336. 338 HISTORY OF SANKSRIT POETICS

338 HISTORY OF SANKSRIT POETICS

brief quotation will be helpful: 'कृपणदीनानाथातुरजनोद्धरएसमन्त्रदीक्षा- धुपगतमनसः समिद्धस्य वित्रहवतो लोकानुग्रहस्य धनदवरुणेन्द्रान्तकसमस्य स्वमुजबलवि- जिता नेक नर पतिविभव प्रत्यपणनित्यव्यापृतायुक्तपुरुषस्य निशितवि दग्धमतिगान्धवललतै- ब्रीडितत्रिदशप तिगुरुतुम्बुरुनारदादेविद्वज्जनोपजीव्याने ककाव्यक्रियाभि: प्रतिष्ठितकवि- राजशब्दस्य etc.' These inscriptions therefore show that long before the 4th century, Poetics had made a good deal of progress. There are other indications of great antiquity that point in the same direction. The निघएट (III. 13) collects twelve phrases from the Rgveda and calls them 34HT (such as इदमिव, इदं यथा, अभिन, तदद्). The निरुक्त, while commenting on this part of the निघएट cites a scientific definition of उपमा from गार्ग्य, a predecessor of यास्क, and remarks that in the Rgveda a superior object is sometimes compared with an inferior one (though the general rule is that the JTHIa is superior to or more well-known than the उपमेय) अथात उपमा यदतत्तत्सदृशमिति गार्ग्यस्तदासा कर्म ज्यायसा वा गुरेन प्रख्याततमेन वा कनीयांसं वाप्रख्यातं वोपमिमीतेऽथापि कनीयसा ज्यायांसम्' (III. 13). The निरुक्त then cites Rg. X. 4.6 (तनूत्यजेव तस्करा वनग &c., where the arms are compared to desperate thieves) and Rg. X. 40. 2 (कुह स्विद्दोषा कुह वस्तोरश्चिना &c., where the Asvins are compared to the levir having intercourse with his brother's widow). " foreshadows the later distinction between पूर्uा and लुप्ता simile in the words 'लुप्तोपमान्यर्थोपमानीत्याचच्षते' (निरुक III. 18). A complete Upama has four constituent elements, उपमान, उपमेय (or उपमित), the common property (सामान्य) and the word expressive of the relation (such as इव, तुल्य). Long before Panini these technical words had become fixed in the language. The followsng sūtras will make this clear : 'उपमानानि सामान्यवचनः' and 'उपमितं व्याघ्रादिभिः सामान्याप्रयोगे' (पा. II. 1. 55-56); तुल्याथैरतुलोपमाभ्यां तृतीयान्यतरस्याम्' पा. II. 3. 72; 'उपमानादाचारे' पा. III. 1. 10 (क्यच स्याद) ; 'तेन तुल्यं क्रिया चेद्रतिः। तत्र तस्येव' पा. V. 1. 115-16. Panini refers to the Natasutras composed by Silalin and कृशाश्व ('पाराशर्यशिलालिभ्यां भिन्षुनटसूत्रयोः' and 'कर्मन्द- कृशाश्वादिनिः' IV. 3. 110-111). There is nothing left to show what these contained, but if they were to deserve the high- sounding designation of a sutra, it is not unlikely that they gave (however crudely) instruction as to what the business of an actor was, how he could work upon the emotions of the audience (i. e. in short some theory of rasa). The Vedānta- sutras name two alanikaras viz. उपमा and रूपक (अत एव चोपमा सूर्यकादिवद' III. 2. 18 and 'आनुमानिकमप्येकेषां शरीररूपक विन्यस्तगृहीतेदश-