86. BHÂMAHA 83

BHÂMAHA 83

to his help, ran about round and round and drove the cows and this does not exist in 'the sun has set, the moon rises and birds go to their nests'. भामह refuses to apply the name काव्य to such purely matter of fact statements. Such descriptions were called वार्ता by others (such as by विष्युधर्मोत्तर p. 69): These words may mean 'these words are only news'. I prefer the first meaning, because भामइ employs the word प्रचक्षते very frequently in enumerating or speaking of alankäras or the opinions of other authors (II. 5, II. 93, III 54). In the 4th परिच्छेद he dilates upon eleven kinds of दोषs (such as अपार्थ, व्यर्थ) in kauya, defines and illustrates the first ten of them. In the fifth ufro he defines and illustrates the eleventh dosa which arises from a faulty प्रतिशा, हेतु or दृष्टान्त, the treatment being based upon a discussion of such Nyāya-Vaiseșika topics as the number and definitions of pramanas, definitions of प्रतिशा and its varieties, of हेतु and its varieties, of दृष्टान्त etc. In the 6th परि० he gives some practical hints to poets for securing सौशब्य (grammatical purity) in poetry and in this respect resembles Vämana who in the fifth अधिकरण of his काव्यालङ्कारसूत्र treats the same subject more elaborately. Bhamaha is deemed to be the oldest extant exponent of the Alankāra school of Poetics. Of his personal history we know next to nothing. In the last verse he tells us that he was the son of Rakrilagomin 'अवलोक्य मतानि सत्कवीनामवगम्य स्वधिया च काव्यलक्ष्म। सुजनावगमाय भामहेन ग्रथितं रक्रिलगोमिसूनुनेदम् ।'. This name रक्रिलगोमिंन् has given rise to a heated discussion whether Bhamaha was a Bauddha. Prof. M. T. Narasimhiengar (J. R. A. S. 1905 pp. 535-545) thinks that भामह was a Bauddha, as रक्रिल (his father's name) resembles some distinctly Buddhistic names Such as Rahula, Potala and that Gomin is a name of one of Buddha's disciples. Vide J. R. A. S. for 1908 p. 543 against this view. Prof. Pathak (I. A. 1912 p. 235) says that गोमिन् is not a contraction of गोस्वामिन्, but means 'venerable' (ysT) and that Rakrila was a Buddhist. He relies on a sūtra in the चान्द्रव्याकरय 'गोमिन् पूज्ये' (IV.2.144, गोमान् अन्यः ।). After all there is not much in a name. When Buddhists and follo- wers of Brahmanism had lived together for a thousend years, there is no wonder even if distinctively Buddhist names were appropriated by Brahmanic people, since Buddha himself came to be recognised as an avatāra of Vișnu certainly before the