Indian Contribution to Linguistics—Panini

 Indian Contribution to Linguistics—Panini

The Origin of Indian Linguistics

[Strictly speaking, Panini is a grammarian, but his influence is far-reaching. There is hardly any field of study untouched by his innovative ideas. All students of English Literature must have some idea about Panini. The picture will become clear when you realize that Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and semiotician, widely considered to be one of the founders of 20^th century linguistics, spent his life-time as a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Geneva. Similarly many linguists and literary theoreticians like Edward Sapir, Leonard Bloomfield and Noam Chomsky were influenced by Panini.]

Vakrokti of Kuntaka--Criticism & Theory

Kuntaka--Vakrokti

Kuntaka was an 11^th century poetician who has brilliantly anticipated many concepts used in the 20^th century criticism.

His theory of Vakrokti is a comprehensive one. It means figurativeness and obliquity of expression. It is a manifestation of the basic obliquity of the poet’s creative process.

According to Kuntaka, vakrokti or figurativeness manifests at 6 levels of expression in poetry:

Phonetic,

Lexical,

Grammatical,

Sentential,

Contextual, and

Compositional.

There is a surprising similarity between Kuntaka’s vakrokti and the concept of style as ‘deviation from the norm’ seen in modern stylistics. However it is equally important that while stylistics is concerned with phonological, grammatical and lexical aspects of the language, Kuntaka takes into account larger units of discourse also, such as context and composition itself taken as a whole. This enables him to view the entire gamut of the poetic creation from the point of view of artistic efficacy.

Phonetic figurativeness (Varnavinyasa Vakrata)—encompasses alliteration, rhyme, and all other subtle effects of sound in poetry. Kuntaka recognises onomatopoeic effects. Shakespeare’s ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’.

Lexical figurativeness (padapurvardha Vakrata)—includes stylistic choice in vocabulary, metaphor, power of adjectives and veiled expressions. For example, carefully concealing a Mahapataka—“Is he despatche’d”

Grammatical figurativeness ( pratyaya vakrata)—involves the deft use of suffixes, especially those indicating numbers, person, and case forms. It also includes delineation of inanimate objects as animate and personification of objects—instead of saying ‘tense’—‘make my seated heart knock at my ribs’.

Sentential Figurativeness (Vakyavakrata)—it is the permeating presence that enters all other elements. The effect is akin to a painter’s stroke that shines out distinctively from the beauty of the material used. Most of the figures of speech are instances of it.

                                    ‘Out, out, brief candle

                                    Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player

                                    That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

                                    And then is heard no more….”

Kuntaka’s theory does not stop with the analysis of sentence as is done in stylistic studies, since techniques like contextual and compositional figurativeness analyse larger segments of the discourse than the sentence.

Contextual figurativeness (Prakarana vakrata) comprises all those factors which contribute to the strikingness of the context. The equivocation in the prediction of witches, culminating in the materialisation of the Birnamwood coming to Dunsinane, the  emergence of Macduff, ‘untimely ripp’d from his mother’s womb’ to kill Macbeth, the apparition of the witches and the sleep walking scene are examples of contextual figurativeness.

Compositional figurativeness ( Prabandha vakrata). This includes adaptation of  a story from a well-known source with new twists added to it, with a new emotional significance, deletion of unnecessary episodes, the development of even minor incidents into events of far reaching consequences and strikinglness. Kuntaka regards  a  literary composition as an allegory which conveys some profound moral message and this moral content is also regarded as a compositional figurativeness.

Duncan from a young and unsatisfactory monarch into a venerable old man so that his murder seems more gruesome. Conversion of a catalogue of crime and bloodshed in Holinshed into a profound study of guilt and self-destruction.

Kuntaka looks upon the literary piece as a whole from an essentially artistic angle, where the creativity of the poet is at play in fashioning out an artifact. This perspective should suit any work of art, especially literary masterpieces of all-time greats. However, an exploration of a work of art from Kuntaka’s perspective necessitates an understanding of the literary norm, from which the poet effects creative deviation. The literary norm, unlike in modern stylistics encompasses extra-linguistic features like context and composition. Both linguistic and extra linguistic aspects of art are encompassed in a comprehensive aesthetic theory with creativeness as its aesthetic mark.

