Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi – Nature of the Text, Authorship Problems

3. Nature of the Text, Authorship Problems

In section 2.2 we have observed that Sāyaṇācārya stayed in Udayagiri and acted as the minister to Kampaṇa I and Saṅgama II during 1345–1365 CE, and that he shifted to Vijayanagara later. Saṅgama II ascended the throne in 1355 CE. Going by these details we infer that Sāyaṇācārya must have authored Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi during his stay at Udayagiri, perhaps after 1355 CE, close to 1365 CE.^[1] After Saṅgama II took up the reins of administration himself, Sāyaṇācārya must have found more time for literary efforts than before. 

Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi consists of three chapters named unmeṣas.^[2] The titles of the first two chapters are, respectively, kāvya-mārga-pratiṣṭhāpana and guṇībhūta-vyaṅgya-pratipādana. The first title is apt and representative; the second one, however, appears unfit, for guṇībhūta-vyaṅgya is not the primary subject that the chapter exposits. The third chapter deals with figures of speech and is incomplete – the text breaks off abruptly after upameyopamā.

The third chapter has a few interpolated verses in the section on citra-kāvya. These verses are culled from various works including Camatkāra-candrikā, Kāvya-prakāśa, Samudra-bandha’s commentary on Alaṅkāra-sarvasva, Devī-śataka and Sarasvatī-kaṇṭhābharaṇa. The bandhas illustrated here are: aṣta-dala-padma-bandha (three examples), ṣoḍaśa-dala-padma-bandha, khaḍga-bandha (two examples), cakra-bandha (two examples). We posit that these are indeed interpolated verses because: (1) Camatkāra-candrikā, a text from which a verse is quoted here, is of a later period, (2) these verses are different from those found in Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi – they neither praise Sāyaṇācārya nor relate to the Vijayanagara Empire.

The text comprises kārikās, vṛtti and udāharaṇa-padyas, as we have noted earlier. Upon a careful examination of the text we surmise that each of these was written by a different person, although the colophon clearly mentions Sāyaṇācārya as the author.

The author of the udāharaṇa-padyas is Bhoganātha, Sāyaṇācārya’s younger brother. He had previously written a text named Udāharaṇa-mālā, and the verses from this work constitute the bulk of illustrative verses in Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi.^[3] A few verses are from other works of Bhoganātha: Tripura-vijaya, Gaurīnāthāṣṭaka, Rāmollāsa, Śṛṅgāra-mañjarī Mahā-gaṇapati-stava and Mūṣikāṣṭaka. (Another work, Gadya-cūḍāmaṇi, is mentioned only by name.) The illustrative verses typically describe various facets of Sāyaṇācārya’s personality. In Appendix 3 provided at the end of the book, we have grouped these verses under various headings that give an idea of the themes they describe –

Verses about Sāyaṇācārya: his scholarship, eloquence, respect for tradition, administrative acumen, regard for scholars, munificence, bravery and battle-skills, vignettes of his family life, physical appearance, love-life, fame and eminence, multifarious attainments. Other verses are based on: Saṅgama II, Sāyaṇācārya as Saṅgama II’s preceptor and the Saṅgama-Sāyaṇa duo.

These verses are invariably well-turned and are composed in a classical, idiomatic language. They eloquently testify Bhoganātha’s skill as an accomplished poet. He is one who can handle even the most challenging of metres with aplomb. His vocabulary is vast and usages, apt and appealing. Never does he dilly-dally with words. His expression gushes as a stream, bright and forceful, adorned by various figures of sound and sense. Because of such poetic talent Bhoganātha proved a worthy brother to his eminent elder siblings.^[4]

Sāyaṇācārya is the indubitable author of the kārikās in this work, as evident from the colophon.^[5] These expository verses are composed in the Anuṣṭup metre in the first chapter. In the second and third chapters, they are composed in various forms of the Āryā metre. Most of the Anuṣṭup-kārikās are metrically flawless and elucidate the subject-matter in a straightforward manner, unburdened by pedantry. However, the Āryā-kārikās are at some places metrically flawed and somewhat intractable. The author has mixed up several varieties of Āryā such as Gīti, Upa-gīti and Āryā-gīti, and has composed verses that have an indefinite syllabic count in each line, which flout the standard rules of mātrā and gaṇa. Scribal errors have also contributed to the metrical flaws. There is yet another reason for these errors: in the section on rasa-bhāvas in the second chapter, the author has relied on Daśa-rūpaka for his exposition – he has tried to compose in the Āryā metre what the author of Daśa-rūpaka had expressed in Anuṣṭup. Many flaws have crept in in the process of this prosodic transformation.

