"ශෘංගාරාලංකාරයෙන්” නිරූපිත අනංග සංකල්පය The Depiction of the Ananga Concept in “Shrungalankaraya”

Abstract

This study examines how the Ananga concept is artistically represented in the 18th-century literary text Shrungalankaraya. Although the author remains unknown, he is thought to belong to the royal court of King Narendrasinha. The text Shrungalankaraya was primarily composed to stimulate romantic and sensual feelings, intended for the king’s delight. The main literary device is the use of the “Ananga” or “Kamadeva” legend. In Hindu mythology, Ananga or Kamadeva is the divinity of erotic love. The poet applied this concept to depict the psychological dimension of the passion of narcissism. This study examines the poetry of Shrungalankaraya through qualitative research to assess the value of the Ananga concept, how the poet integrates mythological themes, and how he stimulates the erotic passion of Shrungalankaraya which has largely been considered as an erotic literary text. The mythological significance of Kamadeva concept has not been previously analyzed. This study evaluates the poet's artistic imagination while highlighting for the first time the relationship between narcissistic desire and eroticism, in a Sinhala literary work, in the context of the concept of Kamadeva. It also demonstrates how mythology and psychology are interconnected.