Kāvyaprakāśa
Kāvyaprakāśa is a detailed work in Sanskrit literature that is considered as the epitome in the philosophy of poetics. Literally it means “the light of poetry”. In his Kāvyaprakāśa, Mammaṭa begins by largely talking about the importance of poetry. He speaks of the many ways through which poetry contributes to the lifestyle of the society. He emphasises that the beauty and genius of poetry is such that it should be used not just for entertainment, but also for enlightenment. He goes on to explain the beauty of imagination. He says that some people are born with this quality. According to him, poets are born – not made. However, that in itself is never enough. The person should be willing to observe the word, read the shasthras and should always have interaction with other people. Being a good person in the heart and mind will lead him to attain Nipuṇatā. Apart from that he should also get training from great poets who have written poetry and also from those who have attained mastery enough to comment and criticize on great poetry.
Since Mammaṭa was a follower of the Dwani school, he believed that the meaning suggested within the poetry was more important than the meaning that is denoted. Due to this, his Kāvyaprakāśa contained 10 chapters called Ullāsa. In the beginning of his work, he invokes the blessings of Goddess Sarasvatī and states that the work of a poet is beyond the limits set by Niyati – the rule of the world – because poets are creatively free. They can imagine things that are impossible for normal people to believe and give it form through words and expression. Mammaṭa reckons that understanding poetry is way beyond understanding just the words written in the text. Because in order to understand words, one would only require a dictionary, however, to understand poetry one would require deeper knowledge and spiritual understanding. Mammaṭa is of the opinion Śabda and Artha – the word and its meaning put together makes poetry. They may or may not possess good figures of speech
Mammaṭa recommends that poetry, a combination of Śabda and Artha should be flawless, must not contain any blemishes and should have positive qualities that can influence the mind. Figures of speech are not essential there are only there to enhance the quality of poetry. Even when the absence of good figures of speech poetry can create an account of intrinsic beauty And can be considered an excellent example of a poem. Poetry has been divided into 3 types by Mammaṭa.
A. Vyaṅgyārtha
B. Guṇibūtavyaṅgya
C. Dvitiyollāsa
The first type which has very beautiful, interesting, attractive suggested meaning or Vyaṅgyārtha it is called the best type of poetry Uttamakāvya for which the technical mail is Dwani. Like that he has said and then sometimes a poetry has suggested meaning but it is subordinate to the denotative meaning in such case which is called Guṇībūtavyaṅgya that which has suggested meaning that is subordinate to the denoted meaning Vaacha that is the second type of poetry according to Mammaṭa. And thirdly there are various types of examples of poetry where the poet is trying to attract the people just by various figures of speech of sound like Anuprāsa, figure of speech of meaning like Upamā. So when the poet is trying to express his ability in the use of the language but is not particular about the Vyaṅgyārtha is suggested meaning then such poetry becomes adama the lowest type of poetry.
In his work, Mammaṭa also tries to express the various functions of words in poetry. The word usually has the first function called Abhidā. That is the direct meaning he has associated with a word. For instance the word lion - its meaning is synonymous a wild animal which has mains on his head which is very aggressive etc, - this unspoken understanding that arises when the word lion is spoken out is called the denoted meaning.This function of the word which expresses that meaning is called ‘Abhidā’. This Abhidā is there in every word of any language and it tells the meaning to the people that are conversant with that language and this second function of a word is called Lakṣanā. That is secondary denotation connotation of a word.
In the third chapter of the Kāvyaprakāśa, Mammaṭa describes in detail all the types of meanings whether they are denoted or connoted or suggested. this happens in poetry not an ordinary language but in the poetry all the meanings can further suggested meanings.
In the fourth chapter Mammaṭa the best type of poetry which is called Dwani. Potery of Kālidāsa, Bhāravi, Amaruka etc, will have meanings at different levels and therefore such kavya’s are called as ‘DwaniKavyas’. What makes Dwani Kāvyas so appealing is the various factors associated with it. Eg. Rasa or emotion, Śṛṅgāra or love, Vīra or heroism, Karuṇa or pathos, Hāsya or laughter, Roudra or rage, Bhayaṅkara or fear so on and so forth. Mammaṭa further goes on to explain the nature of some sthayibhāvas that are present in every person and the hundreds and thousands of different types of money.
