काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

XVIII INTRODUCTION. Nevertheless marked similarity also is noticeable in the method of treatment here with that of Kauṭilya and Vātsyāyana. For instance, the full list of subjects, treated of in the Arthaśāstra and the Kāmasūtra, appears at the end of the first chapter and here, likewise it is given at the end of the first chapter Śāstra- saṅgraha. It is a matter of regret, however, that all MSS. of the text do not contain the full list of subjects treated in all the eighteen Adhikaraṇas; instead, we find the list complete only for the first Adhikaraṇa or Kavirahasya with the significant remark इत्यादि at the end. Since the whole work in eighteen Adhikaraṇas is not found, it is very difficult to understand the working of the author's mind in the commencement of the Kāvyamīmāṁsā; but from the imperfect materials thus at our command, it can be asserted, somewhat hesi- tatingly, that the first three Adhyāyās or chapters of the first Adhikaraṇa are intended by the author to serve as a general introduction to the whole work of the Kāvyamīmāṁsā in eighteen Adhikaraṇas. The first Adhikaraṇa or the Kavirahasya under the circumstances begins from the fourth Adhyāya. In the first of the three Adhyāyas, the author treats of the origin of the science of poetics, and gives a comprehensive list of subjects included therein. In the second Adhyāya, he makes an attempt to determine the exact position of the science of poetics in relation to the Vedas and post-Vedic literature, and declares that the science dealt with by him should be regarded as the seventh Vedāṅga and the fifteenth Vidyāsthāna. It is well known that the Vedāṅgas in Sanskrit literature are six in number, and the number of sciences has been fixed at fourteen, and in none of these lists the science of poetics is included. In support of his contention, Rājaśekhara goes on to say that the science of poetics has the function of correctly interpreting the Vedic texts, and thus serves the purpose of an auxilliary to the Vedas in the same way as the other Vedāṅgas. He further asserts that the function of the fourteen Vidyāsthānas, is to impart the knowledge of the Dharma and Artha, and since from the science of poetics or Kāvyavidyā the same result is obtained, it should also be regarded as one of the Vidyāsthānas, and should not be distinguished from the other fourteen sciences.