Coming to the vṛtti, we opine that neither Sāyaṇācārya nor Bhoganātha is its author. It could not have been Bhoganātha, because several passages in the vṛtti refer to him in the third person^[6] and, more importantly, there is a stark difference in style between the illustrative verses and vṛtti. Nor could Sāyaṇācārya be the author, because a person of his stature and eminence would not be so vain as to include illustrative verses praising himself. Besides, the vṛtti, especially in the second chapter, is nothing like the stately prose we find in Sāyaṇācārya’s other works such as Dhātu-vṛtti and Vedārtha-prakāśa. It also contains a few grammatical flaws as we have observed in section 1. These factors lead us to agree with D C Sarasvati’s observation that “a later writer must have brought these kārikās and illustrations together with his connecting prose vṛtti.”^[7] A couple of broken verses at the beginning of the text provide a hint to this effect.^[8]

Sāyaṇācārya must have composed the kārikās and entrusted one of his student-collaborators to compose the vṛtti and substantiate it with suitable examples. This student-collaborator harboured great respect for Sāyaṇācārya and thought it fit to include illustrative verses that paint a complete picture of his mentor’s many-splendoured personality. He perhaps even consulted Bhoganātha and sought his permission to use his verses. In all likelihood he was inspired by writers such as Vidyādhara and Vidyānātha who heralded the ‘praśasti’ type of works. A major point of difference between such works and Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi is that the former typically eulogize their patron, whereas the latter praises the author himself. In this respect the present work stands unique.

There might be several reasons for Sāyaṇācārya’s entrusting his work to another person. He had to discharge ministerial responsibilities and was actively engaged in war. He had to focus on the young, inexperienced king and guide him at every step. Besides, in the mid-1360s he was invited to Vijayanagara to spearhead the mammoth scholarly endeavour called Vedārtha-prakāśa. After his departure from Udayagiri Sāyaṇācārya probably had no time to revisit Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi, revise it and bring it to final shape. This is why the text as it stands now appears patchy at places.

 

4. Analysis and Appraisal of Contents

4.1. Résumé of Contents

4.1.1. First Unmeṣa

Benedictory verses; objectives of kāvya; importance of kāvya; rasānanda vis-à-vis brahmānanda; import and uniqueness of kāvya; requisites of a poet – śakti and vyutpatti; three kinds of vyutpatti – loka-vṛtta-jñāna, śāstra-vṛtta-jñāna and abhyāsa; significance of reading master poets such as Kālidāsa; salience of a poet; poet’s stature compared to Brahmā, the Creator; praise of kāvya.

Summary of the principal theories of Sanskrit Poetics expounded by Bhāmaha, Vāmana, Kuntaka, Bhaṭṭa-nāyaka, Ānandavardhana and Mahima-bhaṭṭa; primacy of Ānandavardhana’s position; three kinds of poetry – uttama (dhvani), madhyama (guṇībhūta-vyaṅgya) and adhama (citra); two kinds of citra – śabda and artha; significance of dhvani; pre-eminence of rasa; all poetic tenets relate to and sub-serve rasa; guṇa and doṣa; sub-divisions in the three kinds of poetry.

4.1.2. Second Unmeṣa

Three forms of śabda – vācaka, lakṣaka and vyañjaka; three forms of artha – vācya, lakṣya and vyaṅgya; three vṛttis – abhidhā, lakṣaṇā and vyañjanā (no tātparya); varieties of lakṣaṇā – rūḍhi and phala; seven forms of phala-lakṣaṇā.

Two primary varieties of vyañjanā – agūḍha (guṇībhūta) and gūḍha (dhvani); vyañjanā distinguished from abhidhā and lakṣaṇā; two main categories of dhvani – avivakṣita-vācya and vivakṣita-anyapara-vācya; sub-divisions in these categories; vyañjaka-sāmagrī and its varieties; illustrations of various forms of dhvani; dhvani distinguished from tātparya and anumāna; eight forms of asaṃlakṣya-krama-vyaṅgya – rasa, bhāva, rasābhāsa, bhāvābhāsa, bhāvodaya, bhāva-sandhi, bhāva-śabalatā and bhāva-śānti.

