Indian poetics-Prof-VinodJoshi-Expert-lectures

Welcome readers!

Girl symbolizes the hard-work which any of the literarists of india has taken, though many a times prevented by their own conscience(Hand that is holding the girl's hand symbolizes the naturality of conscience)

To know about how "Indian poetics" differs from "western literary criticism" in what manner, how they were focusing on result while we have centralized on process of such thing, how first the senses made its mark on human lives and then gradually it evolved with the advent of language, how it changed with leaps and bounds and still it is transiting.

-Task assigned by Dilip Barad(sir)

Rasa theory based on "natyashastra" -Bharata:
Elucidating about what is "Rasa"? It is called as such because it is capable of being tested or can be relished.

It has twofold significance:

Aesthetic relish[can be enjoyed by spectators].

Aesthetic content[can be delighted by readers].

"Rasa" is something which has a natural instinct, can be experienced through  five senses(visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory) and also related with "Panchmahabhuto"(air, water, earth, sky and fire).

How it acquires the height of "Rasa"?

When the spicy foodstuff facilitate properly the vegetables, meat or fish and make a cooked dish. The cooked dish indicates "the altitude of emotional states" or "Rasa". All these should be balanced with equal proportion.

Various fruits as ingredients:
Juice as individual rasa.

E.g: Aristotle's concept of time, place and action. While "Hamlet"-Shakespeare was reinstated as a rule breaker of these "Aristotelian tradition".

It is the business of an artist to design any work/drama, by centralizing its audience(applying mimetic criticism) at centre. Determination(vibhav) will lead to effective consequences/effect. Which would have a deep impact on the audiences. "Rasa" can be experienced rather than felt, and those emotions which are suppressed, get outleted in dramatic representation of any scene, situation and reaction of the character(guna/dosha).

Eight rhetorical sentiments felt in drama/dramatic representation:

1. Erotic
2. Comic
3. Pathetic
4. Furious
5. Heroic
6. Terrible 
7. Odious
8. Marvellous

(Comprision of these ingredients makes a perfect dish of drama)

Vinod Joshi sir also reinstated "the difference between good and different": we can correlate this idea with the concept of "the emotional state and rasa". Where "rasa" is similarised with "the permanent emotional state(king/different)" who has a very specific kind in himself/herself that as others possessed with "transient emotional state" react, he cannot. He is stable in every aspect and this particular type characteristic leading him to "kingship", so is the difference.

There are also some "abided mental conditions" called in Gujarati "sthayibhav", those are eight-school of thought-Bharata:

1. Love
2. Laughter
3. Sorrow 
4. Anger
5. Energy
6. Fear
7. Disgust
8. Astonishment

The constitution of these "abided mental conditions" generates emotions.

Which has its own stability on human personality. Some promptly react while some disciplinized with this 'bhavas' and suppresses it as we discussed in (seventh para. Under natyashastra topic).

For example: See in contradiction the character of Gabbar and Amitabh bachchan in sholay. 

Character of Iago(polished one as unable to show his real emotions) and Othello(prompt in respect with Desdemona's issue of betrayal. Likewise many examples are there.

Taken some medium to illustrate this matter is: imagination(submarine underneath the water), bhavas as primitive concept(for example: Ding dong theory), the object of language is to give life to "bhav"(as one cannot express his/her bhaav, when experiencing olfactory sense by smelling any kind of flower), Victor Hugo's reference( as a character reinstated by him in his work, who is going with a loaf of bread and it gets wet due to rains and the whole loaf is liquidized. Where the audience has to see what "Bhavas" they are countering).

"BHAVA" existed first than the language, behave has given shape to language, according to which we are forming any sentence or our thought.

Then the different but resembling concept reinstated by "Bhatt Lollatt:

There isn't any concept like "rasa" but it has to be stimulated/generated.

Shree Shankook: Rejects both's concepts of "Rasa" as both are liars. According to him it can be assumed and for that he reinstated "four types of pratiti"

• Yatharth Pratiti
• Mithya pratiti
• Sanshay partiti
• Saadashya pratiti

-Given a brief description of "Sphota theory".

With the help of these four pratitis, we are able to guess, with the wall of four ideas: exactness, assumption, doubtfulness and equivalent/proportionate feeling anything, which comes in front of us or if incase of unawareness for something.

Where he also discussed about the four ideas of four literarists:

Bhatt Lollatt: rasa exists in hero/heroine.

Shree Shankook: It can be experienced only by inference. 

Bhatt Nayak: Differentiates between ordinary and poetic language and also asserts that it is a subjective experience which is felt by audience as per their aesthetic delight.

Abhinavgupt: It is based on cognitive aspect that is (vyanjana) suggestion.

Given an example of "the alienation"-Bertolt Bretcht. Where a couple are spitting in the water.

(Also reinstated about "vibhaav", "anibhava" and "vyabhichari bhava", where he had given example of Abhigyaan and Shakuntal)

Dhvanyalok-Anandvardhan

While we have here other personality, who has introduced "Dhvanyalok" and given the concept of "suggestion":

Abhidha: Any sentence's denotative meaning.

Lakshana: getting sense of the sentence.

Vyanjana: Based on suggestion(pregnant/between the lines meaning).

[For example: Ek biladi jadi(where he narrated the whole story in "suggestive sense" that as crocodile is happen to capture cat's saree's foll and eats her up. Likewise rape cases are taking place in India on and often where crocodile symbolizes here the cruelty and vivaciousness of men(Priyanka Reddy rape case, Nirbhaya case etc).

