Kavitva

nṛpo na hari-sevitā vyaya-kṛtī na hary-arpakaḥ

nṛpo na hari-sevitā vyaya-kṛtī na hary-arpakaḥ
kavir na hari-varṇakaḥ śrita-gurur na hary-āśritaḥ |
guṇī na hari-tatparaḥ sarala-dhīr na kṛṣṇāśrayaḥ
sa na vraja-ramānugaḥ sva-hṛdi sapta-śalyāni me ||
(Gopāla-campū: 1.33.178)

“A king who is not a servant of Hari,

A spender who is not an offerer to Hari,

A poet who is not a narrator of Hari,

A disciple of a guru who is not sheltered in Hari,

A virtuous person who is not devoted to Hari,

A simple [alt., sincere, unpretentious] person who is not sheltered in Hari,

And he [i.e., one who is sheltered in Hari] who is not a follower of the beautiful ladies of Vraja—

[These seven types of persons] Are seven spears in my own heart.”

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kiṁ kāvyena kaves tasya kiṁ kāṇḍena dhanuṣmataḥ

kiṁ kāvyena kaves tasya kiṁ kāṇḍena dhanuṣmataḥ |
parasya hṛdaye lagnaṁ na ghūrṇayati yac chiraḥ ||
(Nala-campū: 1.5; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.1.195)

“What good is a poet’s poetry or a bowman’s arrow which strikes the heart of another but do not cause the head [of the other] to spin?”

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itara-pāpa-phalāni yathecchayā

itara-pāpa-phalāni yathecchayā
vitara tāni sahe caturānana |
arasikeṣu kavitva-nivedanaṁ
śirasi mā likha mā likha mā likha ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

“I shall bear [all] those other reactions to my sins you allocate as per your wish, O Brahmā. Just do not write, do not write, do not write on my forehead, “Presenting poetics to the tasteless.”

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sarva-laukikātīte’pi tasmin laukikārtha-viśeṣopamā-dvārā

sarva-laukikātīte’pi tasmin laukikārtha-viśeṣopamā-dvārā lokānāṁ buddhi-praveśaḥsyād iti kenāpy aṁśenopameyam |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1)

“People’s intellect can have [some limited] entrance into that [i.e., the subject matter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, bhakti-rasa, and so forth], even though it is beyond everything of the world, through comparisons [made] with particular worldly objects. Thus, it is comparable in some respect [i.e., things of the world can be compared to particular aspects of it as required to convey general knowledge of those aspects of its nature].”

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kāvya-śāstra-vinodena kālo gacchati dhīmatām

kāvya-śāstra-vinodena kālo gacchati dhīmatām | 
vyasanena tu mūrkhāṇāṁ nidrayā kalahena vā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 1)

“The time of the wise is spent with the joy of kāvya-śāstra, whereas that of fools with vice, sleep, and quarrel.”

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saṁsāra-viṣa-vṛkṣasya dve phale hy amṛtopame

saṁsāra-viṣa-vṛkṣasya dve phale hy amṛtopame |
kāvyāmṛta-rasāsvādaḥ saṅgamaḥ sajjanaiḥ saha ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)

“On the poisonous tree of saṁsāra only two fruits are like nectar: tasting the rasa of the nectar of poetry (kāvya) and associating with sādhus.”

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apāre kāvya-saṁsāre kavir ekaḥ prajāpatiḥ

apāre kāvya-saṁsāre kavir ekaḥ prajāpatiḥ |
yathāsmai rocate viśvaṁ tathā vai parivartate ||
(Agni Purāṇa: 339.10; cited in Dhvany-āloka 3.42 Vṛtti)

“In the boundless world of kāvya, the kavi is the only creator. As is pleasing to him, so indeed this world [of his creation] turns.”

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naratvaṁ durlabhaṁ loke vidyā tatra sudurlabhā

naratvaṁ durlabhaṁ loke vidyā tatra sudurlabhā |
kavitvaṁ durlabhaṁ tatra śaktis tatra sudurlabhā||
(Agni Purāṇa; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 1.2)

“In this world, human life is rare, and therein [i.e., among human beings] education is very rare. Therein [i.e., among the educated], being poetic is rare, and therein [i.e., among the poetic], prowess [in poetics] is very rare.”

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