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Rasa (aesthetics)

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InIndian aesthetics,arasa(Sanskrit:रस) literally means "juice, essence or taste".[1][2]It is a concept in Indian arts denoting the aesthetic flavour of any visual, literary or musical work that evokes an emotion or feeling in the reader or audience, but cannot be described.[2]It refers to the emotional flavors/essence crafted into the work by the writer or a performer and relished by a 'sensitive spectator' orsahṛidaya,literally one who "has heart", and can connect to the work with emotion, without dryness.

Rasas are created by one'sbhava:[3]one's state of mind.

Therasatheory has a dedicated section (Chapter 6) in theSanskrittextNatya Shastra,an ancient text on the arts from the 1st millennium BCE, attributed toBharata Muni.[4]However, its most complete exposition in drama, songs and other performance arts is found in the works of the KashmiriShaivitephilosopherAbhinavagupta(c. 1000 CE), demonstrating the persistence of a long-standing aesthetic tradition of ancient India.[2][5][6]According to theRasatheory of theNatya Shastra,entertainment is a desired effect of performance arts but not the primary goal. Instead, the primary goal is to transport the audience into another, parallel reality full of wonder and bliss, where they experience the essence of their own consciousness, and reflect on spiritual and moral questions.[5][6][7]

Although the concept of rasa is fundamental to many forms ofIndian artsincludingdance,music,theatre, painting, sculpture, andliterature,the interpretation and implementation of a particular rasa differs between different styles and schools.[8][9][10]The Indian theory ofrasais also found in the Hindu arts andRamayanamusical productions ofBaliandJava(Indonesia), but with regional creative evolution.[11]

Indian classical music
Concepts

Role in art[edit]

According to theNatya Shastra,arasais a synthetic phenomenon and the goal of any creative performance art, oratory, painting or literature.[11][12]Wallace Dace translates the ancient text's explanation ofrasaas "a relish that of an elemental human emotion like love, pity, fear, heroism or mystery, which forms the dominant note of a dramatic piece; this dominant emotion, as tasted by the audience, has a different quality from that which is aroused in real life; rasa may be said to be the original emotion transfigured by aesthetic delight".[13]

Rasas are created through a wide range of means, and the ancient Indian texts discuss many such means. For example, one way is through the use of gestures and facial expressions of the actors.[14]ExpressingRasain classical Indian dance form is referred to asRasa-abhinaya.

The theory of rasas forms theaestheticunderpinning of all Indian classical dance and theatre, such asBharatanatyam,Kathakali,Kathak,Kuchipudi,Odissi,Manipuri,Kudiyattam,and others.[8]

InIndian classical music,eachragais an inspired creation for a specific mood, where the musician or ensemble creates therasain the listener.[12]However, predominantly allragasand musical performances in Hindu traditions aim at one of sixrasa,wherein music is a form of creating "love, compassion, peace, heroism, comic or the feeling of wonder" within the listener. Anger, disgust, fear and such emotions are not the subject ofrasa,but they are part of Indian theories on dramatic arts. Of the sixrasathat are aimed at in Indian music, each has sub-categories. For example, loverasain Hindu literature has many musical flavors, such as erotic love (sringar) and spiritual devotional love (bhakti).[12][15]

Rasais a fusion of word and meaning,
that bathes the minds of readers,
with savor of bliss.
It is the truth of poetry,
shining without cessation.
Clear to the heart,
it is yet beyond the words.

—Hrsikesa[10]

In the theories of Indian poetics, ancient scholars state that the effectiveness of a literary composition depends both on what is stated and how it is stated (words, grammar, rhythm), and this creates itsrasa.[10]Among the most celebrated of these theories of poetics and literary works, are the 5th-centuryBhartrhariand the 9th-century Anandavardhana, but the theoretical tradition of integratingrasainto literary works likely goes back to a more ancient period. This is generally discussed under the Indian concepts ofDhvani,SabdatattvaandSphota.[16][10][17]

As an example, the literary workBhagavata Puranadeploysrasa,presenting thebhaktiofKrishnain aesthetic terms. The rasa it presents is an emotional relish, a mood called Sthayi Bhava. This development towards a relishable state is created through emotional conditions which are calledVibhavas,AnubhavasandSanchari Bhavas.Vibhavas means Karana or cause: it is of two kinds -Alambana,the personal or human object and substratum, andUddipana,the excitants. Anubhava, as the name signifies, means the ensuants or effects of emotion.Sanchari Bhavasare those passing feelings which are ancillary to a mood. Later scholars added more emotional states such as theSattvika Bhavas.[18]

In the Indian theories on sculpture and architecture (Shilpa Shastras), therasatheories, in part, drive the forms, shapes, arrangements and expressions of images and structures.[19]Some Indian texts on sculpture suggest ninerasas.[20][21]

