201. ABHINAVAGUPTA'S THEORY OF MEANING 225

ABHINAVAGUPTA'S THEORY OF MEANING 225

suggested element as the central fact in the poetic experi- ence would naturally mean their demolition. But the second does. It is represented by the Alankārika school of poetic criticism, which maintains that the poetic embellish- ments are the most essential elements of poetry and, there- fore, holds that the suggested meaning (Dhvani) is nothing more than a subordinate element in an embellishment, called Rasavat Alankara. We will deal with it in a separate article, The distinctive spheres of Upama and Rasavat Alankara on the one hand and that of Rasa-Dhvani on the other. But before doing so let us summarily state the views of the opponents belonging to different schools. THE VIEWS OF THE OPPONENTS OF THE THEORY OF SUGGESTED MEANING SUMMARISED. The objections of the three main schools of opponents can be summarily stated as follows :- (i) A word, in order that it may convey some meaning to the hearer, presupposes an established convention as to its significance. As there is no convention regarding the suggested meaning, no word can serve as its vehicle. Hence, there is nothing like the suggested meaning. (ii) No doubt often, on hearing a word, we grasp a meaning which is not quite conventional.1 But that is not the suggested meaning. That is the secondary meaning. Often a couple of words is employed to convey a unitary meaning. And because the primary meaning of the first word is inconsistent with that of the following, it forcibly gives rise to the secondary meaning in the hearer's conscious- ness. Hence it is technically called Bhakta. A classical example of this is Gangayam Ghosah. In strict accordance

1. Dh. L., 4. gaucad 29