Dhwani Theory by Anandvardhana: an introduction

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Anandvardhana was a Kashmiri court poet and literary critic, honored with the title of Rajanak during King Avantivarman's reign.

 Anandavardhana authored the Dhvanyāloka, or A Light on Suggestion (dhwani), a work articulating the philosophy of "aesthetic suggestion" (dhwani, vyañjanā).

Anandavardhana is credited with creating the dhwani theory. He wrote that dhwani (meaning sound, or evocation) is the "soul" or "essence" (ātman) of poetry (kavya).

 Anandavardhana said, "When the poet writes, he creates a eloquent field of emotions." To understand the poetry, the reader or hearer must be on the same wavelength.

Important points~

•Dhvani theory is a theory of suggestion that is considered to be the soul of poetry. 
•The theory of Dhvani is a major contribution to Sanskrit literary theory. 
•The theory of Dhvani suggests that the main goal of good poetry is to evoke a mood or "flavor" (rasa). 
•The theory of Dhvani suggests that this process can be explained by recognizing a semantic power beyond denotation and metaphor. 
•The theory of Dhvani suggests that the purpose of poetry is to evoke the universalized emotions that are present in humans.


Types of Dhwani

~Abhidha, which gives primary denotative meaning
~Laksana, which gives secondary derivative or indicated meaning
~Vyanjana, from which the meaning obtained is vyangyartha, the tertiary or the suggested meaning

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