Sahṛidayata[edit]

Abhinavagupta definessahṛdayainLocana,his commentary onDhvanyāloka. Saṛdaya-s are those spectators who:

  1. "have been exposed to appreciation of literary work and who have made it a habit to think about the literary work"[22]
  2. "because of this previous exposure, attuned their minds to create the reflection of poetic emotions in their minds"[22]

In his philosophical work, Abhinavagupta believed thatsahṛidayata(aesthetic sensitivity), is crucial within the context of music and bhakti. Abhinavgupta suggests that fullness of delight is essential for developing aesthetic sensitivity. This delight is not limited to pleasant experiences but also includes painful ones, as both can lead to an expansion of consciousness. He emphasizes that the capacity for enjoyment is closely linked to receptivity to the ultimate experience and labels those unable to appreciate good music as "ahrdaya" (heartless, insensitive). Aesthetic sensitivity is viewed as a necessary condition for spiritual sensibility, both of which are expressed by the term sahrdayata.[23]

History[edit]

The wordrasaappears in ancientVedicliterature. InRigveda,it connotes a liquid, an extract and flavor.[24][note 1]InAtharvaveda,rasain many contexts means "taste", and also the sense of "the sap of grain". According to Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe,rasain theUpanishadsrefers to the "essence,self-luminousconsciousness, quintessence "but also" taste "in some contexts.[24][note 2][note 3]In post-Vedic literature, the word generally connotes "extract, essence, juice or tasty liquid".[1][24]

Rasa in an aesthetic sense is suggested in the Vedic literature, but the oldest surviving manuscripts describing therasatheory ofHinduism,are ofNatya Shastra.The AitareyaBrahmanain chapter 6, for example, states:

Now (he) glorifies the arts,
the arts are refinement of the self (atma-samskrti).
With these the worshipper recreates his self,
that is made of rhythms, meters.

— Aitareya Brahmana 6.27(~1000 BCE), Translator: Arindam Chakrabarti[27]

TheNatya shastrapresents therasatheory in Chapter 6.[4]The text begins its discussion with asutracalled therasa sutra:[28]

Rasais produced from a combination of Determinants (vibhava), Consequents (anubhava) and Transitory States (vyabhicaribhava).

— Natyashastra 6.109(~200 BCE–200 CE), Translator: Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe[24]

According to theNatya shastra,the goals of theatre are to empower aesthetic experience and deliver emotionalrasa.The text states that the aims of art are manifold. In many cases, it aims to produce repose and relief for those exhausted with labor, or distraught with grief, or laden with misery, or struck by austere times.[27]However, entertainment is an effect, yet not the primary goal of arts, according to theNatya shastra.The primary goal is to createrasaso as to lift and transport the spectators towards the expression of ultimate reality and transcendent values.[5][29]

TheAbhinavabhāratīis the most studied commentary onNatyasastra,written byAbhinavagupta(950–1020 CE), who referred toNatyasastraas theNatyavedaas well.[30][31]Abhinavagupta's analysis ofNatyasastrais notable for its extensive discussion of aesthetic and ontological questions.[31]According to Abhinavagupta, the success of an artistic performance is measured not by the reviews, awards or recognition the production receives, but only when it is performed with skilled precision, devoted faith and pure concentration, so that the artist gets the audience emotionally absorbed into the art and immerses the spectator with the pure joy of arasaexperience.[32]

Elements[edit]

Sringara or Romance in Bharatanatyam
Expression ofSringāra(Romance) inBharatanatyam
Raudram rasa of the destructive fury of goddessDurgain Bharatanatyam

Bharata Munienunciated the eight rasas in theNātyasāstra,an ancient Sanskrit text ofdramatic theoryand other performance arts, written between 200 BC and 200 AD.[4]In theIndianperforming arts, arasais a sentiment or emotion evoked in each member of the audience by the art. TheNatya Shastramentions six rasa in one section, but in the dedicated section onrasait states and discusses eight primaryrasa.[24][13]Each rasa, according to Nātyasāstra, has a presiding deity and a specific colour. There are 4 pairs of rasas. For instance,Hāsyaarises out ofSringara.TheAuraof a frightened person is black, and the aura of an angry person is red.Bharata Muniestablished the following:[33]

  • Śṛṅgāraḥ(शृङ्गारः): Romance, Love, attractiveness. Presiding deity:Vishnu.Colour: Śyāma (Dark Bluish)
  • Hāsyam(हास्यं): Laughter, mirth, comedy. Presiding deity:Shiva.Colour: white
  • Raudram(रौद्रं): Fury. Presiding deity:Rudra.Colour: red
  • Kāruṇyam(कारुण्यं): Compassion, mercy. Presiding deity:Yama.Colour: grey
  • Bībhatsam(बीभत्सं): Disgust, aversion. Presiding deity:Mahakal.Colour: blue
  • Bhayānakam(भयानकं): Horror, terror. Presiding deity:Kāla.Colour: black
  • Veeram(वीरं): Heroism. Presiding deity:Indra.Colour: Bright White
  • Adbhutam(अद्भुतं): Wonder, amazement. Presiding deity:Brahma.Colour: yellow[34]

Śāntam rasa[edit]

A ninth rasa was added by later authors. This addition had to undergo a good deal of struggle between the sixth and the tenth centuries before it could be accepted and the expression "Navarasa",(the nine rasas), could become established.

