THE UNSUNG ACHARYA UDBHATA (750-800 A D ) OF KASHMIR
“Not writing poetry is no crime; it won’t cause illness
or lead to punishment; but writing bad poetry is a living death.”…( Acharya Bhamaha of Kashmir in Kaavyaalamkaara)
K S Nagarajan in his book, “Contribution of Kashmir to the Sanskrit Literature ” writes this :-
“The credit of presenting a full-fledged picture of the
Science of Poetics can be attributed, in a large measure, to Kashmir. Though
the fundamentals in Poetics could he traced to works like the Agnipurana and
Natya-shastra of Bharata, it is remarkable to note that all aspects of this
science are elaborated and discussed in detail by Kashmirian authors. Original
theories have been suggested and speculations worked out in such a manner that one is tempted to say that the
Science of Poetics' in its entirety, is visible only in Kashmir. Every topic
pertaining to the Science, like Alamkara, Rasa ,Riti or Dhvani was thoroughly
discussed by Kashmirian scholars . Even grammatical points which would require
attention while discussing the relation between Shabda and Artha were not lost
sight of, though they had no direct connection with the subject.”
From
the hoary antiquity, India produced poetical compositions in abundance.
Especially, in case of Sanskrit poetical works, India is very much rich. Far
ahead is the place of Kashmir in contribution to the Sanskrit literary
productions. Not only in quantity and variety, in case of quality also, the
land of Kashmir contributed immensely. The Kashmirian Sanskrit scholars have left practically no facet of life,
outside the ambit of their writings. It needs to be known that the major schools of Indian Poetics
are: Rasa, Alankara, Riti, Dhvani, Vakroki, and Auchitya. The rasa-dhvani-auchitya-vakratā quartet
applicable to all arts took appropriate
shape in Kashmir . Endless is the list of contributors from Kashmir to the
Sanskrit literature , grammar , poetics , rhetoric, religious thought, and aesthetics of India . A few scholars in these categories
could be named Rishi
Vasugupta , Abhinavgupta , Khemraja , Kshemendra , Bilhana, Kalhana, Somadeva , Sharangadeva,Bhatta Narayana , Jayanta Bhatta,Rajanka Bhatta ,Ratnakara ,Sivaswamin,Srivara
,Bhallaṭa,Vamana,Jonaraja,Anandavardhana,
Udbhata, Kuntala , Mahima Bhatta, Silhana,Abhinanda Bhatta, Panini, Bhatta Sambhu, Charaka, Bhamaha, Gopendra,
Jalhana,Namisadhu, Rudrata, Kuntaka, Mammaṭa,Vallavadeva,Dandin,Vasunanda,Kavi Chandaka,Varahamihira , Utpala, Visakhila
, Vamanagupta, Manoratha, Padmagupta, Ratnakara, Mukula Bhatta, Kumarila
Bhatta, Poetess Vijjika, Sabaraswami, Bhatta Nayaka, Bhatta Tauta, Hemachandra,
Vidyadhara,Rajashekhara,Narendra, Ruyyaka, Sri
Shankuka, Sambhunatha , Sumatinatha ,
Lollata ,Somendra, Cakrapala, Muktakana, Bhogendra, Prakasendra,
Rāmayaśas,Jaynayaka, Damodaragupta, Mukula-bhatta, Jayaratha,Shobhakaramitra,Ghantaka, Lollata,Kirtidhara, Harsata, Rajanaka-Tilaka,Rajanaka-Ratankantha.
For this write-up, let me take up one ,the unsung
Acharya Udbhata .
Acharya
Udbhata is a well studied
Kashmirian writer on Poetics and
a great literary theorists. Very little is known about his parentage.
Kashmirian tradition identifies him as a
great scholar who was the
President of the Royal Council in the court of King Jayapida of Kashmir. Udbhata and Vamana were in the
service of King Jayapida of Kashmir (Ca. 776-807 AD). Udbhata followed Bhamaha
; while Vamana followed Dandin. According to some scholars , while Vamana was a minister, Udbhata was the
President of the Royal Council and King
Jaypida was reportedly paying him one lakh Dinaras a day as his remuneration. The most prosperous part of
his activity appears to be during the earlier half of King Jayapida’s long
reign. He is quoted with great respect by later writers . Prof
Daniel Holmes Ingalls , the well known Sanskrit scholar from America
writes that Jayapida's court was responsible for birthing the
"school of literary criticism in Kashmir “primarily through gems like Udbhata , Vamana , Damodargupta, and
many more Sanskrit scholars .
