Rasas as Springs of Art in Indian Aeshtetics

8/9/2019 Rasas as Springs of Art in Indian Aeshtetics

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"Rasas" as Springs of Art in Indian Aesthetics

Radhakamal Mukerjee

The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 24, No. 1, Oriental Aesthetics. (Autumn, 1965),pp. 91-96.

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R A D H A K A M A L M U K E R J E E

6 6 Rasas" as Springs of Art in Indian Aesthetics

T H EORY AND A R T OF R A S AI N D I A N A R T has obviously a religious in-tention and a metaphysical aim. At thesame time i t is not an adjunct of religionand metaphysics, but belongs in the tradi-tional scheme of knowledge to the realm ofDance, Dramaturgy (NbtyaBatra), andPoetics (Alamk&rafi&stra), revealing andcommunicating the major moods and emo-tions of man (rasas). According to theNcityaB6stra (dramaturgy) of Bharata (c.second century B.C. to second centuryA.D.), "rasa (literally, flavor, relish) is theseed and fruit of the arts." The arts generateand consolidate moods, sentiments, andemotions (rasa), freed from the fluctuationsof fleeting desires and impulses, focus anddiffuse these in the minds and hearts of thepeople.Sylvain Levi, commenting on the Indiantheater, observes: "Indian genius produceda new art, the symbol and summary ofwhich is the word rasa, and which can becondensed in one brief formula: the ~ o e t(the sculptor or the painter) does not ex-press, but he suggests." That suggestion isthe soul of artistic interpretation is empha-sized by the classical Indian theory ofDhuani expounded by Anandavardhana.European art, rooted in the definition andperfection of finite forms and appearances,depicts and clarifies external phenomena.Indian art, together with Indian myth andlegend, by which it is constantly inspired

and replenished, suggests rather than depictsinner visions and experiences. The qualityby which we judge the visions and per-formances of the Indian artist is rasa whichin Indian poetics is characterized as aloukikaor that which does not belong to this world.Abstract, universal, and enduring sentimentsand emotions, whatever be their nature,which the artist distils and which leads toimpersonal delight akin to the supreme blissobtained in contemplation of the Absolute,constitute rasa. The Indian artist throughhis elevated yoga meditation, that engenderscomplete detachment and universality ofself, and subdues the fluctuations of passingdesires and emotions, evokes his own ab-stract or universal moods and sentiments orrasas. His handiwork, properly imbued withthese, effectively communicates these to thebeholder or devotee. According to theAlamkgra Riighava: "Aesthetic beauty can-not exist unless the heart of the man of goodtaste is moved to impersonal delight by thefascination of the expression of rasa." Whatholds good of poetry, drama, dance, andhistrionic art holds good also of paintingand sculpture. Jayadeva, author of theCandrciloka, makes this absolutely clear inthe following words, "The enjoyable rasa orthe aesthetic experience in poetry, dramaand any other art-work has to pass throughthe successive stage of bibhciva, etc., andthen only can it become the enduring senti-ment" (sthciyz-bhava) (D. S. Sukla's transla-tion).


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R A D H A K A M A L M U K E R J E EThe consolidation and evocation of rasa,then, represent the function of all the finearts. This is the central conception in Indiasince Bharata's Natyaimtra first expounded