                                   

Rasa, Dhwani and Auchitya—some additional materials--Criticism & Theory

Rasa, Dhwani and Auchitya—some additional materials

Materials taken from a project summited to the UGC
S. Sreekumar

Bharatha’s Rasa, Anandavardhana’s Dhwani and Kshemendra’s Aucitya are considered the cardinal concepts of Indian Aesthetics by many Indian aestheticians like C.D. Narasimhaiah (East West Poetics at Work) and V. Raghavan (Some Concepts of Alankarasastra). Kapil Kapoor also endorses the importance of these concepts in no uncertain terms (Literary Theory: Indian Conceptual Framework)            

2.1 Rasa theory

Rasa is produced from a combination of determinants (vibhavas), consequents (anubhavas) and transitory states. Is there any dristanta for it?

DHVANI or “Suggestive Poetry”--Indian Aesthetics

 DHVANI or “Suggestive Poetry”--Indian Aesthetics

The kind of poetry where the conventional meaning is secondary or the conventional meaning of the words becomes secondary and the implied meaning becomes more important is called DHVANI or “Suggestive Poetry’.

· Explicit meaning is not very important in suggestive poetry.

· Simile and alliteration make the explicit meaning or sound important and cannot be called suggestive poetry.

· Suggestion is conditioned by only the relation between the suggested and the person or thing that suggests. It is never found in the beauty of the expressed and the expression.

Some people may argue that suggestion can be brought under    such figures of speech as Condensed Metaphor, Paraleipsis, Metonymy, Periphrasis, Fancied Denial, Ellipsis, implying a simile, and merging of figures, since we have a clear perception of the implicit meaning in these. It is in order to refute such as argument that the words, ‘renders itself or its meaning secondary’ etc have been included in the text.

Introduction to Indian Aesthetics--Criticism & Theory

Introduction to Indian Aesthetics 

S. Sreekumar

This introduction to Indian Aesthetics is meant for the beginners. Many students joining MPhil Programme may not have any idea about Indian Aesthetics, as the topic is rarely mentioned in the class rooms/lecture halls of Tamil Nadu. This introduction is meant for such students. This blogger recommends           LITERARY THEORY—INDIAN CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK by KAPIL KAPOOR,  distinguished scholar and former Professor of English, JNU, New Delhi, as primary reading material for all those interested in the subject. [ Kapil Kapoor can be accessed in You Tube where his lectures on the topic are available. ] The book avoids difficult terminology and is lucidly written.

Kapil Kapoor puts the major schools, thinkers and texts in tabular form at the beginning of his book.

School	Thinker/s	Text/s
Rasa (very difficult to give an exact translation)	Bharata Dhanika--Dhananjaya	Natyasastra (2nd Century B.C) Dasarupaka ( 10th Century A.D)
Alamkara (embellishment)	Bhamaha Dandin Rudrata	Kavyalamkara ( 9th Century A.D) Kavyadarsa ( 7th Century A.D) Kavyalamkara ( 9th Century A.D)
Riti (style)	Vamana	Kavyalamkarasutra (9th Century A.D)
Dhvani (very difficult to give an exact translation)	Anandavardhana Abhinavagupta	Dhvanyaloka ( 9th Century A.D) Abhinavabharati (for rasa theory) Locana (commentary on Dhvanyaloka) ( 11th Century A.D)
Vakrokti (oblique speech)	Kuntaka	Vakroktijivita ( 11th Century A.D)
Guna-Dosa (Merits and defects)	Dandin	Kavyadarsa ( 7th Century A.D)
Aucitya (propriety)	Ksemendra	Aucityavicarcarca( 11th Century A.D)

The major theoretical concepts of Indian Aesthetics—Rasa, Dhvani, Aucitya, Alamkara, Vakrokti and Aucitya—are briefly discussed (purely from an examination point of view) in the ensuing posts.

Dr. S. Sree Kumar