Assignment -7

Name: Bhaliya Hansa G.

Course : M.A

Semester: 2

Roll no: 10

Batch : 2018 - 20

Enrolment no: 2069108420190004

Paper no : Literary Theory & criticism

Topic no: Rasa Theory & Natyshashtra

Email id :hansabhaliya20@gmil.com

Submitted to : Smt.S.B. Gardi Dept.of
                          English MKBU

Introduction:-
                       
                 What the ancients thought about the name and nature of poetry may be had from the Risks of the Vedasand the texts of the Upnishads

              The Vedic texts declared that the poets were ‘Gods’- Kavi’ was the term they employed while invoking the foremost of the Gods- Ganapati- they addressed him as the poet’s poet. The poet was the seer of truth having a subtle, profound and penetrating consciousness. He saw the principle of beauty in all things and was filled with utter ecstasy and raised the earth to the level of Heaven and established this principle of joy everywhere.

                                                               (Rig Veda III, 38, 2&3)

# Thus, the Vedic conception of a poet took into account all aspects of poetry:-

* Its creation,

* its manifestation     and

  * its impact upon the reader.

Apart from the normal consciousness which we call jagrat, the Upnishads spoke of subtler states such as swapta, susupti and turiyanot to mention in free conscious levels. The Upnishadic Seer – poet could withdraw, ingather or collect contain and concentrate his consciousness and come out to express his vision and experience. He had the world. He could thus give us the vision and he knew the way to get back to the source and testify to the authenticity of the transcript.

            The most significant example of what we have been describing is, Valmiki, whose Ramayana spontaneously sprang out of the pathos – filled fountain of the poet’s heart.

          ü He says,

“padbaddhokshrasama: tanrilayasamnvita:
Shokatrasya  pravuto me sloko bhavtu nanyattha

v The observation makes it clear that
   
*Genuine great poetry is not made (constructed out of one’s cleverness (chamtkar) but is a spontaneous emanation from a heart filled with Rasa

* That the great artist is also a great art critic- the kavi and sahradaya are one and it is only the most sensitive critic that can respond to the charm of great poetry.

* Most significantly the form (of poetry) which includes diction, versification and music is determined by the inspiration and the laya is as important as any other element and it determines the meaning of the utterance. Every Vedic scholar who has learnt his texts in the traditional way will tell us about the importance of intonation/ Swara and how it determines the meaning.

# The theory of Rasa:
        
                  The concept of rasa is reffered to in the phrase “shokatrasya  pravuto me” etc. Rasa is the source of inspiration. The term is rendered as taste/ essence. Tradition makes god Almighty himself as the first and foremost of creative artist; and Taittiriya Upnishads describes as Rasa Raso ve sa: Valmiki is also the greatest of critics who felt that what He created was good and made Him happy. Rasa is therefore supposed to constitute art experience and the critic is one capable of rasanubhav
           
          
The theory of Rasa is associated with Bharata though there are references to it in the Vedas and in Valmiki.The context in the Vedas and Upnishads where Rasa is mentioned, are not exactly aesthetic. The word means sap of essence and refers to the experience of the Supreme Reality which is one of the self- existent delights.

      The Vedic poetry does contain a number of rks on speech, Vak, especially in the tenth mandala (or Rg Veda) and the seers knew perhaps a lot about inspiration and the need for sahradayatva in understanding and enjoying poetry. 

Valmiki’s slokas, spontaneously emanating from his being overpowered by an intense feeling of pathos, and his own appreciation of it, indicate that he was, at one stroke, both a poet and a critic.

    The Karunarasa of  of the epic Ramayana has made all the later critics and poets look upon him (Valmiki) as the father of the theory of Rasa.

It is, however, only in Natyashastra of Bharata that the theory of Rasa is stated in all its ramifications. We do not know when Bharata lived. Scholars like A. B. Keith place him in the first or the second part of the first century B.C. the references to various aspects of dramaturgy in the book show that dramatic technique must have been a teacher of theatre, arts, music and dancing. The extracts are intended to give us an idea of the theory of Rasa.

# On Natya and Rasa :

   On Natya and Rasa: Aesthetics of Dramatic Experience.

