Vakroti
Kuntaka was an 11th century poetician who brilliantly anticipated many concepts used in 20th century criticism.
His theory of Vakrokti is a comprehensive one. It means figurativeness and obliquity of expression. It is a manifestation of the basic obliquity of the poet’s creative process.
According to Kuntaka, vakrokti or figurativeness manifests at 6 levels of expression in poetry:
Phonetic
Lexical
Grammatical
Sentential
Contextual
Compositional
There is a surprising similarity between Kuntaka’s vakrokti and the concept of style as ‘deviation from the norm’ seen in modern stylistics. However it is equally important that while stylistics is concerned with phonological, grammatical and lexical aspects of the language, Kuntaka takes into account larger units of discourse also, such as context and composition itself taken as a whole. This enables him to view the entire gamut of the poetic creation from the point of view of artistic efficacy.
Phonetic figurativeness (Varnavinyasa Vakrata)—encompasses alliteration, rhyme, and all other subtle effects of sound in poetry. Kuntaka recognises onomatopoeic effects. Shakespeare’s ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’.
Lexical figurativeness (padapurvardha Vakrata)—includes stylistic choice in vocabulary, metaphor, power of adjectives and veiled expressions. For example, carefully concealing a Maha Pataka—“Is he despatched”
Grammatical figurativeness ( pratyaya vakrata)—involves the deft use of suffixes, especially those indicating numbers, person, and case forms. It also includes delineation of inanimate objects as animate and personification of objects—instead of saying ‘tense’—‘make my seated heart knock at my ribs’.
Sentential Figurativeness (Vakyavakrata)—it is the permeating presence that enters all other elements. The effect is akin to a painter’s stroke that shines out distinctively from the beauty of the material used.
Kuntaka’s theory does not stop with the analysis of sentences as is done in stylistic studies, since techniques like contextual and compositional figurativeness analyze larger segments of the discourse than the sentence.
Contextual figurativeness (Prakarana vakrata) comprises all those factors which contribute to the strikingness of the context. The equivocation in the prediction of witches, culminating in the materialization of the Birnamwood coming to Dunsinane, the emergence of Macduff, ‘untimely ripp’d from his mother’s womb’ to kill Macbeth, the apparition of the witches and the sleepwalking scene are examples of contextual figurativeness.
Compositional figurativeness ( Prabandha vakrata). This includes adaptation of a story from a well-known source with new twists added to it, with a new emotional significance, deletion of unnecessary episodes, the development of even minor incidents into events of far reaching consequences and striking ness. Kuntaka regards a literary composition as an allegory which conveys some profound moral message and this moral content is also regarded as a compositional figurativeness.
Duncan from a young and unsatisfactory monarch into a venerable old man so that his murder seems more gruesome. Conversion of a catalog of crime and bloodshed in Holinshed into a profound study of guilt and self-destruction.
Alamkara
Alamkara denotes an extraordinary turn given to an ordinary expression; which makes ordinary speech into poetic speech (Sabratha sahitya) ; and , which indicates the entire range of rhetorical ornaments as a means of poetic expression. In other words, Alamkara connotes the underlying principle of embellishment itself as also the means for embellishment.
According to Bhamaha, Dandin and Udbhata the essential element of Kavya was in Alamkara. The Alamkara School did not say explicitly that Alamkara is the soul of Poetry. Yet, they regarded Alamkara as the very important element of Kavya. They said just as the ornaments enhance the charm of a beautiful woman, so do the Alankaras to Kavya: shobha-karan dharman alamkaran prakshate . The Alamkara School, in general, regarded all those elements that contribute towards or that enhance the beauty and brilliance of Kavya as Alamkaras. Accordingly, the merits of Guna, Rasa, and Dhvani as also the various figures of speech were all clubbed under the general principle of Alamkara.
Though Vamana advocates Riti, he also states that Alamkara (Soundarya-alamkara) enhances the beauty of Kavya. Vamana said Kavya is the union of sound and sense which is free from poetic flaws (Dosha) and is adorned with Gunas (excellence) and Alamkaras (ornamentation or figures of speech).
According to Mammata, Alamkara, though a very important aspect of Kavya , is not absolutely essential. He said; Kavya is that which is constructed by word and sentence which are (a) faultless (A-doshau) (b) possessed of excellence (Sugunau) , and, (c) in which rarely a distinct figure of speech (Alamkriti) may be absent.
Indian music tradition classifies alankara as rational or irrational, wherein irrational alankara being those that cannot be reduced to a fixed scale degree pattern. The Indian theory of gamaka covers the group of irrational alankara.The concept of alankara applies to both vocal and musical instrument performance.
