460.02a enlightening flavors: bharata

ENLIGHTENING FLAVORClassical Indian Concepts in Art and Rasa

BHARATA MUNI

Savoring the Ineffable

Preparing for

the Dance,

Parsvanatha

Temple

Out of the determinants

(vibhava), consequents

(anubhava), and

transitory mental states

(vyabhicharin) the birth

of rasa takes place.

–Bharata Natyasastra

VI.31

From Emotions to Rasas

STABLE

EMOTIONS

DETERMINANT

S

CONSEQUENT

S

TRANSITORY

EMOTIONSRASA

Love/rati

flirting, dates,

jewelry and

makeup, gardens

glances, sweet

words

not fear, laziness,

cruelty

Erotic (pathetic

when separated)

Cheer/hasa

unseemly dress,

misuse of words,

impudence

wide eyes,

throbbing lips, facial

coloring

laziness, dreaming,

lying, envy

Comic (laughing

with and being

laughed at)

Sorrow/shoka

curses, separation

anxiety, loss of

wealth, death,

captivity

crying, lamentation,

loss of breath

languor, anxiety,

yearning, fatigue,

delusion, dejection

Pathetic

Anger/krodharape, abuse, insult,

lying, cheating

red eyes, knit

eyebrows, defiance

determination,

indignation,

restlessness

Furious

Energy/utsaha

presence of mind,

perseverance,

diplomacy,

assertiveness

firmness,patience,

charity, diplomacy

contentment, pride,

energy, ferocityHeroic

Fear/bhaya

hideous noise,

panic, ghost, wild

animals, death

trembling, loss of

voice, horripilation

trembling, paralysis,

seizures Terrible

Disgust/jugupsaunpleasant,

offensive thingsvomiting, spitting,

seizure, delusion,

sickness, covering

the mouth

Vile

Astonishment/visma

ya

Heavenly beings,

rich architecture

wide eyes, staring,

exclamations

weeping, agitation,

hurryMarvelous

Love is mimicked by Laughter, Fury results in Sorrow, Heroism results in Marvel, Repulsion results from Terror

Bharata’s Transitory States

anxiety, distraction, recollection, contentment, shame, inconstancy, joy, agitation, stupor, arrogance, despair, impatience,

Bharata Natyasastra VI 18-21

ovement of limbs, and sweet words and similar other things. Transitory States in it do not include fear, indolence, cruelty and disgust.— in separation should be represented on the stage by Consequents such as indifference, languor, fears, jealousy, fatigu

Bharata Natyasastra VI 44-45

BHARATA—RASA AT A GLANCEThe Glances to express the Sentiments

I shall now explain the characteristics of these glances in connexion with the various Rasas and

Emotional States, and shall describe their functions.

Kanta : When with a feeling of love a person contracts his eyebrows and castes a sidelong

look, he is said to have a pleasing glance which has its origin in joy and pleasure. It is used in

the Erotic Rasa.

Bhayanaka : The glance in which the eyelids are drawn up and fixed, and the eyeballs are

gleaming and turning up is called terrible. It indicates a great fear and is used in the Terrible

Rasa.

Hasya : In the smiling glance the two eyelids are by turns contracted, and they open with the

eyeballs moving and slightly visible ; it should be used in representing jugglery (Comic).

Karuna : The glance in which the upper eyelid has descended, the eyeball is at rest due to

mental agony, and the gaze is fixed at the tip of the nose, and there is tear (Pathetic).

Adbhuta : The glance in which eyelashes are slightly curved at the end, eyebrows are raised,

and the eyes are charmingly widened till the end (Wonder).

Raudri : The pitiless glance in which the eyeballs are rough, red, raised, and the eyelids are still

and the eyebrows knitted, is called cruel, and it is used in the Furious Rasa.

Vira : The glance which is bright, fully open, agitated, serious, and in which eyeballs are level is

used in the Heroic Rasa.

Blbhatsii : The glance in which the corners of the eyes are nearly covered by eyelids, the

eyeballs are disturbed in disgust and the eyelashes are still and close to each other (Vile).

Bharata’s Tempermental States

Are these States called Temperamental because other States (Determinants, Consequents and Transitory States) are said to be w

on the stage by anyone who is not sorry ? And how can happiness which has joy as its basis be represented on the stage by any

Bharata Natyasastra VII 93

Bharata’s Transitory States

) results from a combination of various spices, vegetables and as six tastes (rasa) are produced by and other articles,

Just as connoisseur of cooked food (bhalcta) while eating food which has been prepared from various spices and other articles, tastes it, so the learned people taste in

The Birth of a Rasa

For example, one who is elegantly dressed is called a lovely person (irnyarin). Just as persons are named, after

the custom of their father or mother or family in accordance with the traditional authority, so the Rasa, the States

and other objects connected with drama are given names in pursuance of the custom and the traditional authority.

