Bhamaha
Encyclopedia
Bhamaha was a Sanskrit poetician
believed to be contemporaneous with Daṇḍin
. He is noted for writing a work called Kavyalankara ("The ornaments of poetry"). In the last verse of his work, he mentions that he was son of Rakrilagomin. Except this information nothing is known about Bhamaha.
, it defines kavya
and describes the qualifications of a good poet. It also narrates various genres and styles of poems, which include Vaidarbhi and Gaudi. In the beginning of the second chapter, three gunas of poems, namely prasada, madhurya and ojah are discussed. It is followed by the discussion about the alankaras (figures of speech
), which continues till the end of the third chapter. The fourth chapter mentions about the eleven types of doshas (blemishes) of kavya and defines first ten of these doshas with illustrations. The fifth chapter discusses about the eleventh dosha and its causes. It is based on the Nyaya
-Vaisheshika
epistemology. The sixth chapter emphasizes the necessity of the grammatical accuracy and some practical hints to the poets are also provided.
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
believed to be contemporaneous with Daṇḍin
Dandin
Dandin can refer to:* Daṇḍin, 6th-7th century Sanskrit writer* The Dandin Group, a wireless internet thinktank* Dandin the Sword Carrier, a character appearing in Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, two books from the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques....
. He is noted for writing a work called Kavyalankara ("The ornaments of poetry"). In the last verse of his work, he mentions that he was son of Rakrilagomin. Except this information nothing is known about Bhamaha.
Kavyalankara
Bhamaha's Kavyalankara is divided in to six paricchedas (chapters). It comprises 398 verses, including two verses at the end of the sixth chapter, which briefly describe the number of verses on each of the five topics. In the first verse, Bhamaha mentioned his work as Kavyalankara. The first chapter comprises 69 verses. After the invocation of SarvaRudra
' is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as "The Roarer", or "The Howler"....
, it defines kavya
Kavya
Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
and describes the qualifications of a good poet. It also narrates various genres and styles of poems, which include Vaidarbhi and Gaudi. In the beginning of the second chapter, three gunas of poems, namely prasada, madhurya and ojah are discussed. It is followed by the discussion about the alankaras (figures of speech
Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of MCs Eve and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation....
), which continues till the end of the third chapter. The fourth chapter mentions about the eleven types of doshas (blemishes) of kavya and defines first ten of these doshas with illustrations. The fifth chapter discusses about the eleventh dosha and its causes. It is based on the Nyaya
Nyaya
' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
-Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika or ' is one of the six Hindu schools of philosophy of India. Historically, it has been closely associated with the Hindu school of logic, Nyaya....
epistemology. The sixth chapter emphasizes the necessity of the grammatical accuracy and some practical hints to the poets are also provided.
Commentaries
No commentary on this work has been found so far. It is known that a commentary titled Bhamahavivarana or Bhamahavritti on Kavyalankara was written by Udbhata, but this work is no more extant.External links
- Transliterated text of Bhamaha's Kavyalankara at GRETILGRETILThe Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages is a comprehensive repository of e-texts in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.It contains several texts related to Indology, such as philosophical texts...
- Sanskrit text of Bhamaha's Kavyalankara prepared by Rashtriya Sanskrit SansthanRashtriya Sanskrit SansthanRashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan is an educational organization in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1970 to propagate, develop and encourage Sanskrit learning and research. It is a deemed university and is fully funded by the government of India...