the doctrine of rasa with its eight categories,viz., Love or Happiness, Gaiety or Humor,Compassion, Fury, Valor, Awesomeness,Loathesomeness, and Wonder. From thethird or fourth century onwards Silence orTranquillity was not only added as the ninthcategory but considered as the supreme rasa.The Vi$audharmottara and the Apardjita-pracchha (c. third to fourth century A.D.)expound nine rasas, while the Samrd7igana-stitradhara (c. eleventhacenturyA.D.) treatseleven rasas expressed in images and paint-ings.The eight ultimate and generic categoriesof rasas, according to Bharata, emerge fromthe following "basic states of consciousness"(sthdyi-bhdva) in order, viz., Iove, merri-ment, grief, anger, effort, fear, repulsion,and surprise. The "transient feelings"(vyabh~chdri-bhtiva) are thirty-three, viz.,despondency, langour, apprehension, envy,etc. What is significant in the classic Indiantreatment of aesthetics is the process ofimpersonalization or universalization whichdissociates the natural or mundane emotionfrom the particular character and specificsituation so that it is relished simply as ab-stract, aesthetic sentiment in the supra-mundane (aloukika) plane. In other words,in drama, acting, painting, sculpture, andmusic, we do not experience fleeting, shift-ing, and accidental states of mind, true ofparticular persons and situations, but abid-ing sentiments that transcend persons,times, and places, and invest the mind of"a person of attuned heart" (sa-hrdaya)with serenity (viirdnti). Artistic presentationovercomes the restlessness of passion (rajas)and the inertia of ignorance or darkness(tamas) and introduces the silence andbeatitude of the pure mind (sattva). "Aes-thetic experience," according to Bhatta-NByaka, "is the experience of the universal-ized aesthetic object by the universalizedsubject in the state of perfect bliss (ananda),due to the predominance of sdttva." Thatis why aesthetic enjoyment is considered

akin to the supreme bliss of Brahman-appre-hension. Indian thought stresses the fruitfulinterchange between the aesthetic andspiritual moods and apprehension.D E R I V A T I O N O F R A S A S F R O MG U N A S

The nine rasas of Indian fine ar ts havetheir ultimate derivation from the threedifferent basic primary attributes (gum)that according to Indian thought enter intothe making of the human personality, sdttvaor purity, i.e., universality and impersonalitywhose expressions are silence (Sdnta) andcompassion (karuna); rajas, i.e., dynamiccreativity whose expressions are love(syligdra),valor (vira), and laughter (hasya);and t ams or ignorance, unbalance, andinertia, whose expressions are wonder(adbhata), fury (raudra), Ioathesomeness(bibhatsa), and awesomeness (bhayankara).Just as "the Supreme Being as Creator(BrahmB) lives and moves in sattvagumz,Being as Preserver (Visnu) in rajas, Beingas Destroyer (Rudra) in tams, and Being(ParameBvara) Himself in nirgu.l;la," so,according to Bharata, Visnu embodies him-self in syfqdra, i.e., youth, love, and happi-ness; Pramathas in hdsya, i.e., merriment;Yama in karuna, i.e., pathos or compassion;Biva in raudra, i.e., fury; KSila in bhayankara,i.e., awesomeness; Indra in vira, i.e., valor;and the unconditioned, unmanifest Brahman(Parameivara) in adbhata, i.e., wonder. Wehave another passage in the Sukran'iti thatclassifies the images according to theirgums and rasas. "An image seated in themeditative posture of a yogi is sattvika, animage seated on a vehicle (vahana) deckedwith ornaments and holding weapons orshowing gestures of assurance and benedic-tion is rdjasika; while the image in wrathand excitement in the pose of fighting anddestroying the demons (asuras) is tamasika."Each rasa is derived from one or the otherof the three essential guws and is a stable,generic or impersonal feeling or imaginativemood based on the artist's vision of a certainfundamental aspect of Life, Universe, andReality.


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"Rasas" as Springs of Art in Indian AestheticsR A S A S A N D G L A N C E S

The Samarciriganasiitradhara in one of itsbasic slokas refers to bhava-vyakti ordelineation of moods and sentiments as theaim of painting and then proceeds to anelaborate classification of eleven rasas(stable emotions) and eighteen rasa-dygtis(glances) on which the former depends."The images are invested with animation(saj;iva) by the interplay of hand-gesturesand glances, the very basis of dramaticsand aesthetics both integrated together(sarvcibhinayadar8and2). The representationof rasas and rasady~tiss the essence of boththe arts of drama (cirigika) and painting(citra)."The vast array of figures in the greatAjantB paintings express the basic rasasabstractly and reflectively rendered. Thedominant rasas are here aloofness andtranscendence from the world, sorrow, com-passion, anger, love, and wonder. Thespecific or idiomatic features of expressionare entirely dominated by the generic anduniversal moods or sentiments that obtainbold, perspicuous, enthralling revelations.The masterpieces of representation of thegeneric rasas at Ajant5 are the profoundgrief of the father of the youth SyBma killedby mistake by the king of Banaras, thedevotions of RBhula and YaSodharii beforethe Buddha, the syrigara of Irandati inlove with Purnaka, the supplication of thebeggar Briihmin before Prince Visvanatara,the remorse of Cula Subhadra for causingthe death of her elephant spouse, and aboveall the serenity and compassion of theBuddha and the Bodhisattva. Everywherethe delineation of stable and universalmoods and sentiments and of the appropriateexpressions of glances and hand gestures isperfect in the frescoes th at have been rightlycalled the artistic treasure house of Asia.In the Manasollasa (c. twelfth centuryA.D.) Some4vara refers to the bhcivaeitrasor what may be called lyrical paintings thatexpress the nine abstract sentiments, moods,or rasas. Each rasa must be depicted in itsappropriately expressive color. Accordingto both the Natydastra and the flilparatna