It is called "Shabdshakti" in Gujarati and a word has constitution of meaning, where the reader is able to exploit the meaning/word which is inherent in it. It is also said by "Anandvardhan" that both "Rasa" and "Dhvani" are integrated with each other and "rasa" can be originated from its meaning  and so it is able to give "aesthetic pleasure".

Dhvani also has three types:

Vastu dhvani: Prime importance to thought.

Alamkaar dhvani: Figures of speech.Which we are going to see in some detail further.

Some ideas taken from this extract:
As dhvani and rasa are integrated with each other.

-Based on description(laukik).

Rasa dhvani: Alaukik(can be felt).

-Based on laukik(That can be described)and alaukik(which can'tbe easily decoded).

Vakrokti-Kuntak:

It is exceptional in "Indian poetics" befitted to "modern western criticism":

"Vakr" means "curving". That means here flexibility in language, meaning and words, it must have a variety of connotative meanings, aspects and ideas/to play with words. It can be related with "modern western criticism theories": Dadaism, surrealism, expressionism, absurdism, existentialism etc.
-Given an example of the curvature of universe.

Also given an example of "O henry".

In his works also we see the curvature like formations as he is famous for surprise ending and witty narration.

There are six types of "vakrokti":

Varn vinyaas vakrata: Repitition of words(alliteration[e.g: chandu ke chacha ne])

Padpurvardh vakrata: Before the pad(exclusion of subject matter)

[The farmer uses "composting system" in his agrarian field/agriculture]

Padparaardh vakrata: Next to the pad(omission of connectors).

Vaaky vakrata: Where the whole matter of any story, novel, poetry is covered up in one sentence/conveys the essence of that sentence: e.g: "To be, or not to be that is the question"/ we may have a title of any poem also.

Prakaran vakrata: where with one chapter another is linked(given example of Mahabharata:5th adhyaay linked with 20th one, "You too Brutus":Julius Ceasar-Julius. Not the whole chapter but a particle, character(Vinod Joshi sir's "Sairandhri)etc.

Prabandh vakrata: what is the form of the work, doesn't matter but what it suggests as a central idea, doesn't matter how the person is taking it.

For example: Ramayana:Significance of one idea, where the rest becomes insignificant.

With the help of these six vakroktis, the writer is able to inculcate in him such qualities:prasaad(which is spoken), Ojas(echosome sound:Narendra Modi's political speech) and maadhurya(sounding voice).

Which is exceptional in "Indian poetics" while not having in "modern western criticism".

Alamkaar(school of figures of speech)-Bhamah:

Based on two types- useful art and pure art:

The first alamkara poetician, who had given 35 types of figures of speech, which we aren't going to discuss, but he also had some followers who continued this tradition, were: Dandin, Udbhatt, Rudrata and Vamana. While "Anandvardhan(9th century A.D)" had said: rasa, dhvani and alamkara are responsible factors for the constitution of the sentence and figures of speech is such a thing, that provides suggestion from particular sentence.

Alamkara categorizes in two ways:
Shabda alamkara and Artha alamkara

While sir explained that how at extreme extent "any type of figures of speech" is dissolved (e.g: sugar in milk, where after sugar's dissolving it can't be separated but we have the sweetness of milk) if incase it is separated from its nature(sentence) then it is likely to loose its charm(E.g: As we are asked in examination to identify "figures of speech" and for this particular purpose this is separated from its very nature)

-It should be pure not Artificial and when getting detached it becomes artificial.

(All the creatures on Earth have their specific naturality, if incase detached or snatched from it, the result would be ruinsome as a humanbeing can't live in lion's den, but yes sometimes due to the realization of reality many has to adjust accordingly). So is the case with "alamkara"(totality) if irrespective of its nature.

Saimendra: Auchitya:

Shailendra-Auchitya: 

"Best words in best order". It won't look appropriate if the right thing isn't at its place but at odd spot.

Saimendra gave the concept of "Auchitya": "Auchitya is the property of expression(signifier) being an exact and appropriate analogue of expressed(signified).

Rudrat: He urged on "word's suitable composition".

Vaman-Riti/style:

Vaman says:

Place is centralized in style/riti.

Nature of language.

The frequency of poetic creation.

Style differs from region to region.

(For which he has given four ritis)

As per sir's explanation he said: it is related with different capacity of humanbeing(given an example of "Jonathan Livingston's Seagul": Where there are some less potential seaguls, while one is an exceptional in potentiality and power, who overcomes one after another challenges of its life and so is the difference between the two categories)

Also given reference of M.F. Hussain's pictures(riti).

Hence we learnt here how "Indian poetics" is based on its process rather than its result, how many writers have given contribution in particular theory differently, how a language is constituted of different elements in it, without which perhaps the language seems like void, dark, alienated and with all its components probably starts teeming with life. Not only the language is important but everything which makes a language a language.

Thankyou

Samiya Kagdi

PG student

Department of English

MKBU

Applied sources:

1. https://sites.google.com/view/maenglishmkbu/part-1/7-lit-crit-2.

2. From Bharatmuni: https://1drv.ms/b/s!ArQgE6c548bIgWGMeci9OllywrfE

(Shared from Word for Android

https://office.com/getword)

3. Some from "Vinod Joshi sir's each and every lectures.
4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natya_Shastra