Jagannatha\u27s Rasagangadhara : The text with a translation and critical study

The Rasagangadhara (RG) is an authoritative text on literary theory written in the seventeenth century by Jagannatha Panditaraja under the patronage of Shah Jahan. This large work continues the tradition of the theoretical analysis of literary beauty begun by Anandavardhana (9th cent.) and systematized by Mammata (ca. 12 cent.). The RG treats all of the central topics of the Rasa-dhvani tradition in the course of defining terms and criticizing previous characterizations. Jagannatha had detailed knowledge of the earlier writers of this tradition and his mastery of all facets of classical scholarship earned him the title pandita-raja, supposedly bestowed upon him by Shah Jahan himself. The RG is Jagannatha\u27s largest and most important work. It contains over three hundred poems, the vast majority of which Jagannatha himself composed. His boast was that there was no need to search through the classics for examples to illustrate a particular principle when he could equally as well compose his own. His reputation as an excellent poet is matched by the high regard in which his critical skills were held by by critics of subsequent generations. The dissertation includes the text and translation of the RG from the beginning through the section on compatible and incompatible rasas. An introduction situates Jagannatha within his literary and sastraic milieu. It also discusses the translation of certain key terms. Text critical remarks are, for the most part, based upon the four earliest published editions. The annotation of the poems includes grammatical notes, explanation of literary and mythological allusions, identification of meters as well as occasional references to the poetry of Jagannatha\u27s predecessors. The annotation of the analytical portion of the text mainly involves identifying the arguments and tracing the opinions of Jagannatha\u27s opponents to their original sources. Extensive analysis is given to Jagannatha\u27s definition of kavya, to the concept of pratibha, to his fourfold typology of kavya, and to his characterization of rasa, particularly in light of Bharata\u27s well known rasa sutra