93the colors of images in painting are lightgreen for love, white for merriment, greyfor compassion, red for fury, light orangefor heroic energy, black for terror, yellowfor wonder, and blue for repulsion. Such isthe color expressionism in classical Indianpainting. This scheme seems to have beengenerally adopted in AjantB, Biigh, andelsewhere. The Buddhist paintings on palm-leaf, the paper manuscripts of Eastern India,Nepal, and Tibet belonging to the PBl5 andSen5 periods, as well as Nepalese andTibetan scroll paintings are its best illustra-tions.R A S A S A N D C O L O R S

Bharata's Ncityaicistra sums up the theoryof image-making thus: "All is futile, therecital of formulae, the counting of beads,austerities and devotions unless one hasgained the knowledge of the colour scheme;the true significance of lettering, the hueand the attribute of image." The Sadhana-mda which prescribes the iconography andformulas of meditation of Buddhist TBntri-kism lays down that the color of the deityshould be varied according to the aim ofworship; white or yellow for pure medita-tion; yellow for protection; yellow, green, orred for the purpose of conversion; and bluefor striking terror or destroying the enemy.The MahByBna Buddhist goddess Tgrii whosymbolizes enlightenment is white, andgreen when she is contemplative, benign,and pacsc; red, yellow, and blue when sheis violent, fierce, and destructive. The blueTBrB, wild and ferocious in her world-shat-tering activity, has been assimilated intoHindu TBntrikism and her name MahBcinaTBrB may indicate her probable genesis.Mah5Sri Tiirii is painted green, and framedbehind by green foliage, while LokanBtha ispainted silvery white in the MS. of the"Astasahasrika Prajncipciramitd," attributedto the latter part of the eleventh century(Collection, Asiatic Society, Calcutta). TheBuddha's mother is bright yellow in thesame MS. The color scheme in Indian artand worship varies according to the rasadominant in the psychic make-up of theimage.


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R A D H A K A M A L M U K E R J E EA B S T R A C T I O N A N DS Y M B O L I S M V E R S U S R E A L I S M A N D N A T U R A L I S M

The criterion of all good painting, accord-ing to the Vigvudharmottara, is that itshould be expressive or saturated with theappropriate rasa. The Samarci@anastitrawhile giving an exposition of eleven rasasrelates eighteen appropriate glances (rasa-drgtis) to the major rasas for evoking thesein painting. It also stresses that all sentientcreatures should be delineated in paintingas manifesting these rasas, and not merelygods, men, and asuras. Not merely gestures,postures, hand-inflections, and movements,but also proper glances are categorized ascontributory to the elicitation of the variousrasas and bhdvas (bhbva-vyakti). What holdsgood of painting is true also of sculpture,dance, and histrionic art. It is in this textthat the arousal of rasas through rasadygtis(glances) in the visual arts received thegreatest emphasis. The basic theory thatthe aim of Indian sculpture and painting isthe transformation and consolidation of thetransitory desires and emotions (vybbhichbrior sanchdrZbhbva) into the nine or elevenmajor permanent or universal moods andsentiments (rasas) underlies their abstract,metaphysical, and cosmic character. Indianart, moulding and transforming as it doesimagination or feeling into enduring orabstract sentiment, flavor, or joy, is peren-nial and universal from the viewpoint of itsinspirational drives. Bharata also differ-entiated between lokadharmz (realistic andorganic) and ndtyadharmX (abstract andideographic) mode of treatment and stressedthat the latter should be preferred. ThusIndian art early developed a predilectionfor abstraction and symbolism as againstrealism and naturalism in the enkindling ofrasas.C L A S S I F I C A T I O N O F I M A G E SA C C O R D I N G T O T H E N I N ER A S A S

