68. DHARMAKĪRTI AND ALANKĀRASĀSTRA 65

DHARMAKĪRTI AND ALANKĀRASĀSTRA 65

verse 'लावएयद्रविशाष्ययो न गशितः क्लेशो महानर्जितः स्वच्छन्दरं चरतो जनस्य हृदये चिन्ताज्वरो निर्मितः। एषापि स्वयमेव तुल्यरमणभावाद्राकी हता कोऽर्थश्चेतसि वेधसा विनिदितिस्तन्व्यास्तनं तन्वता ।।' and says that some explained this verse as an example of व्याजस्तुति while it is really an example of अप्रस्तुतप्रशंसा. Then it remarks 'तथा चायं धर्मकीतेः श्लोक इति प्रसिद्धि: सम्भाव्यते च तस्यैव'. The reason assigned is that the verse quoted has underlying it a current of ideas similar to another verse which certainly was composed by धर्मकीर्ति. The verse is then quoted (ध्व.p.272). क्षेमेन्द्र (in औचित्यवि०), सुभाषितावलि and other anthologies follow the ध्वन्या० in ascribing the verse लावएयद्रविख० to धर्मकीर्ति. So the Buddhist logician and philosopher धमकीर्ति may have been a poet, but there is nothing to substantiate the claim to regard him as a writer on Alankāra. It is quite possible that what सुबन्धु wrote was बौद्धसङ्गीतिमिवा- लङ्कारभूषिताम्. सक्गीति means 'Council' (vide Introduction to धम्मपद S.B. E.vol. X. p. XXXI).It is also the name of that class of Buddhist Literature where in the very opening lines Buddha is introduced in an assembly of the faithful (vide Annals of B. O. R. I. vol. X. at p. 5n). Mrs. Rhys Davids explains 'sangiti' as 'standardized scriptural recital'. There are two works that have the title ser- क्ार, one is the सूत्रालक्वार of अश्वघोष, which was translated into Chinese by कुमाराजीव (405 A. D.) and is a compilation of stories that illustrate the retribution of Karma (vide Dr. B. C. Law on 'Aśvaghoșa' p. 6, and Journal Asiatique for 1929 at pp. 270-280, and K. G. Saunders' 'Epochs in Buddhist History' p. 56, E. J. Thomas in 'Indian Culture' vol. XIII. pp. 143-146). The other is the महायानसूत्रालङ्कार attributed to असङ and commented on by वसुबन्धु (in the 4th century A.D.). Prof. Ui tries to prove that the महायानसूत्रालङ्कार is a work of मैत्रेय (and not of असङ) commented on byagary. Vide Zeitschrift fur Indologie und Iranistik, vol.VI. for 1928 pp. 215-225 for Prof. Ui's article. M. Sylvain Levi edited the text of महायानसूत्रालक्कार with French translation (1907 and 1911).In his Introduction (p.16) Levi reads बौद्धसक्गीतिमिवालक्कारभूषि- ताम् and states that a commentator called नरसिंह explained भलक्कार as 'sastra bouddhique.' In spite of the fact there is no positive evidence so far for holding that ynfailfa wrote on Sanskrit Poetics, Prof. S. P. Bhattacharya in his paper called 'Neo-Buddhist nucleus in Alankāraśāstra' J. A. S. B. vol. XXII, 1956, part I pp. 49-66 cannot help nourishing the hope that it might ultima- tely turn out that Dharmakirti, did write on Poetics (p. 64).