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Definition and Scope of Poetry
'Kavya-hetu' or cause of poetry and
Kavya-prayojana or aims or purpose of poetry.
As for the cause -hetu- of poetry, sanskrit literary critics have advanced pratibha, i.e. poetic genius, vyutpatti, i.e. learning and abhyasa i.e. practice as the cause of poetry, either jointly or individually. By and large the importance of pratibha i.e. poetic genius is held as uppermost by critics. Thus Bhamaha holds that 'pratibha' is the only cause of poetry. He is candid when he observes that: "kāvyam tu jāyate jātu kasyacit pratibhāvataḥ" (Bhāmaha, 1.5b.) Dandin has a different approach when he observes :
naisargiki ca pratibhā
sṛtam ca bahunirmalam | amandaścàbhiyogośyāḥ
kāranam kāvya-sampadaḥ || (I. 103)
Natural genius, great proficiency in various branches of knowledge, great endeavour and repeatition of efforts-all these taken together make for the cause of poetry for Dandin. Here, for the first time so far as available documents are concerned, we come across an approach which is supported by Mammata later. So, for Dandin, inborn genius as well as human endeavour jointly make for poetry. For him, it seems, poets are both born as well as made. In two more kärikäs that follow; i.e. at I. 104 and 105 he clearly favours human endeavour as against only inborn genius. Dandin observes
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na vidyate yady api pūrva-vāsanā-guṇā'nubandhi pratibhānam adbhutam |
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sṛtena yatnena ca vāg upāsitā dhruvam karoty eva kam apy anugraham || (I. 104)
My guru Prof. Athavale suggested that 'kam api' here refers to 'some extraordinary favour,' and not 'just little favour.' So, for Dandin, even in absence of inborn genius, human endeavour is capable to cause poetry of the highest order. So, at Kāvyādarśa I. 105, he eloquently declares that people should wake up from laziness and continuously get themselves engaged in propitiating the goddess of speech and by this honest effort, even with pale inborn genius, people will be able to move in the company of the learned with their heads held high :
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