302. SĀHITYADARPAŅA 303

SĀHITYADARPAŅA 303

star of the second magnitude only. Beside the brilliance of Anandavardhana, Mammata and Jagannatha his light appears dim. Still the work of Visvanatha has some merits of its own. Its greatest merit is that it presents in the compass of a single work, a full and complete treatment of the science of rhetoric in all its branches. Most Sinskrit writers on Sāhitya, such as Dandin1, Mammata and Jagannatha, leave out the treatment of dramaturgy. The साहित्यदपण, however, contains a thorough disquisition on the technicalities of the dramatic art and forms, together with the Natyasastra of Bharata and the Dasarūpa of HT, a triumvirate in the domain of the Sanskrit drama. Another merit of the work is that it is written in a simple and flowing style. Tne reader is often hampered in going over the Kāvyaprakasa of Mammata by the author's studied efforts at brevity. Jagannatha frightens the student by his flowery language, his subtle reasoning and his scathing criti- cisms of his predecessors. Viśvanātha, although he displays here and there a love for hair-splitting, is generally clear in expression. He is, however, more or less a compiler and not an original writer., In the notes to the साहित्यद्पण we have pointed out in detail to what extent he borrows from the Hei. H.2 Sometimes his judgment seems to. forsake him and he follows slavishly the Sarvasva.8 He does not appear to have bestowed much time and pains upon the selection of examples. Out of about 250 quotations occurring in uf ers I, II and X he borrows no less than 85 from the Dhvanyā- loka, the Kāvyaprakāśa or the Sarvasva and quotes about 20 verses of his own. He is not happy in the innovations that he introduces4 and is sometimes wrong in what he says.5 In spite of these blemishes, his work forms an easy and suitable introduction to Sanskrit sāhitya. Vide an article on 1. Dandin says 'मिश्राशि नाटकादीनि वेषामन्यत्र विस्तरः ।' K.D. I.31; Bhamaha says 'नाटकं दविपदीशभ्यारासकस्कन्धकादि यद्। उक्क तद- भिनेयार्थमुक्तोन्यस्तस्य विस्तरः॥' I. 24. 2. See p. 187, 209, 216, 310 etc. 3. Vide e.g. the treatment of परिणाम, व्यतिरेक and भर्थान्तर- न्यास. 4. For example, vide निक्षय pp. 138-141 and अनुकूल pp. 230-231 of my notes on साहित्यदपण. 5. Vide remarks on pp. 100, 125, 213, 243, of the notes.