326. 328 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

328 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

Sunahsepa whose story is developed in the Ait. Br. Beautiful similes are found by the hundred in the Rg. Vide Prof. H. D. Velankar's exhaustive treatment of similes in the 4th and 5th Mardalas of the Rg. in J.B.B.R.A. S. vol. 14 pp. 1-47 and vol. 16 pp. 1-42, 'Figures of speech in the Rgveda' Annals of B. O. R. I. vol. 17 pp. 61-83 (translated from A. Bergaigne's Article) and pp. 259-288 by Mr. A. Venkatasubbiah; Abel Bergaigne's 'La Syntaxe des comparaisons Vediques' (1886) translated in Annals B.O.R. I. vol. XVI pp. 232-261 by Mr. A. Venkata- subbiah, 'Figures of speech in Rgveda' by Mr. P. S. Sastri in Annals B. O.R.I. vol. 28 pp. 34-64. The Rgvedic poets not only indulge in such figures of speech as Upamā, Atisayokti and Rupaka (as in Rg. III. 27. 15, IX. 64. 1 वृषा सोम:), but they appear to have had some ideas about a theory of poetics, as the following brief statement will show. They are fond of the repetition of the same letters or words which create an appear- ance of what is called anuprasa in later times, e.g. रक्षायो भ्ग्ने तव रक्षगेभी रारक्षय: (IV. 3.14), प्रतार्यग्ने प्रतरं न आयु: (IV. 12. 6), भब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतम् (IV. 40.5), वयमग्ने बनुयाम त्वोता वसूयवो (V. 3. 6) ; repetition of the same word at the beginning of several pādas in IV. 23. 3-5 or in several pādas as in Rg. IV. 40. 5 g#: शुचिषद् वसुरन्तरिक्षसद्धोता वेदिषदतिथिदरोशसत'; Rg. V. 27. 4) दददृचा सनिं यते ददन्मेधामृतायते) and V. 76. 2 दिवाभिपित्वेऽवसा गमिष्ठा प्रत्यवर्ति दाशुषे शंभविष्ठा); the last two seem to be efforts at यमक. The sage often says that he brings to the god a new and forceful verse, a pro- duct of his speech (प्र तव्य्सी नव्यसी धीतिमअये वाचो मति सहसः सूनवे भरे। Rg. I. 143. 1). An interesting verse is Rg. X. 71. 2 सक्तुमिव तित- उना पुनन्तो यत्र धीरा मनसा वाचमक्रत। अत्रा सखायः सख्यानि जानते भद्रैषां लक्ष्मीर्निहिताधि वाचि॥ 'When men of wisdom create by their intellect verse (lit. speech) after winnowing (words) as barley grains are sifted by means of a winnowing baskct, then men of equal knowledge understand (recognize) mcaning (contained in the verse) ; in their verses (speech) blessed glory is enshrined, (resides).1 This makes it clear that a distinction is here made between ordinary speech and poetic speech, that poets have to pick and choose their words and that poetry leads on to bliss and glory. Rg. X. 125 is a sublime hymn to Vak (put in the 1. This verse is explained in the Nirukta IV. 10 and in the ETHT (vol. I. p. 4) at the beginning. It is also quoted in the साहित्यमीमांसा (p.161). Vide above p. 271.