I t is now clear that in the Indian theoryof aesthetics art springs from the apprecia-tion and maturation of rasa in the mind of

the artist, its fruition lies in the diffusionof rasa in the minds of people. In theNbtyaSdstra, Vignu is mentioned as the godof love; Pramathas of merriment; Rudra,of fury; Yama, of compassion; Siva, offury; KBla, of terror; Indra, of heroic energy;and Brahman, of wonder. Such is Bharata'sclassification of the deities of the nine rasas.The various mzirtis in Indian art may beclassified according to the nine rasas, thestudy of which constitutes the foundationof Indian aesthetics. The Supreme Beinghimself is Rasa. "Having realized Him asRasa the soul becomes full of bliss," says theTaittirzya Upanigad. These nine rasas("tastes" or "flavors" or moods), and thecorresponding lasting attitudes and senti-ments (sthdyz-bhbva), are rendered not onlyby dramatic performances on the stage butalso by mzirtis in the temples. Of all therasas that the images of Indian sculpture orpainting distil the predominant one is silenceor tranquillity (Sdnta). The image fulfillsits role as a medium of dhybna as silenceis established; then neither the image northe devotee exists but there is an all-filling oneness in worldless and imagelesssambdhi. In the table, I give a rough classifi-cation of martis according to the ninerasas.T H E Q U E S T O F U N I T Y I N A R T

According to Abhinavagupta, the ninebasic rasas and aesthetic attitudes underlieman's fulfillment of the four-fold values oflife (purugdrtha) : love and gaiety are con-tributory to the goal of sex (kbmu); com-passion and fury to the goal of occupationand wealth (artha) ; heroic valor, loathsome-ness, and wonder to the goal of righteousness(dharmu); and silence or tranquillity to thegoal of freedom from bondage (mokga). Adistinctive feature of Indian civilization,connected with its metaphysical and aes-thetic rather than its religious and theologi-cal character, is represented by its searchfor the total reality through modes of feelingand experience (rasas), both serene andawesome, charming and repellent. The artof no other culture in the world has shownsuch courage and sincerity, expressing theentire gamut of nine rasas or moods and


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95Rasas" as Springs of Art in India n AestheticsOF Mdrtis ACCORDING TO THE NINERasasLASSIFICATION

A

Moods and Emotions(Rasas)

1. Silence or tran-quility (Slnta)

2. Love (Spigsra,Prema)

3. Joy, gaiety, orhumor (Hssya)

4. Compassion orPathos (Karunii)

5. Fury or Violence(Raudra)

6. Courageous Valor(Vira)

7. Awesomeness(BhayZnaka)

8. Loathsomeness(Bibhatsa)

9. Wonder (Adb-hiita)

B

Ai:iz",',"~d(Sthiyi-bhsva)

Equanimity(Sama)

Attraction(Rati)

Merriment(Lasya)

Sorrow(Soka)

Anger(Krodha)

Resolution(Utsiiha)

Fear (Bhaya)

Disgust (Ju-gupsa)

Bewilder-ment (Bis-may81

C D

Images (Miirti) Posture (.&am)

BrahmZ, Siva, Viggu, the Seated cross-Buddha, Tirthamkara, legged (Va-Dma, SaraBvati, Praj-naplramits, and TtirS.

Viqnu-Lakvmi, Siva-~iir-vati, K~sga-Rlidhl , ndall Tlnt rik a Yaba-Yumfigures.

The dancing figures ofSiva, GaneBa, Qega,Devi, Sarasvati, SuS-sundari, Asparl, andNiiyikl.

The Buddha, Bodhisat-tva, Hara-Parvati, Ab-napiirnii, TZrs, Khadi-rlvani, and Lokanltha.

