savāsanānāṁ sabhyānāṁ rasasyāsvādanaṁ bhavet |
nirvāsanās tu raṅgāntaḥ-kāṣṭha-kuḍyāśma-sannibhāḥ ||
(Dharmadatta; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 3.10)
“Assessors possessed of the [necessary] inclination (vāsanā) can have the taste of rasa. Those devoid of the inclination (vāsanā), on the contrary, are like the wood, walls, and stone inside the theater.”
śṛṅgaṁ hi manmathodbhedas tad-āgamana-hetukaḥ |
uttama-prakṛti-prāyo rasaḥ śṛṅgāra iṣyate ||
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 3.183; cited in the Locana-rocanī-ṭīkā on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 1.21)
“Since [the word] śṛṅga [lit., ‘peak’] refers to the emergence of amorous passion [lit., ‘the Mind-churner’] (Manmatha) [viz., Kāmadeva], the rasa the cause of which is the arising of that [i.e., of the emergence of amorous passion] and the basis of which primarily is the exalted [i.e., a nāyaka and nāyikā of exalted character] is called śṛṅgāra.”
sattvodrekād akhaṇḍa-sva-prakāśānanda-cinmayaḥ |
vedyāntara-sparśa-śūnyo brahmāsvāda-sahodaraḥ ||
lokottara-camatkāra-prāṇaḥ kaiścit pramātṛbhiḥ |
svākāravad abhinnatvenāyam āsvādyate rasaḥ ||
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 3.2–3; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 110)
“Undivided, self-manifest, constituted of experience of bliss, free from the touch of any other object to be cognized, the brother of which is relish of Brahman, and the life (prāṇa) of which is extraordinary wonder—this, rasa, is relished by virtue of a predominance of sattva [within the mind] by some qualified perceivers as being non-different [from the self] like one’s body.”
kāvyaṁ rasātmakaṁ vākyam |
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 1.3)
“Poetry (kāvya) is a statement the essence of which is rasa.”
dharmārtha-kāma-mokṣeṣu vaicakṣaṇyaṁ kalāsu ca |
karoti kīrtiṁ prītiṁ ca sādhu-kāvya-niṣevaṇam ||
(Bhāmahālaṅkāra: 1.2; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa)
“Cultivation [i.e., composition and study] of fine poetry (kāvya) leads to proficiency in dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa, and the arts, as well as renown and pleasure.”
caturvarga-phala-prāptiḥ sukhād alpa-dhiyām api |
kāvyād eva yatas tena tat-svarūpaṁ nirūpyate ||
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 1.2)
“Because attainment of the result of the caturvarga [i.e., dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa] occurs easily even for one of meager intelligence by means of poetry (kāvya), the nature of that [i.e., of poetry (kāvya)] is delineated [here in this text].”
rase sāraś camatkāraḥ sarvatrāpy anubhūyate |
tac camatkāra-sāratve sarvatrāpy adbhuto rasaḥ ||
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa 3.3; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 110)
“In rasa, astonishment is perceived to be the essence indeed in all cases. Therefore, because of the essence being astonishment, rasa is adbhuta [i.e., wonder] indeed in all cases.”
ratir mano’nukūle’rthe manasaḥ pravaṇāyitam |
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 3.204)
“The mind’s propensity for an object favorable to the mind is [called] rati.”
ekaḥ śabdaḥ samyag jñātaḥ śāstrānvitaḥ |
suprayuktaḥ svarge loke kāmadhug bhavati ||
(Mahābhāṣya: 6.1.84; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa 1.2)
“[Even] One word fully understood, in conformity to [grammatical] rule, and properly used, becomes a wish-fulfilling cow in Svarga and in this world.”
vākyaṁ syād yogyatākāṅkṣāsatti-yuktaḥ padoccayaḥ |
(Sāhitya-darpaṇa)
“A vākya (“sentence”) is a group of words endowed with expectancy (ākāṅkṣā), appropriacy (yogyatā), and continuity (āsatti).”
