Indian Poetics Research Articles

A Revisionist Account of the Campū

Abstract The Sanskrit word campū is usually understood to refer to a literary composition that combines prose and verse. I argue that this sense of the word was not available before the tenth century CE, and the vast majority of compositions that have been called campūs, either in premodern commentaries or in modern scholarship, were not and could not have been so called by their authors. This is true of almost the entirety of so-called “campū literature” in Kannada. The reference to campū as “a particular type of composition consisting of prose and verse” in Daṇḍin’s Mirror of Literature (ca. 700 CE) was probably not a definition, despite the fact that it has almost-universally been taken as such by the tradition of Indian poetics and modern scholarship. I propose that the campū might have originated as a subliterary comic performance, and that Daṇḍin (unknowingly) and Trivikramabhaṭṭa (knowingly) helped to establish the now- familiar sense of the word.

Жанровая типология драмы в европейской и санскритской литературе

The article examines the notion of drama as a genre category in European and ancient Indian theatrical theory. The analysis of ancient texts, foremost the treatise of the Nāṭyaśāstra, which can be considered the most authoritative primary source for the study of classical Indian poetics, forms the basis of the research. This paper identifies Sanskrit analogues of such fundamental concepts of Western literary theory as “drama,” “genre,” “performance,” “scenicism,” “literariness,” etc. The closest analogical to European definitions of drama and genre Sanskrit notions are investigated in depth. They are primarely nāṭya and prayoga — two terms used to define various performative aspects of the play. Another notion studied in the paper is rūpa, which originally stood for “scenario” and, later on, for textual and literary format of the staged play. Due to its universality, the same term functioned as the general definition of ten “exemplary” spectacular forms. Finally, the category of vṛtti is discussed, employed in the Nāṭyaśāstra for the characterization of stylistic features of early mysterial performances and, later on, of classical Sanskrit plays. The scope of the paper does not limit itself to bringing to light and discussing these various notions. The ultimate goal is to highlight the differences between Eastern and Western poetological systems and to point out fundamental issues arising from the non-critical use of European terminology when interpreting and investigating ancient Indian aesthetics.

Rasa Analysis of Girish Karnad's Hayavadana

Rasa is an aesthetic feeling aroused in the reader or spectator when he witnesses an effective presentation of art. Sage Bharata in ancient India pioneered and Abhinav Gupta elaborated the theory of Rasa. According to the Rasa Sutra, rasa nispattih is a result of the conjunction of vibhāva, anubhāva, and Vyābhicāribhāva, which appeals to the Sthāyibhāva and leads to rasa realization. Hayavadana is a two-act play, originally written in Kannada by Girish Karnad. He himself has translated the play Hayavadana in English. There are two stories, one is of two best friends, Kapila and Devadatta, and a lady named Padmini, another is about a horse headed man- in search of completeness. Author has used various dramatic techniques like, Narrator/ Sutradhar, Puppets, Use of masks, and subplots. Any literary work consists of Rasa in it. In this research paper, the researcher wishes to study Hayavadana in the light of Rasa Theory. This play has already been studied from different perspectives like myth, realism, identity crisis, portrayal of woman, and incompleteness. There is a scope to study this Indian work of art in English from the point of view of Indian Poetics, specifically Rasa Theory.

ОНТОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ОСНОВАНИЯ И АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРИКЛАДНЫЕ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ ДРЕВНЕИНДИЙСКОЙ КОНЦЕПЦИИ ПОЗНАНИЯ И ИСТОРИЧЕСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ

The author of the article continues to consider the possibility of constructing the cycle theory based on ancient Indian material. The ancient Indian concept of cognition and historical development arose in the context of the eight-element ontological models of antiquity. It is distinguished by the quantitative expression of qualitative characteristics. Special coefficients allow the transition from the "ideal" model to the modeling of real historical processes. The article clarifies the reasons why in the "axial" period in the application of this concept there was a transition to measuring time by divine ages, which made it irrelevant for measuring human history. The purpose of the analysis is to include the ancient Indian cycle into the scientific interdisciplinary discourse. The subject of research is the ontological levels that constitute this model. A 240-year period of national history is used as a micromodel of the analyzed cycle. The analysis takes into account comparable chronological models of antiquity, the numerical model of the Indian Sankhya, as well as cultural practices. When determining the general characteristics of the processes, the author applies the Plato’s concept of government forms. When defining the "spirit of the times" he takes into account the concept of poetic experiences of ancient Indian poetics. The central part of this micromodel reveals the action of the 72-year rhythm, due to its structural features of the ancient Indian cycle.