    The natya is depiction and communication pertaining to the emotions of the entire triple world:-

      The pious behavior of those who practice , religion, the passion of those who indulge in sexual pleasure, the repression of those who go by a wicked path, the act of self- restraint of those who are disciplined.

      
       In fact, the nature and behavior (svabhava) of the world, intimately connected with happiness and misery, as rendered by physical and other forms of acting, is to be called natya.

# The eight rhetorical sentiments (Rasa) recognized in drama and dramatic representations are named as follows:-

* The Erotic Rasa

* The Comic Rasa

*The Furious Rasa
        
*The Heroic  Rasa

* The Terrible Rasa

*The Odious Rasa

*The Marvellous Ras

The high souled Druhina (Brahma) preclaimed these eight rhetorical sentiments. I shall now mention the emotional states (Bhava) as arising from the abiding, (sthayin) the transient (Sancari orVyabhichari) and the psycho- physical conditions (Sattvika) of the mind.

The four styles in which dramatic representation is establishe

       Bharati or Verbal,

    Sattvati or Grand,

    Kaisiki or Graceful,

    Arabhati or Energetic

The success of dramatic representation is twofold heavenly or human

The musical instruments (atodya) are of four finds:-their characters are

Stringed (tata),

 Covered (avanaddha),

 Solid (Ghana) and

 Holes (Susira)

ü Tata is known to be connected with the stringed lyre,

ü Avanaddha is connected with drum;

ü Ghana is cymbol or gong,

ü Susira is flute.

The term rasa has a twofold significance;

  It means the ‘aesthetic content’of literary art and also ‘aesthetic relish’ which the reader – spectator enjoys.

We shall first of all explain the rhetorical sentiments (Rasas). No literary import can ever proceed without rhetorical sentiment and aesthetic relish. Now, Rasas aries from a proper combination of the stimulants (vibhava) the physical consequents (anubhava), and the transient emotional states (Vyabhichari Bhava).

What is illustrative case?

 #There  we say:

   Just as by a proper combination of different spicy foodstuffs (vyajana) leafy vegetables (ausadhi) and other articles of food (dravya) there is a flavor and taste (rasa) is produced, in the same way when different emotional states come together, aesthetic flavour  and relish are produced. Just as again, an account of such articles of food as molasses, and spicy and vegetables stuff, the six (food) flavours and tastes are produced, in the same way when various emotional states reach the abiding mental conditions, the latter attain the quality of rhetorical sentiments. Or become aesthetically relishable. 

What is this that you call ‘rasa’?

We say:  it is so called because it is capable of being tasted or relished.

    How is rasa tasted?

Just as people in a contended state of mind (sumanasah), eating the food prepared well (samkrta) with various spicy things taste the (various) flavours (enjoys thevarious state) and obtain delight and satisfaction (harsadin)  in the same manner spectators, in the right (receptive) frame of mind (sumanash) taste the permanent mental conditions, suggested (vyanjita) by the representation (abhinaya) of various emotional states, the abhinaya carried out by speech – delivery (vac), physical gestures and movements (anga), and by the physical acting of physical impacts (sattva), and obtain pleasure and satisfaction. It is for this reason that they have been explained as natya-rasa:aesthetic contents and their relish arising from dramatic representation.

In this context there are two traditional couplets:-

Just as connoisseurs of cooked rice of food (bhakta), when they eat it as prepared with many articles of food and with many different spicy things enjoy the flavour and taste.

In like manner, the wise(spectator) taste and enjoy in their mind the permanent mental conditions rendered through (lit. well- connected with) the acting of emotional states(bhavabhinaya).

Bharata defines Rasa in his well known aporism:-

Vibhava anubhava Vyabhichari samyogat Rasa nishpattihi

        He said that rasa is achieved as a result of the functioning of thevibhavs, the anubhavas andVyabhichari bhavas.

