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Paper: 11; Module No: 21: E Text (A) Personal Details: Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad Paper Coordinator: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya, Hyderabad Content Writer: Ms. Anshikha Adhikari Research Scholar, IIT- Kanpur Content Reviewer: Dr. Bhandaram Vani S. N. Vanita Mahavidalaya, Hyderabad Language Editor: Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick University of Calcutta (B) Description of Module: Items Description of Module Subject Name: English Paper No & Name: Paper 11: Indian Literary Criticism and Theory Module Id/No: 21 Module Name: Keshavadasa and His Contribution to Indian Poetics Pre-requisites: Objectives: Key Words: Keshava Dasa, Hindi Poetics, Medieval Indian Aesthetics 1 Introduction Literature is an essential part of any culture. Since antiquity, it has carried out the tradition of passing down the stories, mythologies, and folklores from one generation to another, which give meaning to a civilization. It also provides a unique opportunity to admire one’s cultural heritage and conserving the same simultaneously. As mentioned earlier, not only a literary tradition allows its enthusiasts and readers a peep into the past, it also allows them to look into the mirror of contemporary literary tradition. On the same note, Hindi literature has played a matchless role in the growth and conservation of Hindi language. There has been a lot of debates regarding the classification of Hindi literature since its inception.But for simplicity sake, Hindi literature, since its beginning can be divided into four sections: ● Adikaal (the early period beginning from 10th century till 14th century) ● Bhaktikaal (the devotional period beginning circa 14th century till 17th century) ● Ritikaal (Scholastic period covers the literary tradition from 1600 to 1850) ● Adhunik kaal ( the modern period beginning from 19th century) Keshavdasa: An Introduction Keshavdasa Mishra was born in the year 1555. He is also known by the name of Keshavdas. He was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and Hindi poet who contributed immensely to the Ritikaal period. He is perhaps best known for his Rasik Priya, a pioneering work of the Ritikaal of Hindi literature. He came from a family of Brahmin pandits who were scholars in Sanskrit. His family is said to have served the kings of Orcha and Gwalior in present day Madhya Pradesh. This is a vital 2 piece of information because his family lineage marked an unconventional decision taken by Keshavdas. He began writing in the period when the glory of Sanskrit language and literature was at its pinnacle. Nonetheless, he forsake the previously mentioned tradition and chose Brajbhasha, a dialect of Hindi to be the medium of his literary thoughts. This is considered as an act of defiance against the long established tradition of Sanskrit. Brajbhasha was mainly spoken in the Braj region of modern day Mathura, Agra and nearby regions in Uttar Pradesh. Brajbhasha, during the medieval period was mostly viewed as a language in which the poets used to develop hymns and devotional songs for Krishna and Radha. Keshavadasa broke this tradition and made people see that Brajbhasha could also encompass varied themes and genres. This is chiefly visible in his best known works like Rasikpriya and Kavipriya. The riti tradition of Keshavdasa flourished in the reign of the Mughal Empire. Keshavdasa could be considered as the first prominent auteur who actually began the process of transplanting the characteristics of literature from Sanskrit to vernaculars. These experiments resulted into his some of the best works namely, Rasikpriya and Kavipriya which will be discussed in the later sections briefly. These two works emerged as the textbooks consisting of principles on poetry which derived their inspiration from Ramchandrika (Moonlight of Ramchandra, 1601), which was the first epic mahakavya in a vernacular, that is, Brajbhasha.. Despite the familial connections to Sanskrit (his father and forefathers were Sanskrit scholars), Keshavdas decided that he will use a more commonly understood language of the mass that is, Brajbhasha, for his writings. This decision was significant in the sense that his work would turn out be quite a deviance from the preferred tradition of those days. To be 3 more precise, this meant that these kinds of works were viewed with disgust opinions from the pandits, the most superior class of that time. It could be considered as a paradox that Keshavadasa’s works were deemed paradoxical as they were written keeping in mind the Sanskrit literary tradition but the language used was Brajbhasha. Brajbhasha, as a language of literature, at that time was already on the verge of becoming acceptable among the common mass. One of the reason which is give for the change of heart of the common mass is the Bhakti movement. It was due to the rise of the Vaishnavite religion that secured the common masses attention towards languages like Brajbhasha. As we know he was the court poet of the Bundela kingdom of present day Madhya Pradesh, he