The Need of Suggestive Power of the Word: A Nyāya Overview

Poetry is a combination of words and their meanings. The listeners of the language comprehend the meaning of the words uttered. This common meaning is generally the primary meaning of the words. But some more senses of the words have been explained well by Indian poetics. Such as the secondary meaning e.i. Lakṣaṇā and suggestive meaning e.i. Vyañjanā. According to some schools of Indian philosophy, there is no need of considering a separate Vyañjanā Vr̥tti. In this paper, an effort is made to examine the views of poetics and the Navya Nyāya school of philosophy in the context of Śabdavr̥tti. It will be a topic of interest to observe how Nyāya school handles those examples of suggestive power which are elaborated by poetics

ВОСЬМИЭЛЕМЕНТНЫЕ ЦИКЛЫ ТВОРЕНИЯ И АЛГОРИТМЫ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО ПОВЕСТВОВАНИЯ: ГЕНЕЗИС И РАЗВИТИЕ ОТ ЧАСТНОГО К ОБЩЕМУ

Some linguists pay attention to the logical capacity and integrity of the eight-element structures. This is confirmed by the musical syntax and the system of modal organization. The author of the article draws on the analysis of creation myths, ancient antique and Chinese ontological models, the concept of poetic experiences of ancient Indian poetics. The purpose of the study is to establish by means of humanitarian research the general patterns of development and selforganization. The description takes into account the line of narration, following in the direction from the particular to the general (counterclockwise) and the line of genesis (clockwise). The development from the general to the particular (the line of genesis) reflects the aspects of other reality containing the historical context, mystical experiences, subjective perceptions, help. The line of genesis follows from the 1st text unit (symbolic North-West) and leads to the maximum disclosure of the central image in the 8th (symbolic West). The development from the particular to the general (also from the northwestern sector) reflects the stages of the formation of the main character (the Duad phase), realizing the opposite direction of the model.

BHAKTI-RASA (THE SENTIMENT OF DEVOTION) IN JOHN DONNE'S POETRY

Donne is considered one of the greatest devotional poets of English. His devotional poetry reflects the intensity of feeling and inner conflict. The main themes of his devotional poems are the falseness of this world and the sufferings of the soul imprisoned in the body. According to Donne, the solution to all these problems is to obtain the blessings of the Almighty. His 'Holy Sonnets' may be regarded as poems of repentance and supplications for divine grace. Bhakti-rasa also deals with the elements of devotion. Thus, his devotional poetry can be profitably analysed from the perspective of bhakti-rasa. However, the concept of bhakti-rasa is an Indian concept still has not been ignored by writers in any language. The theory of bhakti influenced many prominent writers, Donne being one of mthe most celebrated. The present paper deals with some of the significant inter-connections between the mEastern and Western branches of aesthetics to address the universality and relevance of bhakti-rasa. Donne's poems consist of almost all the features of bhakti-rasa as mentioned in Indian Poetics in general and in Srila Rupagoswami's renowned text Bhakti-rasāmrta-Sindhu in particular. The three sections describe the types and subtypes. A literature review is described in the second section, showing that Donne's poetry has not been studied in the light of bhakti-rasa so far, either in the west or in the east. In the third section, John Donne's poetry is analysed in the light of bhakti-rasa.

An Introduction to Indian Aesthetics: History, Theory, and Theoreticians by Mini Chandran and Sreenath V. S.

This book can be seen as a response to a severe demand in the field of Indian poetics for an introductory book that provides an overview of all the seminal schools of Indian poetical thoughts, keeping in view both the theories and the theoreticians. This book, in the words of authors, is meant to be “An introduction to the world of Sanskrit poetics, explaining its major concepts lucidly for even those who do not know Sanskrit. It offers a comprehensive historical and conceptual overview of all the major schools in Sanskrit poetics…. It is meant to be a beginners’ guide to the awe-inspiring immensity of Sanskrit literature and literary thought, the first step in a journey that should ideally lead to the profundities of ancient thought.” (Chandran et al 2021, p. xii). The discussion in the book progresses with varied theoretical perspectives on Indian aesthetics in a well laid historico-conceptual order. Though the book briefly talks about Tamil poetics putting it parallel to Sanskrit poetics by comparing Tolk?ppiyam with N??ya??stra in the preface, it primarily serves to be an introductory handbook of Sanskrit poetics for the non-Sanskrit University students at various levels. This book succeeds in providing clearer idea of Indian poetical thoughts to its readers.

