Lost and Found in Citations: Divākara’s Lexicon of Aesthetic Emotions

Abstract

Between the 13th and 17th centuries, Kerala produced a flood of notable commentaries on Sanskrit poems and plays. A typical kāvya commentary from Kerala is usually marked by scrupulous attention to good readings and hermeneutic nuance. Also, these commentaries adduce quotations from an impressive range of texts; some of which are untraceable, and some of which were only available to a select set of authors from Kerala. One such text is the Bhāvaviveka, a short teaching monograph (prakaraṇagrantha) by Divākara. While this text survives in two manuscripts, it has a more robust existence through testimonia in nearly twenty commentarial texts – all from central Kerala. This paper will discuss some citations and citational networks in which the Bhāvavivēka is embraided.