There are two large classes of alankara: arthalankar (artha, “meaning”), which ornaments the meaning of the word, and shabdalankar (shabda, “word”), which ornaments its sound. The most important of the arthalankar include simile (upama), metaphor (rupaka), hyperbole (atishayokti), and wordplays (shlesha).
Aucitya
Kshemendra – wrote a critical work Auchitya-alamkara or Auchitya-vichara-charcha (discussions or the critical research on properties in poetry), and a practical handbook for poets Kavi-katnta-abharana (ornamental necklace for poets) – calls Auchitya the appropriateness or that which makes right sense in the given context as the very life-breath of Rasa – Rasa Jivi-bhoot aaya.
He said Auchitya is the very life of Kavya (Kavyasya jivitam) that is endowed with Rasa (Aucityam rasa siddhanta sthiram kavyasya jeevitham).
Abhinavagupta avers that the life principle (jivitatvam) of Kavya could said to be the harmony that exists among the three : Rasa, Dhvani and Auchitya – Uchita-sabdena Rasa-vishaya-auchitya bhavathi darshayan Rasa-Dhvani jivitatvam suchayati. Thus, Auchitya is entwined with Rasa and Dhvani.
He asserts that Auchitya implies , presupposes and stands for ‘suggestion of Rasa’ – Rasa-dhvani – the principles of Rasa and Dhvani.
The most essential element of Rasa , he said, is Auchitya. The test of Auchitya is the harmony between the expressed sounds and the suggested Rasa. And , he described Auchitya as that laudable virtue (Guna) which embalms the poetry with delight .
According to Kshemendra, all components of Kavya perform their function ideally only when they are applied appropriately and treated properly. “When one thing befits another or matches perfectly, it is said to be appropriate, Auchitya”:
(Aucityam prahuracarya sadrasham kila; Aucitasya ka vo bhava stadaucityam pracaksate).
The concept of Auchitya could , perhaps, be understood as the sense of proportion between the whole (Angin) and the part (Anga) and harmony on one side; and, appropriateness and adaptation on the other.
It said; be it Alamkara or Guna, it will be beautiful and relishing if it is appropriate (Uchita) from the point of view of Rasa; and, they would be rejected if they are in- appropriate . And, what is normally considered a Dosha (flaw) might well turn into Guna (virtue) when it is appropriate to the Rasa
But, many are hesitant to accept Auchitya as the Atma of the Kavya. They point out that Auchitya by its very nature is something that attempts to bring refinement into to text; but, it is not an independent factor. And, it does not also form the essence of Kavya. Auchitya is also not a recognized School of Poetics.
27 Types of Auchitya By Kshemendra
Pada (Phrase)
Vakya( sentence)
Prabhandhanartha (the meaning of the whole composition)
Guna(qualities)
Alankara(poetic figure)
Rasa ( State of being)
Kriya(Verb)
Karaka (case ending)
Linga(Gender)
Vachana (Number)
Visheshana (Qualification)
Upsarg (Prefix)
Nipata (Redundancies)
Kala (Time)
Desh (country)
Kula (Family)
Vrata (custom)
Tatva (Truth)
Satva(Inherent self)
Abhipraya (Motive)
Sara Sangraha (essential property)
Pratibha (Innate ability)
Avastha (state)
Vichara(Thought)
Nama(Name)
Aashirwad(Blessings)
Emotions are an integral part of humans.
This is known as Auchitya.
Riti
Vamana called the first section (Adhikarana) of his work as Sarira-adhikaranam – reflections on the body of Kavya. After discussing the components of the Kavya-body, Vamana looks into those aspects that cannot be reduced to physical elements. For Vamana, that formless, indeterminate essence of Kavya is Riti.
Then, Vamana said; the essence of Kavya is Riti (Ritir Atma Ka Vysya – VKal_1,2.6 ); just as every body has Atma, so does every Kavya has its Riti. And, Riti is the very mode or the act of being Kavya. Thus for Vamana, while Riti is the essence of Kavya, the Gunas are the essential elements of the Riti. The explanation offered by Vamana meant that the verbal structure having certain Gunas is the body of Kavya, while its essence (soul) is, Riti.
Riti represents for Vamana the particular structure of sounds (Vishista-pada-rachana Ritihi) combined with poetic excellence (Vishesho Gunatma) . According to Vamana, Riti is the going or the flowing together of the elements of a poem
– Rinati gacchati asyam guna iti riyate ksaraty asyam van madhu-dhareti va ritih (Vamana KSS).
The language and its structural form lead us to the inner core of poetry. And, when that language becomes style (Riti), it absorbs into itself all the other constituent elements of poetry. It allows them, as also the poetic vision, to shine through it.
