A History of Indian Literature, Volume III: Classical Sanskrit Literature, Fasc. 1: A History of Classical Poetry, Sanskrit - Pāli - Prakrit

316 Pages·1984·6.88 MB·English

by  Siegfried Lienhard

A HISTORY
OF INDIAN LITERATURE
SIEGFRIED LIENHARD
A HISTORY
OF CLASSICAL POETRY
SANSKRIT - PALI - PRAKRIT
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ • WIESBADEN
A HISTORY
OF INDIAN LITERATURE
EDITED BY JAN GONDA
VOLUME III
Fasc. 1
1984
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ • WIESBADEN
SIEGFRIED LIENHARD
A HISTORY
OF CLASSICAL POETRY
SANSKRIT - PALI - PRAKRIT
1984
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ • WIESBADEN
A fflSTORY OF INDIAN LITERATURE
Contents of Vol. Ill
Vol. Ill: Classical Sanskrit Literature
Fasc. 1: S. Lienhard A History of Classical Poetry
CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek
A history of Indian literature / ed. by
Jan Gonda. - Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz
NE: Gonda, Jan [Hrsg.]
Vol. 3. Classical Sanskrit literature.
Fasc. 1. -» Lienhard, Siegfried: A history of classical poetry
Lienhard, Siegfried:
A history of classical poetry : Sanskrit - Pali - Prakrit / Siegfried Lienhard. •
Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1984.
(A history of Indian literature ; Vol. 3, fasc. 1)
ISBN 3-447-02425-9
© Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Photographische und photomechanische
Wiedergabe nur mit ausdriicklicher Genehmigung des Verlages.
Satz: vpa, Landshut. Druck: Allgauer Zeitungsverlag GmbH, Kempten. Printed in Germany.
Sigel: HIL
PREFACE
As recommended by the general editor, this History of Classical Poetry has been
written so as to make it accessible to both layman and scholar alike. Although in
scope it far exceeds the description of kdvya in most extant histories of Sanskrit or
ancient Indian literature, the corpus of this book is nevertheless arbitrarily chosen.
In spite of the fact that the space allotted to me was generous, it proved necessary to
restrict this history mainly to those poetic works that have already been edited in
print, whereas poems that at present are available only in manuscript are not
discussed other than in exceptional cases. As the criteria used to determine whether
a given text is kdvya or not were strict, a large number of works were rejected
without difficulty. My selective principles, which to some extent are naturally also
subjective, are most clearly perceptible in the treatment of minor poems and in
footnotes containing bibliographical data; here readers well-versed in Indian
literature will sometimes wish to include some works I have omitted and vice versa.
Texts published in India have frequently been reprinted. In order to save space,
however, not all the reprints have been included in my bibliographical notes. A
bibliography of kdvya is still one of the most urgently felt desiderata.
Four of the chapters in this book have, with some alterations, already been
published: Chapter I, 2 (The Poetic Process) appeared as an article entitled On the
Textual Structure of kdvya in the Adyar Library Bulletin, Vol. 44/45 (1980/81),
pp. 161-178, while Chapters I, 4 and I, 5 (The Training of a Poet and The Creative
Process) were published as one article under the title The Making of a Poet in
Indologica Taurinensia, Vol. VII (1979), pp. 309-321. Chapter III, 6 (Other Species
of Short Poetry - Riddles and Carmina Figurata) appeared in a much altered and
enlarged Swedish version entitled Enigmatisk vers och carmina figurata i sanskrit-
diktningen in Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademiens Arsbok 1983,
pp. 79-88.
It is my pleasant duty to record here my gratitude to all those colleagues, in
Sweden and abroad, who have given me valuable advice and assistance. My thanks
are also due to the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social
Sciences for the generous grant they have put at my disposal.
Siegfried Lienhard
CONTENTS
Preface V
CHAPTER I 1. An Introduction to Kdvya Literature 1
2. The Poetic Process 4
3. The Poet 13
4. The Training of a Poet 19
5. The Creative Process 22
6. Readers and Critics 31
7. Original and Imitative Writing 43
8. The Classification of Literature 45
9. Periods, Chronology and Extent of Classical Poetry . . .. 48
CHAPTER II The Beginnings of Kdvya
1. The Beginning of the Kdvya Tradition . . . 53
2. Epic Poetry. The Ramdyana 57
3. Lyrical Tendencies 61
CHAPTER III Poetry of the Minor Form - Laghukdvya
1. Introductory Remarks 65
2. The Single-Stanza Poem (muktaka). Introduction 67
3. Single-Stanza Poetry 75
4. Multiple-Stanza Poems. Introduction 104
5. Multiple-Stanza Poetry
a) Secular Lyrical Poetry 107
b) Religious Poetry 128
6. Other Species of Short Poetry • Riddles and Carmina
Figurata 150
CHAPTER IV Poetry of the Major Form - Sargabandha
1. Introductory Remarks 159
2. The Sargabandha 161
3. Sargabandhas before Kalidasa 163
4. The Six Great Sargabandhas 170
5. Other Sargabandhas
a) Poetry after Kalidasa 196
b) Jaina Poetry 211
c) Poems with Historical Themes 215
VIII Contents
d) Yamaka- and Slesakdvyas 222
e) Sdstrakdvya 225
CHAPTER V Poetry of the Major Form - Prose
1. Akhydyikd and Kathd 228
2. Dandin, Subandhu and Bana 234
3. Later Prose Poets 257
CHAPTER VI Poetry of the Major Form - Campii
1. Introductory Remarks 265
2. The Poems 266
3. Conclusion 273
ABBREVIATIONS
1. Texts 275
2. Periodicals 275
3. Series, publishing houses and often quoted books 277
INDICES
1. Authors 279
2. Works 284
3. General Index 290
CHAPTER I
1. An Introduction to Kavya Literature
In Indian usage, the concept kavya covers two main things. Firstly, it refers to
poetry itself, i.e., all those works that conform to artistic and literary norms.
Secondly, kavya is used of individual poems. Poetry is of course only one part of all
the writing comprehended in the Sanskrit word vanmaya, which is used in some
texts that deal with literature and other writings to include everything that is
