent to the English word ‘literature.’

चोरस्सद्मोर्ध्वभेदादररविघटनात्तत्प्रघाणाप्रखाना

देडूकच्छेदनाद्वा विशति यदि गृहं तत्र नो नो विचारः |

किं त्वस्माकं सुरङ्गाकलनयति पुरे घोषयामास यस्मा

त्तस्मादेतत्सुरङ्गाधिप इति बिरुदं प्रोचुरेतत्पुरस्थाः ||

Nature Myths: In novels like ‘Vamshavruksha’, Jalapatha’, ‘Grahana’, ‘Datu’, ‘Parva’, ‘Nirakarana’, ‘Nele’ and some other novels, nature myths, natural phenomena and natural features like rain, spring or change of seasons, rivers, floods, cataracts, eclipses, mountains have been used effectively to reveal the influence of nature on the human situation.

नारायणस्य शय्यायां भोजनं स्यात्तु नोचितम् |

कथं साधु तदीयादिजन्मभक्षणमेव वः ||

The use of myth in ‘Saakshi’ also functions beautifully at another level by equating the mythical and magical power with the creative power of disinterested observation in an artist (novelist). This reminds me of what Coleridge says ‘’about the magical power of creativity, the power of an artist, in his poem ‘Kublakhan’:

‘That with music loud and long

I would build that dome in air,

That Sunny dome! Those caves of ice;

And all who heard should see them there

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Myth has become a prominent term at present in literary criticism. A large group of writers, myth-critics like Robert Graves, Francis Ferguson, Maud Bodkin, Richard Chase, Northrop Frye, Joseph Campbell and others view the genres and individual plot patterns of many works of literature - including what appear on the surface to be highly sophisticated and realistic world, as recurrences of basic mythic formulas.

भूत्वा पौल्कसकात् प्रपद्य रजकानाभाष्य पौराणिकान्

गानस्थानमुपेत्य चाशुकरणानालिङ्ग्य नत्वा कवीन् |

वेश्यासद्मनि संप्रविश्य च गता वैद्यस्य पाणिग्रहं

भूयो हन्त ! सुवर्णकारसदने सानन्दमास्ते मृषा ||

माणिक्यक्रमणं लोके मङ्गलाय भवेत्किल |

मङ्गले सहजेsस्माकं माणिक्यात्किं प्रयोजनम् ||