Shānta-rasa functions as an equal member of the set of rasas, but it is simultaneously distinct as being the most clear form of aesthetic bliss. Abhinavagupta likens it to the string of a jeweled necklace; while it may not be the most appealing for most people, it is the string that gives form to the necklace, allowing the jewels of the other eight rasas to be relished. Relishing the rasas and particularly shānta-rasa is implied to be almost as good as, but never quite equal to the bliss of self-realization experienced byyogis.

List of bhavas[edit]

According to theNatyashastra,bhavas are of three types:sthayi(stable),sanchari(travelling) andsattvika(pure)[clarification needed].These classifications are based on how the rasas are developed or enacted during the aesthetic experience. This is seen in the following passage:

पुनश्च भावान्वक्ष्यामि स्थायिसञ्चारिसत्त्वजान्॥६.१६॥ (transl. Again I shall declare the beings born of the permanent and moving beings.)

Sthayi[edit]

TheNatyasastralists eightSthayibhavaswith eight correspondingrasas:

  • Rati(Love)
  • Hasya(Mirth)
  • Soka(Sorrow)
  • Krodha(Anger)
  • Utsaha(Energy)
  • Bhaya(Terror)
  • Jugupsa(Disgust)
  • Vismaya(Astonishment)

Sattvika[edit]

TheNatyasastraoutlines eightanubhavasorsattvika bhavas:[36]

  • Stambha(Stupefaction)
  • Sveda(Sweating)
  • Romancha(Feeling thrilled)
  • Svarabheda(Break in voice)
  • Vepathu(Trembling)
  • Vaivaranya(Pallor)
  • Ashru(Tears)
  • Pralaya(Swoon or death)

Influence on cinema[edit]

Rasahas been an important influence on thecinema of India.Satyajit Rayhas applied theRasamethod of classical Sanskrit drama to movies, for instance inThe Apu Trilogy(1955–1959).[37]

In Hindi cinema, it is the theme of the filmNaya Din Nayi Raat,whereSanjeev Kumarplays nine characters corresponding to nineRasa.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

