Auchitya
- By Nirali Dabhi

Introduction
Name: Nirali Dabhi
Roll number: 13
Enrollment Number: 4069206420220006
Sem: 2 M.A
Paper number: 109
Paper Code: 22402
Paper Name: Literary Theory & Criticism and Indian Aesthetics
Topic: Auchitya
Submitted to: Smt S.B. Gardi, Department of English, M.K.B.U
Email: niralidabhi95@gmail.com

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Table of contents
Proponent of
Auchitya
What is
Auchitya?
Auchitya and
Rasa
The Classification
of Auchitya
Poems and
Auchitya
Screen shots
From Chat Gpt

8 Schools of Indian Poetics
1. Rasa School of Poetry
2. Alamkara school of poetry
3. Riti School of Poetry
4. Guna School of Poetry
5. Dhvani School of Poetry
6. Vakrokti School of Poetry
7. Anumana School of Poetry
8. Auchitya School of poetry

Proponent of Auchitya
● Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent
family.He is one of the best Sanskrit poets of the 11th
century.
● He studied literature under "the foremost teacher of his
time, the celebrated Shaiva philosopher and literary
exponent Abhinavagupta".
● Kshemendra received his education from the famous
scholars and teachers like Gangaka, Abhinav Gupta &
Somapada.(Bavarava)
● He studied and wrote about both Vaishnavism and
Buddhism.
● Some of the famous works of Kshemendra
● Desh Updesh
● Narmala
● Loka Prakasha
● Samay Matrika
● He shortened the famous work Mahabharat of one lakh
slokas under the title of Mahabharat Manjri in 10655 slokas
only.(Bavarava)

What is Auchitya?
● Auchitya is a Hindi word taken from Sanskrit. It
means justification, propriety, decency.
● The word Auchitya also contains the Hindi word
“Uchit” which in English means “appropriate”.
● Auchitya Vichara Charcha is the most important of
the four treatises devoted to literary critic by
Kshemendra the other three being the
Kavikanthabharana the kavikarnika and the
Suvretta tilaka. (Bavarava)
● As Kshemendra himself says in his work it was
written in the times of the king Anantraj i.e.
sometime before 1080.
● “Auchitya is the soul of the poem.” -
Kshemendra
● Bhamaha and Dandin each have their own opinions
on Auchitya.
● Kuntaka also speaks of Auchitya as the basis of
vakrata.

Auchitya and Rasa
● The indispensability of auchitya for proper evocation of
rasa is emphatically stated as follows:
● अनौसिदृते नान्यद् रिभङ्गस्य करणम् ।
● प्रसिद्धौच्य - बन्धस्तु रिस्वोपसनषत् परा. (ध्वन्यलोक ३३०)
● Auchitya is reckoned as an intrinsic element in rasa.
● Abhinavagupta criticizes those critics who put auchitya
as more essential to poetry than rasa even.
● He further defines auchitya as “a relation and that to
which things me or should be in that relation must be
first grasped.” (Locană 44)
● Also, according to Abhinavagupta, auchitya is
understandable without something else to which
things are 'uchit' i.e. appropriate. So, he says,
“auchitya necessarily relates to rasa, and rasa alone”
(Locanã 45)

Continue…
● Auchitya refers to ideally appropriate relationship between the
written words in the poetic organism. "Rasa is the soul and
Auchitya the life [ ... ]. Auchitya is the life of rasa - ensouled
poem, "says Kshemendra.

The Classification of Auchitya
Kshemendra in his masterpiece speaks of 28 kinds of uchi placements for
literary composition, which leads to Auchitya.
1. Pada (Phrase)
2. Vakya( sentence)
3. Prabhandhanartha (the meaning of the whole composition)
4. Guna(qualities)
5. Alankara(poetic figure)
6. Rasa ( State of being)
7. Kriya(Verb)
8. Karaka (case ending)
9. Linga(Gender)
10.Vachana (Number)
11.Visheshana (Qualification)
12.Upsarga (Prefix)
13.Nipata (Redundancies)
14.Kala (Time)
15.Desh (country)
16. Kula (Family)
17. Vrata (custom)
18. Satva(Inherent self)
19. Abhipraya (Motive)
20. Swabhava (Nature)
21. Sarsangraha (essential property)
22. Pratibha (Innate ability)
23. Avastha (state)
24. Vichara(Thought)
25. Nama(Name)
26.Aashirwada(Blessings)
27. Tatva (Truth)
28. Auchitya of is an autonomous.(Sarkar)

Poems and Auchitya
Famous Poetic Works On Auchitya
● Auchitya Vichar Charcha
● Kavikanthabharana
● Suvretta Tilaka
● One of the few people who analysed western poetry in terms of Indian concepts
like rasa (aesthetic experience), dhvani (suggestion), auchitya (propriety), and
vakrokti (oblique/indirect expression). In this regard, one can have a look at his
essays in Indian Literary Theories – A Reappraisal.(Kiran)
There are many poems that use auchitya in their language, themes, structure, and
cultural traditions.
The Bhagavad Gita - This ancient Hindu scripture is considered one of the greatest
works of spiritual poetry. It uses auchitya in its language, themes, and cultural
traditions to convey the principles of dharma, karma, and yoga, and to guide
individuals on the path of righteousness and spiritual enlightenment.

According to Kṣmendra, the adaptation of parts of the verse to each other
and to whole or in other words, a certain poetic harmony or fitness of
things. C.f.
“उसितं प्राहुरािार्यः िद्रशं सकला र्स्य र्त्|
उसितस्य सि र्ो भवस्तदौसितां प्रिक्षते|| ”
- क्षमेन्द्रस्य औसित्यासविारििाय: VII
Means:
“What is suited to a certain things is called proper or appropriate and
therefore its abstract idea is called propriety or Appropriateness.”(Barai)

Connection of movie or novel or poem
with auchitya

Comparison of Auchitya with Modern
Aesthetics ● The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum in Agra,
India. Auchitya sees it as a tribute to love,
reflecting the cultural context of Mughal
India. Modern aesthetics sees it as a
masterpiece of Islamic art and
architecture, combining symmetry,
balance, and intricate decoration to create
timeless beauty.
● Satyajit Ray's films reflect post-
independence India's social and cultural
realities, addressing poverty, class, and
tradition in a nuanced and sensitive way
from an Auchitya perspective. From a
modern aesthetic perspective, his films are
cinematic masterpieces, combining
realism, lyricism, and humanism to create
a distinctive and timeless style of
filmmaking.

● Barai, Debabrata. “Aucitya theory and position of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā.”
Aucitya theory and position of the Kāvyamīmāṃsā [Part 6], 6 July 2021,
https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/kavyamimamsa-of-
rajasekhara-study/d/doc628303.html.
● Bavarava, Asha L. ““Evaluating Auchitya and Its Place in Indian
Literature.”” Vidhyayana - An International Multidisciplinary Peer-
Reviewed E-Journal, April 2022,
http://j.vidhyayanaejournal.org/index.php/journal/article/view/435.
● Kiran, Shashi. “K. Krishnamoorthy - The Doyen of Indian Aesthetics |
Prekshaa.” Prekshaa |, 10 August 2016, https://www.prekshaa.in/k-
krishnamoorthy-doyen-indian-aesthetics.
● Sarkar, Somnath. “8 Schools of Indian Poetics.” All About English
Literature, 31 January 2023, https://www.eng-literature.com/2023/01/8-
schools-of-indian-poetics.html#Aucitya_Propriety.
Work Cited

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