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by Nikolaus Erb (In the first section of the following article, Nikolaus Erb, defines what a Kavya is and compares the Indian Kavya to the poetical works of the Romans and Greeks. Kalidasa's Kavya, Ritusamhara, is summarised in the second section. Ritusamhara consists of six cantos- Summer (28 verses), Rainy season (28 verses), Autumn (26 verses), Early Winter (18 verses), Late winter (16 verses), and Spring (28 verses).) The work, Ritusamhara, belongs to the genre of Kavya. What is Kavya? The word, Kavya, is derived from the word Kavi whose meanings depend on its grammatical context. Kavi, as adjective, means "wise, enlightened" and as a noun, "the wise one, the observer, the singer, the poet". "Kavya" is used to mean "wisdom, inspiration and poetical art". In short it is used as the common noun comprising the genre of artistical poetry. So what are the main characteristics of a Kavya? In contrast to the older forms of poetry, here the poet lays a great importance on the formal manner of composition of his subject matter. Language is used in an extremely delicate and decorative manner. With the development of Kavya, the style became as important as, often more important than, the content . Metaphors, playing with words, beautiful descriptions are the necessary features of Kavya. In addition to these, with the passage of time, the usage of words with multiple meanings became essential in the composing of Kavya. Parallel to that the nominal mode of expression started to become established. The most important characteristic of such an expressive form was the complicated form of compound words. Another speciality is that the poet has to adhere to the theoretical rules of artistic poetry. For example, the poet, in his work, makes use of a given set of established comparisons and similes. His task is to use his talent to reconstruct the well known poetical element in a totally new way, to give it a special touch and breath new life into it. That could very well be the reason why in the Indian Kavya we hardly ever come across any expression of personal feelings and emotions unlike as in the works by Catull, Archilochos and Sappho. On the other hand Indian poets shine through their incredibly beautiful descriptions of nature. Such descriptions are rarely seen in the same intensity and to the same extent in the poetical works of the Romans and Greeks. Seite
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