The Aesthetics of Rupture: Deconstructing Rasa

Semantic fixity is a transcendental signified. One of the touted aims of literary theory was to topple it. The Indian semantic concept of Vyañjana attempted to do this millennia before. But canonical theories of Rasa established Rasananda as an attainment of absolute coherence and harmony. What this paper calls trans-epistemic praxis is a viable methodology to reclaim the long-lost rupturality (if structurality is resisted, rupturality must be embraced, at least as a neologism) inherent to aesthetics. This is done in a Post-theory context. “Bhanga” (rupturing) leads to “bhangi”, aesthetic charm. It is an aporetic textual disruption that leads to the most fertile indeterminacy of meaning. Modern literary theory set out on a debunking and destabilizing mission of liberal humanist tenets, but got hardened into “doxa”, crystallized structures and hierarchies. This necessitated a theorizing of theory itself. The chronotope of Post-theory gets foregrounded. A crossing of spatio-temporal boundaries gives us the freedom to site Rasa Theory and Indian Poetics as Post-theoretical. Inter-spaces and inter-times are engendered. Deconstruction and Rasa become heterodoxic knowledges to each other, subverting each other honouring the alterity of the other. This exercise liberates Theory from becoming sclerotic. Orthodoxics and monologisms get flouted. Theory is a story. Story is built on the figurality of language. The tropology of language is built on a never-ending desire for signification. This desire never meets with satiation. The concept of “Rati” can be seen as this interminable desire of language. Post-theory is a call to wake up from amnesia, the terrible oblivion regarding the fact that Deconstruction and Rasa are ceaseless streams of reading processes and not rigid and straitjacketed end products. This ruptural aesthetics leads to the rapture of poeisis, the indeterminate significatory process.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Auchitya Theory from Indian Poetics

The beginning of Sanskrit literary theory can be traced back to Bharat muni and his rasa theory proposed in his work Natyashastra. That work can be considered to be the initiation of what followed as Sanskrit or Indian Poetics. There was a great lineage of intellectual masters who tried to propagate the importance of various elements as the backbone of the literature or literary sense. Auchitya theory by Kshemendra is one of such theory which tries to define ‘aptness’ as one of the most important factors in creation of aesthetic work. Present paper tries to illustrate its origin and development along with the arguments Kshemendra originally put forward as explanation.

Application of Ala‚k¹ra Siddh¹nta in ‘Ode To A Skylark’ of Shelley

Aesthetics “A Science of Fine Arts” is an outcome of the self-realisation, which Indian aestheticians, has attained by their tap and devotion (s¹dhya) through their age old experiments by the way of their sensuous power. There is well experimented siddh¹ntas (theories) or processes of judgement with sensuous taste in relishing aesthetic beauty, that Indian aestheticians assure. These siddh¹ntas (theories) can be relished, enjoyed and can be expressed in words. The multifarious process of appropriating words and sentences like syntax, diction, style matures as a result of their cumulative refinement for centuries, till it is appreciated as full fledge doctrine (siddh¹nta) of Indian poetics. These siddh¹ntas (theories) are: rasasiddh¹nta of ¸c¹ryaBharat (theory of aesthetic pleasure), alaṁkāra siddhānta of ¸c¹ryaBh¹mah (theory of figures of speech), dhvani siddhānta of ¸c¹rya ¸nandavardhana (theory of suggestion), rīti siddhānta of ¸c¹ryaV¹man (theory of style), vakrokti siddhānta of ¸c¹ryaKuntaka (theory of obliquity), and aucitya siddh¹nta of ¸c¹rya K¬emendra (theory of propriety). The essence of the Vedic and the Non-Vedic religious, sectarian concepts, philosophical thoughts and doctrine (siddh¹nta) of different schools has considerably enriched and sweetened Indian philosophy; and its scope is so great and the span is so vast, that we find no such line of literary study that is not perfumed with its essence.