Explanation of rasa-sūtra; illustrations of vibhāva and anubhāva; primacy of Abhinavagupta’s views; the nature of rasa; eight rasas are accepted in dṛśya-kāvya (śānta-rasa is restricted to śravya-kāvya); illustrations of sthāyi-bhāvas; illustrations of sāttvika-bhāvas and vyabhicāri-bhāvas; rasa is always vyaṅgya. 

Śṛṅgāra and its accessories; three forms of śṛṅgāra – nava-yoga, viprayoga and sambhoga; ten śṛṅgāra-avasthās – abhilāṣa, cintā, smṛti, guṇa-kathana, udvega, pralapita, unmāda, jvara, jaḍatā and maraṇa; two forms of viprayoga – māna and pravāsa; means to assuage māna; three primary varieties of a nāyikā – mugdhā, madhyā and pragalbhā; sub-varieties of these; causes for pravāsa-viprayoga; three kinds of pravāsa – yāsyat, gacchat and gata; difference between śṛṅgāra and karuṇa; ten śṛṅgāra-ceṣṭās – līlā, vilāsa, vibhrama, kilikiñcita, lalita, vikṛta, bibboka, moṭṭāyita, kuṭṭamita and vicchitti; further varieties of a nāyikā – svādhīna-bhartṛkā, vāsakasajjā, virahotkaṇṭhitā, khaṇḍitā, kalahāntaritā, vipralabdhā (vimānitā), proṣita-patikā and abhisārikā.

Definitions and illustrations of bhāvas.

Hāsya-rasa; its two varieties – ātmastha and parastha; kinds of hāsa – smita, hasita, upahasita and apahasita.

Vīra-rasa; its three varieties – raṇa-vīra, dāna-vīra and dayā-vīra.

Bībhatsa-rasa; its three varieties – kṣobhaṇa, śuddha and udvejaka.

Bhayānaka-rasa; its two varieties – raudra-śravaṇaja and raudra-sattva-darśanaja.

Raudra-rasa; its two varieties – matsara-kṛta-krodha-paripoṣa-rūpa and virodhi-vaikṛta-kṛta.

Karuṇa-rasa; its three varieties – stemming from iṣṭa-nāśa, aniṣṭa-kāra and niyantraṇādyāpti.

Mutual compatibility or otherwise of rasas.

Śānta-rasa found only in śravya-kāvya; causes of śānta.

Differences among rati, prīti and bhakti.

Rasābhāsa and bhāvābhāsa.

Saṃlakṣya-krama-vyaṅgya; its three varieties – based on śabda-śakti, artha-śakti and both; sub-divisions in these.

Guṇībhūta-vyaṅgya and its varieties; rasavat, preyas, ūrjasvī and samāhita.

Varieties of dhvani are innumerable.

4.1.3. Third Unmeṣa

Citra-kāvya; its two forms – śabda and artha; six varieties of śabdālaṅkāra – vakrokti, anuprāsa, yamaka, śleṣa, citra and punaruktavad-ābhāsa.

Importance of vakrokti; its varieties – kāku-vakrokti and śleṣa-vakrokti; three kinds of anuprāsa – chekānuprāsa, vṛttyanuprāsa (upanāgarikā, grāmyā) and lāṭānuprāsa (and its three varieties); yamaka and its varieties; śleṣa; its eight varieties – varṇa, pada, liṅga, bhāṣā, prakṛti, pratyaya, vibhāga and vacana; citra – khaḍga-bandha, muraja-bandha, sarvatobhadra-bandha and cakra-bandha; punaruktavad-ābhāsa; its three varieties – sabhaṅga, abhaṅga and śabdāśrya; (interpolated verses of the citra type).

Arthālaṅkāra; upamā; its two varieties – pūrṇā and luptā; two varieties of pūrṇā – śrautī and ārthī; sub-varieties of these – in vākya, samāsa and taddhita; nineteen variants of luptā.

Ananvaya; upameyopamā.

As we have noted at the beginning of this Introduction, Sāyaṇācārya mainly follows Mammaṭa in his exposition and adheres to the aesthetic vision of Ānandavardhana. Consequently, Alaṅkāra-sudhānidhi either borrows from these authors or echoes their views at several instances. As in the case of his other works in the ‘Sudhānidhi’ series, Sāyaṇācārya’s main intention is to consolidate knowledge in as unadulterated a form as possible, and not necessarily to present novel ideas. This has shaped the present text as a compendium.