Later Sanskrit Rhetoricians (Post Panditaraja Era)

It is generally believed that all the constructive and classical growth in this country stopped altogether after the 17th century. This common conception was not only held true in the field of poetics but also regarding philosophy, literature and arts in general. The notion of stunted growth of Indian thought should be firmly refuted. In fact, the overall assessment in all spheres of creative thinking bears testimony to the living tradition of a constantly alert and aware cultivation of thought.

The stream of the Sanskrit Literature has maintained its continuity from the Vedic to the modern period. Though there is natural disparity in standard. This continuity was never disrupted and the litterateures continued to add to every aspect of literature. India being a nation of thinkers, progress has been continuously maintained in creating new concepts not only in philosophy, but in every branch of literature. As a result enrichment of Sanskrit Literature also continued throughout the age.

It is a general belief that the whole creative and literary progress of this country stopped after the seventeenth century. This misconception has been created not only for Sanskrit, but for philosophy, arts and in all aspects and disciplines. This misconception gained weight as Sanskrit was not the medium of general expression. The acceptance of the concept of devaluation in virtues (which is evident from the concept of Chaturvarga in four eras) confirmed it. But as we talk only about depletion in values and not of progress during the Kaliyuga, this belief gains popularity in the minds of the people very easily. This misconception about the disruption in Indian thought must be discarded. Virtually, in every field of Indian thought it can be proved, by all round evaluation, that creative-stream of Indian thought has continuously been active.

Ever since literature became a powerful medium of expression of human feelings and emotions, various styles of literary expressions were tried and experimented. Since then many literary theories were propounded and this led to a vibrant event among their protagonists about the relative strength of each in capturing the nuances of the feeling and expressions.

A cursory look of the history of literary criticism in Sanskrit will make this point amply clear. Conflicting theories continue to remain an interesting subject of research even in contemporary times.

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