Many reference surface up in texts of his period
that mention that Udbhata has written a
commentary titled Bhamaha-vivarana (also called Kavya-alankara-vivrti ), on Bhamaha’s Kavyalamkara. Like Abhinavgupta ,
he also wrote a commentary on Bharata’s Natyashastra. Both the works are not
available now. He is also credited with
a Kavya: Kumarasambhava
written in Mahakavi Kalidasa’s style . Udbhata’s Bhamaha-vivarana, which is an explanation or
commentary on Bhamaha’s Kavyalankara is said to have dealt mainly with Alamkara. In his explanations, he generally followed Bhamaha
and his definitions of certain Poetic principles. What has come down to us is his Kavya-alamkara-sara- samgraha (a synopsis of the
essence of Kavya Alamkara) clarifying the position of Alamkara principles that
govern the Kavya. The Alamkaras that Udbhata talks about in his Kavya-alamkara-sara-sangraha are almost the same
as those mentioned by Bhamaha in his Kavyalankara. Udbhata’s work
gained great fame; almost overshadowing the original work of Bhamaha, perhaps
because he remained focused on Alamkara and did not deviate into discussions on
Guna / Dosha (grammatical purity)
or such other elements of Kavya.
He expanded on the forms of Alamkara mentioned by
Bhamaha. For instance; Bhamaha mentioned one kind of Atishayokti (hyperbole) while Udbhata distinguishes four
varieties of it. Similarly, in place of Bhamaha’s two forms of Anuprasa (Alliteration), Udbhata describes four. He adds Drastanta (illustration) and Kavya-lingana (poetical reasoning -where the
sense of a sentence or of a word is represented as a cause of something of
which it becomes an attribute) to the forms of Alamkara-s mentioned by Bhamaha.
While dealing with the varieties of Anuprasa, Udbhata recognises three
different Vrttis or modes of
expression. His classification of Alliterations into three classes was based on
the ‘aural-effects’: primary alliterations classed as elegant (upa-nagarika); ordinary (gramya), and harsh (parashu).
Udbhata also brought into his work the element of
analysis of the principles involved in the concepts. He explains the
grammatical basis for different forms Upama (Similes). Here, he
illustrates the forms of resemblance as qualified by different suffixes
like – vat, – kyac, – kalpap etc. He also
differs from Bhamaha on some minor points.
Udbhata’s contribution to
the theory of Rasa (Rasa-vada)
is more significant. He improved upon the elements of Rasa enumerated in Natyashastra. In his ‘Kavya-alamkara-sara-samgraha’ while discussing Rasa-vada-alamkara, the principles of Rasa in
conjunction with the theories of Alamkara
(santaḥ kavaya iti saṃbandhaḥ),
he included the Shanta Rasa (tranquility) to the eight Rasa-s mentioned
by Bharata. Later, Abhinavagupta elaborated on the theories of Rasa and
accepted Shanta, suggested by Udbhata, as the primary or the fundamental Rasa
from which all Rasa-s arise into which all Rasas subside.
Yigal Bronner , Associate Professor at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in Sanskrit poetry and poetics ,
writes this about Kashmir’s Udbhata :-
“Contrary to the prevailing view, it needs to be pointed out that
the big breakthrough of Kashmiri poetics took place, or at the very least
decisively began, a generation or two before Ananadavardhana This breakthrough
was led by Udbhaṭa (c.800) and, to a lesser extent, Vamana, his colleague at the court of Jayāpīḍa (r. 776-807), and Rudraṭa, who must have followed them by
no more than a couple of decades. “As we learn from Kalhaṇa’s report, King
Jayapida actively recruited intellectuals who belonged to a vast range of
disciplines and philosophical schools in a way that may have encouraged an
inter-disciplinary approach. Indeed, the court was highly tolerant of
these scholars’ denominations, if not actively encouraging diversity
in this area. For example, the list of Pandits of this king ends, or
culminates, with the rising sun of the Buddhist scholar Dharmottara, who we
directly influenced Vamana’s re-thinking of Alamkaras. It is perhaps not
a coincidence that it was here, in this fertile setting that invited thinking
across schools and theologies, that the erosion of boundaries between poetics
and dramaturgy began, and that models from Mimamsa,
Buddhist epistemology, and other disciplines began to be applied to the study
of poetry.It was during this important phase that all the building blocks of
Ānanda’s theory were introduced and Sanskrit poetics dramatically changed its
course, as voices within the tradition testify. The genius of Ānanda’s Dhvanyāloka (Light on Suggestion –Dhvani) was in the perfect combination of
his predecessors’ building blocks in a uniquely coherent and hence uniquely
powerful – some would say too powerful – package or framework. Having said
that; One needs to recognize that Sanskrit poetics underwent its pivotal
turning point during Jayāpīḍa’s reign and under Udbhaṭa’s lead. It is this
thinker whom Indologists have most misunderstood and neglected, partly, of
course, because of the loss of the bulk of his corpus. But enough has
been preserved or quoted to at least begin to understand his true impact.