Vamana, therefore, accorded Riti a very high position by designating Riti as the Soul of Kavya – Riti is to the Kavya what Atman is to the Sarira (body). Here, it is explained that in his definition of Riti, Pada-rachana represents the structure or the body while Riti is its inner essence. Through this medium of Visista Pada-rachana the Gunas become manifest and reveal the presence of Riti, the Atman.
Dhavni
Theory of Dhvani and Its Evolution
The problem of method in art and the discovery of Dhvani:
Prachina School:
The type of poetry recognized by early aesthetic thinkers is one that has for its content a natural or human situation idealized by the poet for its own sake.
A situation is external and objective can be described in words (vacya).
Therefore, the method by which such a content can be communicated to the reader is
the linguistic expression of it (Vacana).
The expression directly conveys the idea of a
situation to the readers. As the expression itself constitutes the method for
communicating the intended content, specifically the situation, the beauty of a poem in regard to its method consists in the beauty of the expression. Therefore, they set
themselves to the task of studying the ingredients of beauty in poetic expression.
In regard to the method of poetry, the attention of the Pracina School is confined to
poetic expression which consists of words and their explicit meaning. Expression
has two aspects:
The word (sabda)
Its explicit meaning (vakyartha) With reference to each of these, the three
fundamental concepts are discussed which are as follows:
1 Guna (excellence):
Whatever quality in word and meaning lends charm to the expression is regarded by these writers as an excellence (guna).
2. Dosa (defect):
Whatever mars the beauty of expression, either in word or in meaning, is regarded as a blemish (dosa).There is difference of opinion among these early writers on the number and nature of these gunas and doshas. But then again the presence of guna and the absence of dosa ensure beauty in the expression and therefore make it a source of delight. The presence of guna and the absence of dosa in the word (sabda) make for correction of language and in the meaning (artha) tends to promote lucidity of thought.
3 On alankara Or Embellishment
There are differences of opinion on alankara, or embellishment. Some writers do not
make a clear distinction between guna and alankara. Alankara is distinguished from
guna. It is given a role subordinate to guna both in word and meaning. It lends
additional charm to the expression rendered beautiful by the presence of gunas and
the absence of dosas.The number of alankaras also, there is no uniformity among writers. In regard to the method of poetry, the attention of Pracina School is confined to poetic expression, consisting of words and their explicit meanings.
Ānandvardhan was a well-reputed Kashmirian poet and philosopher and constructed Dhvani.The communication of proper meaning through words requires a proper arrangement of sounds. Language basically can be written or spoken which has words as their foundation. Sanskrit critic has described three types of words:
(Abhidha) - Literal Meaning of the word.
(Lakshana) - Characteristically Meaning of the word.
(Vyanjana) - Poetic & Metaphysical Meaning of the word.
The third word Vyanjana reaches the soul and gives the suggested (extraordinary) meaning of the word. It is also called 'dhvani'. Basically, Dhvani is created by Pada (पद) which combines to form Vākya (वाक्य) and from Vākya, Rasābhāva () is generated.
Supremacy of Dhvani
Many authors such as Bharat, Mammatt, Bhāmah, Dandi considered various aspects such as Rasā, Alamkār, Riti, Guna-dosha as the important part of the poem. But Ānandvardhan is one step ahead. He said the above-mentioned aspects were the body of the poetry. In short, they were part of the poetry. Whereas 'Dhvani' is the soul of poetry. Just like the human body is not alive with soul, poetry is also lame without Dhvani.
Conclusion
Dhvani theory is a theory of meaning and symbolism which leads to the poetry of suggestion being accepted as the highest kind of poetry. Dhvani Theory is, therefore, Ānandvardhan's greatest contribution to the poetic world. Through Dhvani or Vyanjana, the poet creates a world of his expression embellished with various poetic devices. Hence, Dhvani in true sense is beyond the suggestible meaning and suggestible element. Ānandvardhan's Dhvani Theory is highly supported by Abhinavgupta.
Adkoli, Mahesh M. “A Critical Survey of the Poetic Concept Aucitya in Theory and Practice.” Shodhganga@INFLIBNET: A Critical Survey of the Poetic Concept Aucitya in Theory and Practice, Dharwad, 1 Jan. 1970, https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/95340.
International Res Jour Managt Socio Human, Yadav Munni. “Rasa, Dhwani and Auchitya-Criticism & Theory Yadav Munni Devi.” Academia.edu, 22 Aug. 2018, https://www.academia.edu/37274618/Rasa_Dhwani_and_Auchitya_Criticism_and_Theory_YADAV_MUNNI_DEVI.
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