Ирония в пьесе Ватсараджи «Киратарджуния» (XII в.)

Вестник Института востоковедения РАН. 2025. № 6. С. 143–155.

Минаева М. Д.

This article examines the rhetorical device of “irony” in the Sanskrit poetic tradition, using examples from the medieval playwright Vatsarāja’s Kirātārjunīya (“The Kirāta and Arjuna,” 12th century). This play belongs to the rare vyāyoga genre, which is characterized by the depiction of a great battle between two renowned heroes accompanied by a verbal duel filled with biting remarks directed at each other. Although the dramatic vyāyoga genre typically excludes comic elements, Vatsarāja builds his play around a rhetorical device – irony. The concept of “irony” originated in the ancient world and was fully developed in the works of Roman authors from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE. In Indian poetic theory, this device is partially paralleled by the alaṅkāra (figure of speech) known as vyājastuti (literally, “feigned praise”), which refers to statements where blame is disguised as praise or praise conceals blame. However, vyājastuti covers only one of the many aspects of European irony. Another, more controversial yet broader approach to describing a phenomenon corresponding to classical irony is to turn to the theory of dhvani (suggested meaning). In some poetic treatises discussing “suggestive poetry,” the concept of dhvani is used to explain ironic statements. In terms of form and content, these closely resemble examples of vyājastuti found in other medieval poetic treatises. The analysis of ironic expressions in Vatsarāja’s Kirātārjunīya demonstrates that the medieval playwright employs both varieties of vyājastuti as well as the dhvani theory, perceiving behind these terms a unifying phenomenon known in the European tradition as “irony.”

Keywords: ирония, irony, ancient and medieval Indian literature, vyājastuti, dhvani, санскритская средневековая литература, средневековая Индия, вьяджастути, дхвани