This article containsIndic text.Without properrendering support,you may seequestion marks or boxes,misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^See Rigvedic hymns 1.187.4–5 composed byAgastya,for example. The entire hymn praises liquid extracts of foods as the spirits of great gods, the source of great strength within humans, as Agastya glorifies foods. Sanskrit: तव त्ये पितोरसारजांस्यनु विष्ठिताः । दिवि वाता इव श्रिताः ॥४॥ तव त्ये पितो ददतस्तव स्वादिष्ठ ते पितो । प्र स्वाद्मानोरसानांतुविग्रीवा इवेरते ॥५॥[25]
  2. ^Many Upanishads use the wordrasa.For example, the "Ananda Valli" section of theTaittiriya Upanishadstates, "rasa is essence par excellence, the universal essence/bliss". (रसोवै सः ।रसँह्येवायं लब्ध्वाऽऽनन्दी भवति ।)[26]
  3. ^The philosophical or mystical meaning ofrasais common in thebhasyaor commentaries on thePrincipal Upanishadsof Hinduism. For example,Adi Shankaracomments thatrasameans "bliss as is innate in oneself and manifests itself even in the absence of external stimuli" because bliss is a non-material state that is spiritual, subjective and an intrinsic state of a human being. Happiness, to Shankara, does not depend on others or external, material things; it is a state one discovers and reaches within oneself throughatma-jnana(self-knowledge).[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^abMonier Monier-Williams (1899),Rasa,Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology, Motilal Banarsidass (Originally Published: Oxford)
  2. ^abcRasa: Indian Aesthetic Theory,Encyclopedia Britannica (2013)
  3. ^Farley Richmond. "India" inThe Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre.ed. James R. Brandon (Cambridge University Press,1993), p. 69.
  4. ^abcNatalia Lidova 2014
  5. ^abcSusan L. Schwartz (2004).Rasa: Performing the Divine in India.Columbia University Press. pp.12–17.ISBN978-0-231-13144-5.
  6. ^abDaniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe (2005).Approaches to Acting: Past and Present.Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 73, 102–106, 120.ISBN978-1-4411-0381-9.
  7. ^Ketu H. Katrak; Anita Ratnam (2014).Voyages of Body and Soul: Selected Female Icons of India and Beyond.Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 45.ISBN978-1-4438-6115-1.
  8. ^abWallace Dace 1963,pp. 249–252.
  9. ^Rowell 2015,pp. 327–333.
  10. ^abcdW.S. Hanley (2012). Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka (ed.).Analecta Husserliana, Ingardeniana III: The Performing Arts, the Fine Arts, and Literature.Springer. pp. 299–300, 295–309.ISBN978-94-011-3762-1.
  11. ^abMarc Benamou (2010).RASA: Affect and Intuition in Javanese Musical Aesthetics.Oxford University Press. pp. 122, 172–194.ISBN978-0-19-971995-2.
  12. ^abcPeter Lavezzoli (2006).The Dawn of Indian Music in the West.Bloomsbury Academic. p. 23.ISBN978-0-8264-1815-9.
  13. ^abWallace Dace 1963,pp. 249–250.
  14. ^Farley Richmond, "India", inThe Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre,ed. James R. Brandon (Cambridge University Press,1993), p.69.
  15. ^Emmie Te Nijenhuis 1974,pp. 34–42.
  16. ^Sebastian Alackapally (2002).Being and Meaning: Reality and Language in Bhartṛhari and Heidegger.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 78–97.ISBN978-81-208-1803-3.
  17. ^Harold G. Coward (1980).The Sphota Theory of Language: A Philosophical Analysis.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 17–23.ISBN978-81-208-0181-3.
  18. ^C.Ramanujachari and Dr. V. Raghavan.The Spiritual Heritage of Tyagaraja.
  19. ^Alice Boner; Sadāśiva Rath Śarmā; Bettina Bäumer (1996).The essence of form in sacred art.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 72–78, 45–46, 57–58, 115–116, 121–122.ISBN978-81-208-0090-8.
  20. ^Alice Boner; Sadāśiva Rath Śarmā; Bettina Bäumer (1996).The essence of form in sacred art.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 73–74.ISBN978-81-208-0090-8.
  21. ^Ariel Glucklich (1994).The Sense of Adharma.Oxford University Press. pp. 30–31.ISBN978-0-19-508341-5.
  22. ^abHardikar, A. R. (1994)."The Aesthetic Appreciator or Sahṛdaya".Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.75(1/4): 265–272.ISSN0378-1143.
  23. ^Bäumer, Bettina (1 January 2008)."The Lord of the Heart: Abhinavagupta's Aesthetics and Kashmir Śaivism".Religion and the Arts.12(1–3): 214–229.doi:10.1163/156852908X271033.ISSN1079-9265.
  24. ^abcdefDaniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe (2005).Approaches to Acting: Past and Present.Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 102–103.ISBN978-1-4411-0381-9.
  25. ^Laurie L. Patton (2005).Bringing the Gods to Mind: Mantra and Ritual in Early Indian Sacrifice.University of California Press. pp. 100–101.ISBN978-0-520-93088-9.;For original text:Rigveda 1.187,Wikisource (in Sanskrit)
  26. ^Dinkgrafe Daniel Meyer (2011).Consciousness, Theatre, Literature and the Arts.Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 243.ISBN978-1-4438-3491-9.;For Sanskrit original, see:तैत्तिरीयोपनिषद ब्रह्मानन्दवल्ली,Wikisource
  27. ^abArindam Chakrabarti (2016).The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art.Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 1–2.ISBN978-1-4725-2430-0.
  28. ^Narendra Nath Sarma (1994).Paṇḍitarāja Jagannātha, the Renowned Sanskrit Poet of Medieval India.Mittal Publications. p. 75.ISBN978-81-7099-393-3.
  29. ^Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe (2005).Approaches to Acting: Past and Present.Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 102–104, 155–156.ISBN978-1-4411-0381-9.
  30. ^Ghosh, Manomohan (2002).Natyasastra.p. 2 note 3.ISBN81-7080-076-5.
  31. ^abAnanda Lal 2004,p. 308, 492.
  32. ^Tarla Mehta 1995,p. 24.
  33. ^Ghosh, Manomohan (2002).Natyasastra.ISBN81-7080-076-5.
  34. ^"The Navarasa".Retrieved22 April2012.
  35. ^Pollock, Sheldon (26 April 2016).A Rasa Reader: Classical Indian Aesthetics.Columbia University Press. p. 48.ISBN978-0-231-54069-8.
  36. ^Long, Jeffery D.; Sherma, Rita D.; Jain, Pankaj; Khanna, Madhu, eds. (2022).Hinduism and Tribal Religions.Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 85–86.doi:10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1.ISBN978-94-024-1187-4.
  37. ^Cooper, Darius (2000),The Cinema of Satyajit Ray: Between Tradition and Modernity,Cambridge University Press,pp.1–4,ISBN0-521-62980-2

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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