also gives us the proof that literature was flourishing at that period in the court of Bir Singh Deo Bundela. Major works One of his seminal work and the very first literary work is Ratan Bavani. There are three anthology of poems of which Keshavadasa is thought to have written are Rasikpriya (1591), Ramchandrika (1600), and Kavipriya (1601). One of his poetry anthology Ramchandrika is an abridged translation of the literary giant Ramayana. Not only this, it is written in 30 sections. Some of his other important and seminal works include Rakhshikh (1600), Chhandamala (1602), Virsinghdev Charit (1607), and Jahangirjas Chandrika (1612). Though the language of his choice was Brajbhasha, but his works were heavily influenced by Bundelkhandi dialect. Rasikpriya 4 Rasikpriya was written by Keshavdasa in the year of 1591. Rasikpriya is considered as an important literary piece of the Ritikaal of Hindi literary tradition. At that time, Keshavdasa was the court poet of the well-known king Madhukar Shah and his son, Prince Indrajit Shah, of Orchha, present day Madhya Pradesh. Written in Braj bhasha, Rasikpriya covers the emotions and behaviour of ideal loves, most importantly the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. Subsequently, for the upcoming generation of writers, Rasikpriya became the stylistic guide in terms of Hindi Romantic literature. It also became quite a favourite literary work among the contemporary Rajput kings of India. The book describes the different kinds of nayakas and nayikas -- their lovemaking, their moods, sentiments and emotions, and illustrates these vivid accounts of the lovers in various situations. According to Bahadur (1990), Keshavdasa classifies his heroines in his Rasikapriya in various ways. According to Keshavadasa, the nayikas (heroines) which are most important to the artists are categorized into eight categories. There is one more important heroine who is a comparatively mature heroine whose husband has just returned. But this classification is not among the eight well-known nayikas, among which the Prositapatika Nayika (Bahadur 1972, pp. 117-18) or Prositapreyasi Nayika (Randhawa 19621, pp. 76-77) is the nearest, the heroine whose husband is away. According to Randhawa, however (p. 64), some rhetoricians add another three, including Agatapatika Nayika, one whose husband has just returned and comes immediately to seek her. Keshavadasa is often fondly remembered as the father of ritikal and his Rasikpriya is considered as the foundational text of ritikavya. Rasikpriya is basically piece of work which 1 Randhawa, M. S. (1962). Kangra paintings on love. India: National museum, New Delhi 5 celebrates love and centres it on Krishna and Radha. It has also instilled inspiration among many artists who ended up creating paintings based on the dohas of Rasikpriya. Keshavdasa’s Rasikpriya distinguishes nayikas into eight different categories. They are known as Ashtanayika. The classification of Ashtanayika was for the first time given Bharata in Natya Shashtra. Keshavdasa elaborates on them. The eight nayikas represent eight different states of a woman (avastha). These nayikas are in a deeply seated romantic relationship with her hero or also known as nayaka. These typical portrayals have become immensely popular and have been used by the subsequent enthusiasts in Indian painting Indian painting, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance. The Natya Shastra describes the nayikas in the following order: 1. Vasakasajja 2. Virahotkanthita 3. Svadhinabhartruka 4. Kalahantarita 5. Khandita 6. Vipralabdha 7. Proshitabhartruka 8. Abhisarika. Now let us discuss about these nayikas in a more detailed manner. Vasakasajja Vasakasajja ("a woman who is dressed to have her reunion with her lover") or Vasakasajjika is the nayika one who is patiently waiting for her lover to return home to her from a long and arduous journey. She is mostly depicted smoking a bidri hookah and waiting for her 6 comapnion eagerly. She dresses herself for the union with her lover and "anticipating union’s pleasure". 2 Virahotkanthita Virahotkanthita (" A woman who is unambiguously sad due to her separation from her lover") or Utka (as portrayed by Keshavdas) is the sad woman who falls in the pit of distress over her lover’s inability to return home. This is so because her lover is not able to finish her work for which he had gone away from his lover. She is depicted eagerly and patiently waiting for her lover, sitting or standing on a bed. She is the one who is alone and thus desires for reunion. This is so because she is separated from her lover.3 Svadhinabhartruka Svadhinabhartruka ("a woman who has a subservient and a compliant lover") or Svadhinapatika (as portrayed by Keshavdasa) is the woman controls her husband and is also loved by him. He is fond of being docile and unassertive with the desires expressed by his lover. He is in love with her. In the subsequent painting which were influenced by Rasikpriya paintings, our nayaka is shown to be putting mahawar on the feet of his beloved.

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