361. ÆSTHETIC CURRENTS IN POETICS 399

ÆSTHETIC CURRENTS IN POETICS 399

It is this very Laksana which is spoken of as Vakrokti by Bhāmaha in his Kāvyālankara and is represented to be the most essential element of all poetic embellishments, which, according to him differentiate poetic expression from the1 ordinary.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BHARATA AND BHĀMAHA.

But there appears to be this difference between Bhamaha and Bharata that while, according to Bharata, a compo- sition is poetic only if the meaning, presented through Kavivyapara, presents the æsthetic situation with a focus, the mimetic changes, and the transient emotions2 in' such a manner as to bring about the relishability of the basic mental state; the former does not seem to attach so much importance to Rasa. According to him, a linguistic expres- sion, provided it has the crookedness (Vakrokti), irrespective of the fact whether it presents a complete æsthetic confi- guratlon or not, is fit to be called poetry. The fact is that Bhamaha represents the tradition of the poeticians as distinguished from that of the drama- turgists. And it is an historical fact that Rasa was able to establish its position of supremacy in poetry only after Ananda Vardhana and Abhinava had spoken on it. There is no denying the fact that there is some kind of delight to be got from hearing a composition that presents a poetic vision, even of a constituent of an æsthetic con- figuration. It is another matter that the experience from the apprehension of a complete æsthetic configuration is different from that, got from a part thereof. This difference was noticed later, probably first of all by Ananda Vardhana .. The early poeticians, therefore, represented by Bhamaha, held Vakrokti, irrespective of delineation of complete

1. A. Bh., Vol. II. 298, 2. A. Bh., Vol. II. 297.