Hence the Erotic Rasa has been so named on account of its usually being associated with a bright and elegant

attire. –Bharata Natyasastra VI.44

EMOTIONAL

STATE

DETERMINANT

S

CONSEQUENT

S

TRANSITORY

STATERASA

Laughter

unseemly dress,

misuse of words,

impudence

wide eyes, throbbing

lips, facial coloring

laziness, dreaming,

lying, envyComic

The Pathetic Rasa arises from

seeing the death of a beloved

person, or from hearing something

very unpleasant and these are its

Determinants.

–Bharata Natyasastra VI.62

EMOTIONAL STATE DETERMINANTS CONSEQUENTS TRANSITORY STATE RASA

Sorrow

curses, separation

anxiety, loss of

wealth, death,

crying, lamentation,

loss of breath

languor, anxiety,

yearning, fatigue,

delusion, dejection

Pathetic

The Pathetic Rasa is of

three kinds: that coming

from obstruction to lawful

deeds, from loss of wealth

and from bereavement.


EMOTIONAL

STATE

DETERMINANT

S

CONSEQUENT

S

TRANSITORY

STATERASA

Angeranger, rape, abuse,

insult, lying, cheating

red eyes, knit

eyebrows, defiance

determination,

indignation,

restlessness

Furious

Now the Furious (raudra)

Rasa has as its basis the

Dominant State of anger. It

owes its origin to …

haughty men, and is

caused by fights.


EMOTIONAL STATE Energetic

DETERMINANTS

presence of mind,

perseverance,

diplomacy,

assertiveness

CONSEQUENTSfirmness,patience,

charity, diplomacy

TRANSITORY STATEScontentment, pride,

energy, ferocity

RASA Heroic

Now the Heroic (vira) Rasa

relates to the superior type

of persons and has energy

as its basis.


The Heroic Rasa is of three kinds, arising from making gifts, from doing one’s

duty(dharma) and from fighting one's enemy.


EMOTIONAL

STATE

DETERMINANT

S

CONSEQUENT

S

TRANSITORY

STATERASA

AstonishmentHeavenly beings, rich

architecture

wide eyes, staring,

exclamations

weeping, agitation,

hurryMarvelous

The Marvelous Rasa is of two kinds, viz. celestial and joyous. Of these

the celestial is due to seeing heavenly

sights, and the joyous due to joyful happenings


The Birth of a Rasa

The Marvelous Rasa is that

which arises form words,

character, deed and

personal beauty.


Siva as Bhairava

EMOTIONAL STATE Fear

DETERMINANTS

hideous noise,

panic, ghost, wild

animals, death

CONSEQUENTStrembling, loss of

voice, horripilation

TRANSITORY STATEStrembling, paralysis,

seizures

RASA Terrible

The Terrible Rasa is also of three

kinds: feigned fear, fear from a wrong

action, and fear from an apprehension

of danger. –Bharata Natyasastra VI.80

The Goddess As Death (Camunda)

EMOTIONAL STATE Disgust

DETERMINANTSunpleasant,

offensive things

CONSEQUENTS vomiting, spitting,

TRANSITORY STATES

seizure, delusion,

sickness, covering

the mouth

RASA Vile

The Vile Rasa is of

three kinds:

nauseating, simple,

and exciting.

–Bharata

Natyasastra VI.81

BHARATA—RASA

Rasa is an emotional state cultivated through

the media of human gestures, behaviors, and

music and dance for conscious savoring.

REFLECTIONS

What aesthetic terms would you use to describe Swades or

the music in the film?

Where would Bharata place Swades in his list of rasa?

Where would you? What inflections (other rasas) might

Bharata make on the primary rasa? You?

Is Swades more heroic or marvelous, in Bharata’s senses of

the terms?

ABHINAVA GUPTA

The Flavors of Poetic Suggestion

Abhinavagupta on Rasa

eryday life as indexes of delight, etc., serve, in this case, to make known a delight, etc., uncircumscribed by either time or space. In this delight, just because he possesses the latent traces of it in himself, the Self of the spectator also actively

Abhinavagupta’s Obstacles to Rasa

OBSTACLES TO RASA

1 incredible—unimaginable or too far fetched

2 too engaging—too absorbing or personally affecting

3 preoccupied—too self absorbed

4 insensate—too unperceptive or oblivious

5 too abstract—relying on inference or tradition over representation

6 no predominant state—founded on consequents or fleeting states

7 doubtful—confused presentation of consequents or fleeting states

Abhinavagupta on Santi Rasa

ognition (direct perception, inference, the revealed word, analogy, etc.); b) from cognition without active participation of the thoughts of others, which is proper to the direct perception of the


…in relation to the spectators who are possessed of the proper sympathetic response; in the same way we ask you to tell us why the state of mind which is appropriate to the highest goal of man known as


, it would be improper to name especially a color or god…It stands to reason that it leads to a great result (

le of imparting their (peculiar) tinges to it. It is like a white thread that shines through the interstices of sparsely threaded jewels. It assumes all the various feelings like love, etc., (which are superimposed on it), because all these feelings are

460.02a enlightening flavors: bharata

Education

bhava states

bhavas states

transitory states tyabhicariv

dominant states

consequents anubhava

impudencewide eyes

cheatingred eyes

determinants vibhava