Alankar aur Ras
Figures of Speech and Ras in Literary Appreciation
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Overview
Alankar (अलंकार) and Ras (रस) form the aesthetic backbone of Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali literature. For Bihar TET Language I, this topic tests your ability to identify literary devices in unseen poetry passages and appreciate the emotional essence of literary works. Questions typically present a couplet or stanza and ask you to name the alankar or identify the dominant ras.
Alankar literally means "ornament" — just as jewellery adorns the body, alankar adorns language and makes it beautiful. Ras, meaning "juice" or "essence," refers to the emotional flavour a literary work evokes in the reader. Bharata Muni's Natyashastra established the classical theory of ras that remains foundational to Indian aesthetics.
Mastery here requires two skills: first, memorising definitions and recognition markers for 8–10 major alankars; second, understanding the nine rasas and their corresponding sthayibhavas (permanent emotions). Expect 2–4 questions from this topic in your paper.
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Key Concepts
- **Alankar (अलंकार)** are of two main types: Shabdalankar (sound-based) and Arthalankar (meaning-based). Shabdalankar depends on word sounds; Arthalankar depends on the sense or meaning of words.
- **Shabdalankar** includes Anupras (alliteration), Yamak (same word repeated with different meanings), and Shlesh (one word with multiple simultaneous meanings).