Appayya Dīkṣita on atiśayokti (“hyperbole”)

Continuing the Kuvalayānanda series: atiśayôkti , usually translated as “hyperbole”.

[XIII. atiśayôkti]

[XIII.1.a rūpakâtiśayôkti]
rūpakâtiśayôktiḥ syān nigīryâdhyavasānataḥ |
paśya nīlôtpala-dvandvān niḥsaranti śitāḥ śarāḥ ||

[XIII.1.b sâpahnuvā rūpakâtiśayôkti]
yady apahnuti-garbhatvaṃ saîva sâpahnavā matā |
tvat-sūktiṣu sudhā rājan bhrāntāḥ paśyanti tāṃ vidhau ||

[XIII.2. bhedakâtiśayôkti]
bhedakâtiśayôktis tu tasyaîvânyatva-varṇanam |
anyad evâsya gāmbhīryam anyad dhairyaṃ mahī-pateḥ ||

[XIII.3. sambandhâtiśayôkti]
sambandhâtiśayôktiḥ syād ayoge yoga-kalpanam |
saudhâgrāṇi purasyâsya spṛśanti vidhu-maṇḍalam ||

[XIII.4. asambandhâtiśayôkti]
yoge ’py ayogo ’sambandhâtiśayôktir itîryate |
tvayi dātari rājêndra svar-drumān nâdriyāmahe ||

[XIII.5. akramâtiśayôkti]
akramâtiśayôktiḥ syāt sahatve hetu-kāryayoḥ |
āliṅganti samaṃ deva jyāṃ śarāś ca parāś ca te ||

[XIII.6. capalâtiśayôkti]
capalâtiśayôktis tu kārye hetu-prasaktije |
yāsyāmîty udite tanvyā valayo ’bhavad ūrmikā ||

[XIII.7. atyantâtiśayôkti]
atyantâtiśayôktis tat-paurvâparya-vyatikrame |
agre māno gataḥ paścād anunītā priyeṇa sā ||

Hyperbole

[XIII.1.a Hyperbole of metaphor]

Hyperbole of metaphor occurs when the subject of comparison is entirely subsumed into the yardstick, as in:

“Look! Sharp arrows are being fired from that pair of blue lotuses.” [Here the viṣaya, the eyes and the glances emerging from them, are entirely subsumed into their respective viṣayins, the blue lotuses and the sharp arrows.]

[XIII.1.b Hyperbole of concealment]

Hyperbole of concealment, which is a subtype of hyperbole of metaphor, occurs when the subject is subsumed into the yardstick by concealing its essential nature; consider:

“In your sweet words, o King, is ambrosia; fools look for it in the moon.”

[XIII.2. Hyperbole through differentiation]

Hyperbole through differentiation occurs when the same subject is described as being sui generis:

“The king’s profundity is something else altogether; his courage is something else altogether.”

[XIII.3. Hyperbole of relation]

Hyperbole of relation is the imagining of a connection when there is in fact none:

“The city’s skyscrapers scrape the lunar sphere.”

[XIII.4. Hyperbole of non-relation]

Hyperbole of non-relation is the assertion of the lack of a connection when there is in fact one:

“With you as boon-bestower, o King, we care not a whit for the [wish-granting] trees of heaven.”

[XIII.5. Hyperbole of non-sequentiality]

Hyperbole of non-sequentiality is the assertion of the simultaneity of cause and effect:

“O king: your arrows and your enemies embrace bowstring and earth simultaneously.” [The verse relies on the ambiguity of the word jyā, which means both “bowstring” and “earth”.]

[XIII.6. Hyperbole of impermanence]

Hyperbole of impermanence is the assertion of an effect in the absence of its real cause:

“All he said was ‘I will go’; her ring became a bangle.”

[XIII.7. Hyperbole of excess]

Hyperbole of excess is the inversion of the sequence of cause and effect:

“First went her anger; then did her lover appease her.”