An Investigation into the Efficacy of Applying the Principle of Rasa in Formulating Television Advertisements

Rasa element in turn consists of ten parts, namely, Srungaarö, Karuna, Wiirö, Biibathsö, Shaanthö, Haasyö, Raudrö, Bhayanakö, Athbhuthö and vatsalyö. Objectives were to find whether or not ‘Rasa’ in Indian poetics can be used as an effective audio visual tool in the selected advertisement samples from Sri Lankan television and to make commercials more interesting by mixing existing Indian poetic theory with better understanding of the aesthetic sentiment known as ‘Rasa’. For the purpose of this research, specific advertisements have been selected from Sri Lankan television with special attention given to the ten elements of ‘Rasa’. Out of the ten elements of ‘Rasa’ Karuna and Shaanthö have not been found. There yet remains scope for improvement in the field of audio visuals with a better knowledge of Indian poetics and in conclusion it can be stated that any future studies done in relation to aesthetic sentiment or ‘Rasa’ will not be limited to benefitting the field of advertizing but would additionally benefit film making and the creation of videos for social awareness as well.

Translating Gender

This paper examines the figure of Āzād Bilgrāmī (d. 1785), who was the first Persian author to synthesize Persian, Arabic and Indian poetics, combining the purely theoretical interest of a scholar with a practising poet’s insight into local traditions. In his Arabic work, Subhat al-marjān fi āthār Hindūstān (Coral Rosary of Indian Antiquities, 1763–64) Āzād Bilgrāmī compared the rhetorics of Arabic and Sanskrit love poetry in order to effect a form of cultural accommodation that would not be devoid of aesthetic pleasure. A year later he Persianized the first two sections of his Arabic work. Ghizlān-i Hind (Female Beloveds of India) challenges the scholarly view of a monolithic Islamic poetics by treating Arabic and Persian as independent literary cultures, albeit from an eighteenth-century Indo-Muslim point of view. Interestingly, Āzād Bilgrāmī’s work is located in between two major empires – Mughal and British colonial – both of which valued translation as an indispensable political tool. Is such a work then merely a literary aberration or does it point to a nascent national consciousness that is multicultural and multilingual? The paper explores these questions and suggests that the theoretical and creative aspects of Bilgrami’s project offer non-hierarchical traces of literary interface and knowledge exchange between cultures.

Dissolving 'Indianness': How Europeans Read Indian Fiction

This article intends to examine how useful or hindering a concept of ‘Indianness’ is in interpreting and teaching postcolonial Indian fiction. Set against the background of debates within contemporary Indian poetics (Ramanujan, Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, etc), the article suggests that in order to avoid the dangers of Western readers simply reading Indian texts as Indian versions of Western classics, certain pre-emptive ‘protectionist’ measures should be pedagogically adopted to obtain a truer, or at least more authentically complex account of the postcolonial text.

Creativity and Reception: Toward a Theory of Third World Criticism (review)

Reviewed by: Creativity and Reception: Toward a Theory of Third World Criticism Nalini Iyer Syed Amanuddin . Creativity and Reception: Toward a Theory of Third World Criticism. New York: Lang, 1988. 211 pp. $32.60. In his Preface to the book, Syed Amanuddin describes his project as an attempt to develop a "system of critical/humanistic inquiry based on certain concepts of East and West seen in relation to Third World texts with attention to South Asian and West African literatures in English." A noteworthy project, but the book does not quite succeed. It is an uneven book—sections of it are useful, but most of it is banal. Amanuddin organizes his book in five chapters, each of which, he claims, might be read as an independent essay. Perhaps the most useful of these chapters/essays is the third one called "Perceptions East and West" in which he discusses in detail Indian, Chinese, and Japanese theories of aesthetics. Amanuddin succinctly explains the Indian concepts of rasa, riti, and dhvani; the Chinese notion of shen; and the Japanese theories of aware, yugen, and satori. He then compares these theories to Aristotelian catharsis and Wordsworthian poetics. To a reader educated only in Western aesthetics, this book offers a useful introduction to other, non-Western theories of aesthetics. However, this book is provocative not because of what it says but because of what it deliberately evades. The first issue evaded is why Amanuddin has decided to focus only on South Asian and West African literatures in English. Should not an attempt at formulating a theory of Third World criticism also include Latin American, Caribbean, and other literatures? At least the reader should be provided with a rationale for the theorist having focused on only some of the literatures of the so-called "Third World." Another issue that Amanuddin does not address is the role of politics in the shaping of "Third World" literature. Amanuddin's "humanistic" critical inquiry considers the art object in isolation because he feels that "A poetic text must justify its existence by its inherent poetic elements—not simply as a record of events, customs, beliefs, and myths of a people. A novel must justify its existence by its fictional elements—not as a socio-political or anthropological document." Amanuddin never quite probes the relationship between actual events and their fictional rendering in a novel. If to understand Indian poetics we need to understand Bharatha, a fifth-century scholar, then one wonders how Bharatha's aesthetics may be applied to postcolonial Indian texts that have been shaped by the politics of decolonization. In addition to unaddressed issues, this book poses some other problems. The documentation in the text is often shoddy. There is no bibliography or a list of works cited appended to any of the chapters/essays. Often the citations are by only the last name of the author. No page numbers are given. Even on the rare occasion when the name of the author and the name of the work are mentioned, the name of the publisher and place of publication are omitted. Consequently, any attempt at tracing Amanuddin's interesting sources will be time consuming. Furthermore, the book is marred by a large number of typographical errors. Peter [End Page 878] Lang needs to pay more attention to its proofreading and editing. Overall, I would say that this book is worth skimming through, but it is not one that will occupy a prominent position in one's personal library. Copyright © 1990 Purdue Research Foundation

