ABSTRACT
The science of rhetoric applied to Sanskrit poetry is designated Alaṃkāraśāstra. Grounded in a pre-existing dramaturgical science, and influenced by methodologies from jurisprudence (Arthaṣāstra), exegesis (Mīmāṃsā), and logic (Nyāya), Alaṃkāraśāstra evolved for over a millennium from the eighth to seventeenth centuries. The earliest rhetoricians detailed commendable topics, structures, and technical elements in poetry, in particular, figures of speech. In time, more comprehensive theories regarding the phonetic, semantic and psychological sources of literary charm evolved, culminating in the theories of suggestion (dhvani) and literary savor (rasa) at the turn of the first millennium. Alaṃkāraśāstra was an essential feature in the training of the Sanskrit poets and intelligentsia in classical India, and its theories are reflected in the broader development of aesthetics and philosophy of South Asia.