In short, Mammaṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa denotes complete Philosophy of poetics. He also emulates the different figures of speech that makes poetry stand out from other forms of writing and literature. He recommends that in order to write poetry all these skills are considered extremely important.
All this is listed out in the last chapter of Kāvyaprakāśa. This is certainly more interesting because the poetry that contains the Śabdālaṅkāra, because of the speech of alliteration in one language cannot be translated into another language with that type of because of speech you cannot retain that beauty of sound but in the case of the figures of speech of meaning it is possible to translate retaining the beauty of the poetry and these figures of speech are many, in Sanskrit.
Mammaṭa recommends that poetry, a combination of Śabda and Artha should be flawless, must not contain any blemishes and should have positive qualities that can influence the mind. Figures of speech are not essential there are only there to enhance the quality of poetry. Even when the absence of good figures of speech poetry can create an account of intrinsic beauty And can be considered an excellent example of a poem. Poetry has been divided into 3 types by Mammaṭa.
A. Vyaṅgyārtha
B. Guṇibūtavyaṅgya
C. Dvitiyollāsa
The first type which has very beautiful, interesting, attractive suggested meaning or Vyaṅgyārtha it is called the best type of poetry Uttamakāvya for which the technical mail is Dwani. Like that he has said and then sometimes a poetry has suggested meaning but it is subordinate to the denotative meaning in such case which is called Guṇībūtavyaṅgya that which has suggested meaning that is subordinate to the denoted meaning Vaacha that is the second type of poetry according to Mammaṭa. And thirdly there are various types of examples of poetry where the poet is trying to attract the people just by various figures of speech of sound like Anuprāsa, figure of speech of meaning like Upamā. So when the poet is trying to express his ability in the use of the language but is not particular about the Vyaṅgyārtha is suggested meaning then such poetry becomes adama the lowest type of poetry.
In his work, Mammaṭa also tries to express the various functions of words in poetry. The word usually has the first function called Abhidā. That is the direct meaning he has associated with a word. For instance the word lion - its meaning is synonymous a wild animal which has mains on his head which is very aggressive etc, - this unspoken understanding that arises when the word lion is spoken out is called the denoted meaning.This function of the word which expresses that meaning is called ‘Abhidā’. This Abhidā is there in every word of any language and it tells the meaning to the people that are conversant with that language and this second function of a word is called Lakṣanā. That is secondary denotation connotation of a word.
In the third chapter of the Kāvyaprakāśa, Mammaṭa describes in detail all the types of meanings whether they are denoted or connoted or suggested. this happens in poetry not an ordinary language but in the poetry all the meanings can further suggested meanings.
In the fourth chapter Mammaṭa the best type of poetry which is called Dwani. Potery of Kālidāsa, Bhāravi, Amaruka etc, will have meanings at different levels and therefore such kavya’s are called as ‘DwaniKavyas’. What makes Dwani Kāvyas so appealing is the various factors associated with it. Eg. Rasa or emotion, Śṛṅgāra or love, Vīra or heroism, Karuṇa or pathos, Hāsya or laughter, Roudra or rage, Bhayaṅkara or fear so on and so forth. Mammaṭa further goes on to explain the nature of some sthayibhāvas that are present in every person and the hundreds and thousands of different types of money.
In short, Mammaṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa denotes complete Philosophy of poetics. He also emulates the different figures of speech that makes poetry stand out from other forms of writing and literature. He recommends that in order to write poetry all these skills are considered extremely important.
All this is listed out in the last chapter of Kāvyaprakāśa. This is certainly more interesting because the poetry that contains the Śabdālaṅkāra, because of the speech of alliteration in one language cannot be translated into another language with that type of because of speech you cannot retain that beauty of sound but in the case of the figures of speech of meaning it is possible to translate retaining the beauty of the poetry and these figures of speech are many, in Sanskrit.
Mammaṭa talks about prayojana, or the purpose of studying Kāvya. His work is considered to be the conventional definition of poetry.
Mammaṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa may be considered as one of history’s most important contributions to Sanskrit poetry. Throughout history, there have been various commentaries on Mammaṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa. Many of these commentaries have appeared in print while the others still remain as manuscripts.
No quotations available.