Rasadhyayas of Natyashastra by Bharata Muni (Summary)

 

Rasadhyayas of Natyashastra

(Summary) 

In Indian aesthetics, a rasa, literally means "juice, essence or taste". It connotes a concept about the aesthetic flavor of any visual, literary or musical work that evokes an emotion or feeling in the reader or audience but cannot be described.  It refers to the emotional flavors/essence crafted into the work by the writer and relished by a spectator who can connect to the work with emotion. 

Rasas are created by bhavas, the state of mind. The rasa theory has a dedicated section (Chapter 6) in the Natya Shastra. According to the Rasa theory of the Natya Shastra, entertainment is a desired effect of performance arts but not the primary goal, and the primary goal is to transport the individual in the audience into another parallel reality, full of wonder and bliss, where he experiences the essence of his own consciousness, and reflects on spiritual and moral questions.

Although the concept of rasa is fundamental to many forms of Indian arts including dance, music, theatre, painting, sculpture, and literature, the interpretation and implementation of a particular rasa differs between different styles and schools.

The word rasa appears in ancient Vedic literature. In Rigveda, it connotes a liquid, an extract and flavor. In Atharvaveda, rasa in many contexts means "taste", and also the sense of "the sap of grain". Rasa in the Upanishads refers to the "essence, self-luminous consciousness, quintessence" but also "taste" in some contexts.

The Sanskrit text Natya shastra presents the rasa theory in Chapter 6, a text attributed to Bharata Muni. The text begins its discussion with a sutra called in Indian aesthetics as the rasa sutra. Rasa is produced from a combination of Determinants (vibhava), Consequents (anubhava) and Transitory States (vyabhicaribhava).

According to the Natya shastra, the goals of theatre are to empower aesthetic experience and deliver emotional rasa. The text states that the aim of art is 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. Entertainment is an effect, but not the primary goal of arts according to Natya shastra. The primary goal is to create rasa so as to lift and transport the spectators, unto the expression of ultimate reality and transcendent values.

Bharata Muni enunciated the eight Rasas in the Nātyasāstra. In the Indian performing arts, a rasa is a sentiment or emotion evoked in each member of the audience by the art. The Natya Shastra mentions six rasa in one section, but in the dedicated section on rasa it states and discusses eight primary rasa. Each rasa, according to Nātyasāstra, has a presiding deity and a specific colour. There are 4 pairs of rasas. For instance, Hāsya arises out of Sringara. The Aura of a frightened person is black, and the aura of an angry person is red. Bharata Muni established the following:

1.               Sringara: Romance, Love, attractiveness.

Presiding deity: Vishnu.

Colour: light green

2.               Hasyam: Laughter, mirth, comedy.

Presiding deity: Shiva.

Colour: white

3.               Raudram: Fury.

Presiding deity: Shiva.

Colour: red

4.               Karuṇyam: Compassion, mercy.

Presiding deity: Yama.

Colour: grey

5.               Bibhatsam: Disgust, aversion.

Presiding deity: Shiva.

Colour: blue

6.               Bhayānakam: Horror, terror.

Presiding deity: Yama.

Colour: black

7.               Veeram: Heroism.

Presiding deity: Indra.

Colour: saffron

8.               Adbhutam: Wonder, amazement.

Presiding deity: Brahma.

Colour: yellow

Sāntam rasa, a ninth rasa was added by later authors.

9.               Sāntam: Peace or tranquility.

Presiding deity: Vishnu.

Colour: perpetual white.

List of bhavas

According to the Natyashastra, bhavas are of three types: sthayi, sanchari, sattvika based on how they are developed or enacted during the aesthetic experience. Some bhavas are also described as being anubhava if they arise from some other bhAva.

Sthayee

The Natyasastra lists eight Sthayibhavas with eight corresponding rasas:

Rati (Love)

Hasya (Mirth)

Soka' (Sorrow)

Krodha (Anger)

Utsaha (Energy)

Bhaya (Terror)

Jugupsa (Disgust)

Vismaya (Astonishment)

Sanchari

Sanchari Bhavas are those crossing feelings which are ancillary to a permanent mood.

Satvika

There are eight Satvika-Bhavas. Physical expression of the feelings of the mind are called Sattvika.

According to Natya shastra, a rasa is the goal of any creative performance art, oratory, painting or literature. Rasas are created through a wide range of means. For example, one way is through the use of gestures and facial expressions of the actors. Expressing Rasa in classical Indian dance form is referred to as Rasa-abhinaya.

The theory of rasas forms the aesthetic underpinning of all Indian classical dance and theatre, such as Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Kudiyattam, and others.

In Indian classical music, each raga is an inspired creation for a specific mood, where the musician or ensemble creates the rasa in the listener. All ragas and musical performances aim at one of six rasa, wherein music is a form of painting "love, compassion, peace, heroism, comic or the feeling of wonder" within the listener. Anger, disgust, fear and such emotions are not the subject of raga, but they are part of Indian theories on dramatic arts. Of the six rasa that are aimed at in Indian music, each has sub-categories. For example, love rasa has many musical flavors, such as erotic love (sringar) and spiritual devotional love (bhakti).

The literary work Bhagavata Purana deploys rasa, presenting Bhakti of Krishna in aesthetic terms. The rasa it presents is called Sthayi Bhava. Vibhavas means Karana or cause: it is of two kinds - Alambana, the personal or human object and substratum, and Uddipana, the excitants. Anubhava means the effects following the rise of the emotion. Sanchari Bhavas are those crossing feelings which are ancillary to a mood.