Rudra, Kikli, Candi, CB-mundi, and Apargjitii.Adi-Varlha, VZmana, Na-

rasimha, Gajiksura-Samhlra, DurgTt Ma-higamardini, and MH-rici.

MahiiMla, Heruka, Bhru-kuti, Yamlmtaka,Vighnsntaka, T l r l , Ku-rukulla, and Chhinna-masts.

Hayagriva, ParnaBavari,SitalB, and Vajracar-ccikii.

Bhairava, GaneBa, andTrailokyavijaya.

jraparyairka)

Seated with legpendent (La-lita, Ardha-paryanka)

Dance (Nltya)

Seated(Bhadra)

Standing (Xli-dha)

Standing(Alidha)

Standing withone leg bent,(F'ratyii-lidha)

Standing withone leg bent(Pratyiili-Stha)

Dance (Ardha-paryairka,TSpQava).

E Expressional Glances* (Rasadfsti)

1 2NityadLtra S",y


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emotions. Rage, fury, terror, bewilderment,and despair are embodied in Indian martisgrandly, majestically, and powerfully in atranscendent and cosmic setting. Theseamply demonstrate that Indian art aims atthe revelation of metaphysical tru th andsublimity rather than sensuous delight andbeauty, and realism, rather than idealism.The expression of the totality of rasas inar t is, no doubt, an index of the freedom,sensitiveness, and boldness of the humanadventure in India. Image-making, ritual,and contemplation are linked with therealization of the values of life in theirentirety, each image (rnzirtz? of meditationand worship focusing on one or other domi-nant mood and emotion or stable attitude.Sometimes the image, however, blends sev-eral emotional states of mind and aestheticqualities. For both Indian metaphysics andreligion stress the ambivalence of antinomiccategories, moods, and values in the dialecti-cal march of the human soul, whose enlight-enment is understood and realized as atranscendence of the various pairs of oppo-sites. The deities of Tantrikism often com-bine simultaneously both compassionate andterrific, auspicious and wrathful, charmingand repellent aspects and moods. It isthrough meditation that the devotee risesto the transcendent reality that dissolvesall pairs of antinomic truths, values, andsentiments (rasas). The entire Indian scienceof gestures that defines the positions andmovements of the head, neck, eyes, hands,and fingers, as mirroring specific moods andsentiments (rasas), is taken over from thedance to marti for the cultivation and appre-hension of rasa defined as aloukika or thatwhich does not belong to the mundane world.All the fine arts in India seek the matura-tion and stabilization of rasas. Indian artachieves this goal that belongs, indeed, to

R A D H A K A M A L M U K E R J E Ethe metaphysical sphere through recaptur-ing the rhythms of nature and the cosmosand the tremulous movements, gestures, andglances of the human body in classical dance.All martis or images in Indian art-men,women, angels, and gods--dance. Thus dothe artist and devotee alike enter into thecosmic plan of life and realize the Absoluteor the Supreme Spirit (Paramatman) astranscendent (aloukika) and universal(sadhdrava) rasa in which the incompatibleaesthetic qualities and sentiments (rasa) ofthe charming and the grim, the auspiciousand the awesome, the serene and the heroicmay be perfectly juxtaposed. Such is theIndian mode of revelation of the metaphysi-cal reality by art that simulates the aimand function of dance.India is in an endless quest of unity inevery field. In the pursuit of Beauty herart realizes the same transcendent unitythrough the harmony of opposite and con-flicting aesthetic moods and emotions (rasas)that her metaphysics and religion in thepursuit of Truth and Sublimity respectivelyachieve through the reconciliation of anti-nomic, dialectical principles and values oflife, thought, and experience. Indian artthrows open the vistas of direct vision ofthe non-dual, transcendent reality (apa~okga-anubhati), inducing a profound joy andexaltation of the soul (camatka~a). Jaga-nnatha, in his well-known treatise on Indianaesthetics, the Rasagarigddhara, defines thisunique and universal feeling of exaltationas the emotional correlate of all art-creationand appreciation. To integrate the mind,personality, and society, and saturate themwith a thrill of exaltation, harmony, andrhythm (chhandombya) is the function ofall true art.Lucknow University

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