Vibhava:-

   Vibhava has the meaning of distinct, specific knowledge. Vibhava, karana (cause), nimitta(instrument), hetu (reasons) are synonyms. As words, physical gestures and the psycho physical acting connected with the representation of stable and transitory mental states are specifically determined by this (vibhavyante), it is therefore calledVibhava: Determinate or Stimulant

Here there is a verse:

 As many matters based on verbal and physical acting are determined by this for the actor, and as many matters arising through the verbal and physical acting are distinctly comprehended by the spectator, this causative, stimulating or determining factor is given the name Vibhava.

Anubhava:-

Anubhava, physical gestures and sattva is made to be felt (anu-bhavyate) as an after- effect- (anu) of the impact of the emotional stimulant.

There is verse about this:-

 Since the emotional content of art (artha) is made to be felt by the particular acting through words and physical gestures, the term anubhava (consequents or physical reactions) is therefore used: it is connected with the flourish of hand – gestures (sakha) as well as the gestures of the major and minor limbs of the body.

Emotional Status and Rasa:-

The emotional states (bhavas) are explained in this manner as connected with determinates or stimulants (vibhava) and consequents (anubhava).

In this connection the vibhava and anubhava are quite familiar among the common people. Besides, as they closely follow human nature their characteristics are not defined; and this is for avoiding verbal prolixity.

#Vyabhichari –bhavas:-

   Vyabhichari- bhavas – secondary emotion and sensations which feed the dominant emotion. The word ‘vyabhichari’ it may be replied: vi and abha are two prepositions;car is a root employed in the sense of movement or motion. The Vyabhicarians are so called because they move prominently towards creating the poetic sentiments in a variety of ways. Equipped with the acting based on speech, body and concentrated mind, these lead or carry the spectator, in actual dramatic performance, to the poetic sentiments ; hence they are calledvyabhicarins.

Bharata speaks of eight different types of  Rasas and their development is aided by poetry, music and other histrionic devices called natyadharmi, all brought under abhinaya.

#    Inter relation of Bhava and Rasa:-

turned out of the emotional states, and not that emotional states are turned out of The rhetorical sentiments are turned out of the emotional states, and not that emotional states are turned out of the sentiments.

There are traditional couplets about this:-

The emotional states are so known by the designers of dramatic art because they (the bhavas) bring to the spectators (iman) an emotional awareness (bhavayanti) of the sentiments as connected with various modes of acting or dramatic representation

  VJust as, by many articles of food (dravya) of various kinds, the spicy foodstuff (vyanjana) like vegetables, meat, fish is brought to a distinct flavour (bhavayate), in the same way, the emotional states bring the level of actual experience (bhavayati) when helped by different kinds of acting or historinic representation (abhinaya).

v There can hardly be the experience of sentiment without the previous presentation of an emotional state; nor can there be an emotional state which does not lead to the experience of a sentiment. During the process of historinic representation the two (Bhava and rasa) accomplish their status and functions by dual interaction.

Now the colours:-

o   The Erotic Sentiment is light green (syama)

o   The Comic is Described as white (sita)

o   Pathetic is grey (kapota)

o   The fearful described as red (rakta)  

o   The Heroic is to be known as yellow red (gaura)

o   The terrible as black

o   The Odious on the contray is blue (rala)

o   The Marvellous is yellow

Now the Deities:-

o   The Erotic (sentiment) has Vishnu as its presiding deity;

o   The deity of the Comic is Pramatha,

o   The deity of the Furious  is Rudra,

o   The Pathetic was Yama  as its deity,

o   The deity of the Odious is Mahakala,

o   The Terrible has Kala as the God,

o   The Heroic, the god Mahendra,

o   The Marvellous has Brahma as its deity.

Conclusion:-

  Bharata, the first enouncer of the theory, gives the most comprehensive analysis of its sources, nature, and its categories. Subsequently, the theory found major commentators in Dhanika- Dhananjaya whore-examined Bharata’s typology of drama and added to it a typology of uparupakas, sub-plays, play within plays, and one act plays. It isAbhinavagupta, however who enriched the theory by elucidating its philosophic foundations and by analyzing in depththe aesthetic dimension of the nature, cognition and effect of literary experience.

   The rasa theory has been accepted as the core liberary theory by all major poeticians both before and after   Abhinavagupta. In particular, the discussion and analysis byVishwanath and Pt. Jagannathhave contributed towards a more subtle understanding of this theory.