According to Kalhaṇa’s account, which is unique in its wealth of
details, the king appointed numerous poets’ laureate and even assigned some of
them to high government posts. Indeed, the two highest offices went to the
literary theorists who are the focus of this essay: Vamana, who was made
a minister or ouncilor to the king (mantrin), and Udbhaṭa, who was installed as the chief
scholar in his assembly (sabhāpati), the highest academic placement in the kingdom.
Kalhaṇa even mentions Udbhaṭa’s astronomical remuneration in the only report
in his chronicle of the wages paid to an academic: an
extraordinary sum .”
The credit for making Udbhata known goes to G. Buhler who undertook , his famous tour in Kashmir in 1875, and brought to light many valuable works on poetry, rhetorics and history. of Kashmir. The
credit of laying the plan for a systematic exposition of the Science of Poetics
in Sanskrit literature goes (in some measure) primarily to Udbhata
of Kashmir .
(Avtar Mota )
PS
Kashmir has made the largest contribution to poetics or Alamkarasastra
(Rhetorics). The majority of famous rhetoricians of India belong to Kashmir.
Vamana (7th century A.D.), the founder of the Riti School, wrote
Kavyalankaravritti. Udbhatta (8th century A.D.), the expounder of the theory of
three Vrittis, wrote Alankarasarasamgraha and Bhamavivarm. Rudratta (9th
century), the expounder of the theory of three figures, wrote Kavyalankara.
Anandavardhana (9th century), the founder of the School of Doctrine of Dhvani
(Suggestion), wrote Dhvanyaloka. Mamatta (11th century), the upholder of the
theory of Rasa (Sentiment), wrote Kavyaprakasa. Abhinavagupta (11th century),
the expounder of the theory of Rasadhvam, wrote Dhvanyalokalohcana,
Mahimbhatta, who held the view that Dhvani could always be reduced to
inference, (Anumana), wrote Vyaktiviveka. Ruyyaka (12th century), who asserts
Dhvanikara's view and accepts the principle of Vakroktijivita, wrote Alankara
Sarvasva and a commentary on Kavyaprakasa. Ksemendra, who was both a poet and a
critic, and laid down the theory that propriety is essential to sentiment,
wrote Aucityavichara and Kavikanthabharana. All these renowned rhetoricians,
besides Kayyatha, Alleta and others, hail from Kashmir. Kashmiri critics built up the twin disciplines of Alankara and Natyashastras- Rudrata, Sankuka, Anandavardhana,
Candri Kakora Bhatta Nayaka, Bhatta Tota, Bhattenduraj, Abhinavagupta, Kuntaka, Mahima Bhatta, Kshemendra,
Mammatta, Allata, Tilaka, Ruyyaka, Sobhakara, Jayadratha- who evolved original
theories about the soul or the essence of the artistic expression and clarified
and illuminated the different aspects of appeal in poetry and drama. There were
some noteworthy writers in this field outside Kashmir, but the Dhvani and
Rasadhvani doctrine expounded by Anandavardhana and Abhinavagupta eclipsed by
its brilliance all other theories. According to certain evidences, Patanjali, the commentator of Panini's Astadhyayi (the first
treatise on Sanskrit Grammar) was a Kashmiri, so was Pingala, the author of
Pingala Sutra (a treatise on Metrics and Prosody). There are so many remarkable
writers of Kashmir who have contributed to scientific subjects like Astronomy,
Medicine, Agriculture Architecture, and other arts. For instance Charaka, the
author of a well-known Medical Treatise, Charaka Samhita, according
to some evidences, belonged to Kashmir. A comprehensive Sanskrit treatise on
Agricultural Science (Krisi Shastra), namely
Kasapa-munikathita-Kasyapiya-Krisi-sukti is ascribed to Kashyapa, a well-known
sage of Kashmir.