Bhāsa's Ūrubhaṅga and Indian Poetics

Bhāsa's Ūrubhaṅga and Indian Poetics

Two recent works on Sanskrit aesthetics

In the whole range of Sanskrit poetics and Indian aesthetics, the Nât yasastra (NS) of Bharata and the Dhvanyâloka (Dh.A.) of Anandavard hana are the basic texts, and the Abhinavabhârati (A.Bh.) and the Dhvanyalokalocana (Dh. A. L.) are the famous commentaries on them by Abhinavagupta, who was one of the most profound philosophers and literary critics that mediaeval India produced. The difficulty of Abhinava gupta's writings is proverbial. The Dh.A.L. is, admittedly, often more erudite and certainly more difficult than the text of the Dh.A. But most of it can be made intelligible through a deeper acquaintance with Abhina vagupta's diction and style. To understand the A.Bh. is a much more difficult task, since the text has suffered heavily at the hands of scribes. Consequently it is in many places highly corrupt and often totally un intelligible. In spite of these difficulties, the fact remains that these two works of Abhinavagupta are without parallel in the field of Indian poetics and aesthetics. These texts contain within them many of the early Indian views on the philosophy of beauty. The most important of all these concepts has proved to be rasa, 'aesthetic rapture'. If one were to judge Sanskrit literary criticism by universal standards, there can be no doubt that rasa takes its place as the greatest contribution that India has made to the world of literary criticism. Abhinavagupta's commentary on Bharata's Rasâdhyâya (NS, Ch. VI), especially on the famous rasasutra, is, although comparatively well preserved, undoubtedly a very difficult text. The credit for a scholarly and lucid exposition of this section of the A.Bh. goes to Professor R. Gnoli. His work, The Aesthetic Experience According to Abhinavagupta, presents a critical edition of this portion of the A.Bh. with a richly annotated translation. It is prefaced with a valuable Intro duction dealing with the commentators on the rasasutra and the theory of rasa. It also provides a translation of two important passages in Appendices I and II. The first deals with the 'other-worldly' (alaukikatva) nature of drama (A.Bh. on NS I. 107) and the other, with the nature of rasa (Dh.A. 1.18). This critical edition by Prof. Gnoli presents the theory

On the notion of similarity in Indian poetics

1.1. The concept of similarity is one of the most fundamental concepts in Indian poetics. It forms the basis of various definitions and classifica tions of figures of speech (alamkâra-s). The Sanskrit works use terms like sadharmya, sadrsya and samya for this central notion, while the modern expositions of this subject use terms such as "similitude", "similarity", "equality" and "resemblance". From a commonplace point of view, there is no difference between notions signified by the words sadharmya (abbrev. SDH) and sadrsya (abbrev. SDR), and in most of the works on Indian poetics, these two terms are used as synonyms signifying a singular notion of similarity. Very few efforts are made in the works on Indian poetics to make any significant difference between the notions of SDH and SDR, or to interpret them in a rigorous philosophical way. Many discussions in the works on Indian poetics actually presuppose the vague identity of these two notions. This finally results in very unsatisfactory solutions to many problems. The tradition very seldom shows any awareness of these basic problems. This paper makes an attempt to point out some of these basic problems and offers solutions to them. The concepts of SDR and SDH need a fresh study and new categorical definitions. On the basis of this primary investigation, we can study problems related to the definition of the figure of speech upamâ "com parison", as well as its classification.

Decorum as a Critical Concept in Indian and Western Poetics

Decorum as a Critical Concept in Indian and Western Poetics

Decorum as a Critical Concept in Indian and Western Poetics

Decorum as a Critical Concept in Indian and Western Poetics