Poetics and Criticism: Alamkara, Rasa, and Dhvani
What the exam tests
Alamkara shastra items test rasa theory, dhvani, the alamkara taxonomy, and major theoreticians with their texts.
Rasa
Bharata's rasasutra - the conjunction of vibhava, anubhava, and vyabhicharibhava - produces rasa. The eight rasas are shringara, hasya, karuna, raudra, vira, bhayanaka, bibhatsa, and adbhuta; shanta is added by later theorists, and some texts add vatsalya and bhakti.
Dhvani
Anandavardhana's Dhvanyaloka argues that the best poetry suggests (vyangya) rather than states. Three types are vastu-dhvani, alamkara-dhvani, and rasa-dhvani. Three grades of poetry are dhvani, gunibhuta-vyangya, and citra. Abhinavagupta's Lochana comments on it and on the Natyashastra.
Alamkaras and gunas
Upama, rupaka, utpreksha, atishayokti, shlesha, yamaka, anuprasa, svabhavokti, virodhabhasa. Gunas are madhurya, ojas, and prasada; ritis are vaidarbhi, gaudi, and panchali. Mammata's Kavyaprakasha and Vishvanatha's Sahityadarpana systematize these.
Worked example
A line says "the moon is a lamp of the sky." If the comparison is explicit with iva or yatha, it is upama; if identity is asserted, it is rupaka. The reasoning is whether comparison is stated or implied through identification.
Traps
Dhvani is not in the Natyashastra; shanta rasa is a later addition; alamkara in the narrow sense means figure of speech, not the whole theory; and Kuntaka's vakrokti is a separate school, not a synonym for dhvani.