Some basic terms in the science of poetics upon which Kashmirian scholars have worked
hard are as under:-
ALANKAR
OR ALAMKAR
Alankar is a figure of speech which means ornaments or adornments. Just like the
women use ornaments to enhance their beauty,
Alankar is are used essentially to
enhance the beauty of a poem. The Alankara Shastra is the traditional Indian science of aesthetics
that deals with the principles and techniques of literary composition and
ornamentation. It is an important aspect of Indian literary criticism
and aims to enhance the beauty and expressiveness of literary works
RASA
A
Rasa literally means "juice, essence or taste". It connotes a concept
in Indian arts about the aesthetic flavour of any visual, literary or musical
work that evokes an emotion or feeling in the reader or audience but cannot be
described. The aesthetic pleasure or
bliss seen in Indian poetics is termed as Rasa. In English
language , it is translated as aesthetic enjoyment, aesthetic bliss,
poetic pleasure, poetic
relish, poetic delight, poetic delectation etc. Rasa (aesthetic experience)
secures for us this unique delight by kindling dispassion. According
to Bharata Muni ( author of Natya-shastra ), in art, Rasa can be tasted like
food. Any art that does not produce Rasa is not art. Rasa mediates between the
creation and the onlooker or the listener . According to him, the onlooker or the
listener gets a feeling or Brahm—Anubhuti
( feel of the Divine ) if the artist
abides strictly to Rasa theory in his creative activity. The delight of
Brahm-Anubhuti is everlasting bliss for the listener or the onlooker .
DHVANI
The kind of poetry where the word and
its meaning giving up their explicit sense and suggest only the said implicit
meaning is signified by the name Dhvani or suggestive poetry. Dhvani (poetic suggestion) is
the vehicle that leads connoisseurs to Rasa by assisting them in recreating the emotional picture
produced by the poet. Dhvani kavya is defined by
Anandavardhana as wherein the conventional meaning renders itself secondary or
the conventional word renders its meaning secondary and suggests the implied or
intended meaning is designated as Dhvani or suggestive poetry.
RITI
The concept of Riti was highlighted by Dandin and Vamana in
Sanskrit Poetics . Theory of Riti relates to the particular arrangement of
sounds combined with poetic excellence. Riti is the going or the flowing together of the elements of a poem. The
language and its structural form lead us to the inner core of poetry. During Ritikavya or Ritismagra Kavya period, the erotic element
became predominant in the Indian
literature. This era is called Riti (meaning 'procedure') because it was
the age when poetic figures and theory
were developed to the fullest.
AUCHITYA
The Auchitya is that proper placing of things in such a manner
that is perfect to arouse Rasa and to avoid certain things that are not
suitable to provoke Rasa. This is only the essence of poetic / artistic
expression which is called Auchitya. It is stated as jivita, the life-breath of
Kavya the poetry. Auchitya is defined as harmony and in one
aspect it is the proportion between the whole and the parts, between the chief
and the subsidiary. This is one of the theories that is commonly accepted by
all poets without any argument. This theory is also known as the “Theory of Coordination”.
Some scholars consider poet Kshemendra
of Kashmir as the father of Auchitya
theory in Sanskrit Literature.’Auchitya-Vichaar –Charcha’ is his
famous work.
VAKROKTI
The word 'Vakrokti' is comprised
of two words 'vakra' and 'ukti'. The former component means indirect, crooked
or unique and the later component means poetic expression or speech. Thereby
the literal meaning of 'Vakrokti' is indirect
or crooked speech; arch or evasive speech. As an Alamkara Vakrokti was very inclusive to Bhamaha. He included
all types of Alamkara under the term of Vakrokti. According to Bhamaha Vakrokti is the soul of poetry. Vakrokti emphasizes that
both the content and form should be equally aesthetic; the emphasis is on their
unity. It is the perfect harmony between the expression and the
expressed in respect of beauty and promoting aesthetic experience. In ancient Indian poetic
tradition Vakrokti (obliquity) is considered one of the most important
poetic devices which brings about delight in the heart of competent reader. The
theorists of Alamkara tradition included Vakrokti among the various types of
Alamkara
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