expressed in words.1 Indian manuals on poetics and the practice of poetry tend to
reflect the impression that all poetry falls into one of two categories; on one hand
poetry that is purely oral (sravya2) and, on the other, poetry that can also be seen,
that is to say, performed (drsya, preksya). This view is of course justified. Quite a
number of poets have written works in both genres, and one of the distinguishing
marks of later drama is that the metrical passages and some of the longer prose
sections display an artistic use of words that is closely allied to poetry. The division
of kavya into drsya and sravya is, however, not strictly observed. There is a
tendency to prefer to regard lyrical and epic poetry as belonging to kavya but drama
(nataka3) as belonging to the field of belles-lettres which, though not essentially
different in nature, is nevertheless somewhat more sharply defined in several
respects.4 We may assume that drama, the rules and practice of which have right
from the very beginning been described by theorists, for the most part in separate
texts, originally formed a more or less independent branch of art of its own. It
requires its own equipment and achieves a regularity which, apart from the above-
mentioned parts of drama and certain elements in its construction,5 makes quite
1 According to Agnip. 327, 1, vanmaya can be divided into the following branches -
dhvani, varna, pada and vdkya; according to Agnip. 327, 2, into sastra, itihdsa and kavya;
according to Kdvyam. 2 (beginning), into sastra and kavya (the epics, the Veda and the Pura-
nas then being in the province of sastra); according to Srhgdraprak. 7, into apauruseya,
drsa and pauruseya. Cf. N. STCHOUPAK et L. RENOU, La Kavyamimamsa de Rajasekhara,
etc., Paris, 1946, p. 28, note 1.
2 In this connection one must take into account the fact that the public received poetic
works principally in the form of recitation or oral performance, particularly in earlier times.
3 Thus according to the most important classification of drama; cf. ST. KONOW, Das
indische Drama, Berlin und Leipzig 1920, p.27.
4 The evaluation of both literary categories varies. However, the learned critic Abhinava-
gupta, who wrote a commentary on Bharata's Ndtyasdstra, and others have regarded the
drama as being the highest form of kavya. The poet Bhavabhuti is probably of the same
opinion.
5 For example the subdivision of a drama into samdhis, which poets also prescribe for the
great poem, the mahdkdvya.
2 S. Lienhard • A History of Classical Poetry
different demands than do lyrical poetry and the artificially elaborated tale. My
history of kavya literature therefore separates kavya in the narrow sense from the
theatre (nataka), especially as purely practical aspects dictate separate treatment of
these sometimes very substantial areas of Old and Middle Indian poetry.
The poetry presented here is accordingly that poetry which is partly epic, partly
lyrical. It is either written entirely in verse, entirely in prose or alternates between
verse and prose. Formally it falls into two main categories: poetry of the major form
(mahakavya), which is almost always subdivided into sections, and poetry of the
minor form (laghukavya), whose important relative is single stanza and short
poems.
I purposely avoid using in this book expressions like "ornate poetry" or
"Kunstdichtung" about kavya. Neither of these terms is particularly well-chosen.
To call kavya "ornate poetry" is erroneous insofar as numerous kavyas or parts of
kavyas are entirely devoid of ornamentation, while the term "Kunstdichtung" as a
variant for "poetry" seems superfluous. As we know, poetry, unlike non-literary
texts, is created in India as elsewhere when a poet employs certain artistic devices.
Furthermore, it is evident that the nature of these artificial or artistic devices varies
in different periods and regions, as does the extent to which they are employed.6 To
characterize kavya as court poetry is not satisfactory either as we know that it was
not confined to the court but also flourished in towns, in learned schools and in the
houses of Pandits, courtesans and merchants. I use in this book the term "classical
poetry", where "classical" does not refer to any definite period but to that poetry
which corresponds most closely to the poetic canon irrespective of period. This
term is particularly suitable for kavya literature as it is impossible to state that any
period was its golden age. Although older histories of literature regard the time
about and immediately following Kalidasa as the period when kavya reached it^
highest point, in fact it forms an almost unbroken line more or less unchanged in
essentials from its inception about the middle of the first century B.C. up to the
present.
One very important question concerns the characteristics and the extent of kavya.
It is obvious that literary texts possess certain characteristics which are either
lacking in other works or are not so clearly marked. In order to define the limits of
kavya literature more sharply than has hitherto been done we had better first rid
ourselves of two common misapprehensions which have proved long-lived though
outdated. Firstly, we should not regard certain works as belonging to kavya just
because they are written in verse if they prove to be merely metrical or versified
texts. Secondly, it would be incorrect a priori to count for example didactic poetry,
religious hymns or all the narrative literature as kavya on the same level as the
lyrical poetry, epic poetry and drama which, in the literature of India as in other
6 We come up against the conviction that poetry arises out of the conscious use of such
means as far back as the earliest phases of kavya. The poetry of later times shows clearly that
artificial means, when applied in a routine, technical manner, do not result in art but in
artificiality.