The Number of Rasa-s

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The Number of Rasa-s by V. Raghavan is a seminal work in Sanskrit literary criticism. Rasa is the very soul of poetry and drama. One aspect of it namely. the number of Rasa-s whether it is eight or nine is studied in this work. While considering this problem it necessarily involves the discussion of many important points relating to its nature and scope giving astounding variety of solutions. Rasa-synthesis is another important feature of this work.

I GLADLY respond to the desire of Dr. Raghavan that I should contribute a Foreword to this book. He has been carrying on researches in the field of Sanskri t literary criticism for several years past, and the material which he has brought together here shows how extensive is his acquaintance with the literature on the subject. He draws his data, it will be seen, from unpublished manuscripts as readily as he does from published works. The opinion formed on any aspect of the subject by one who has devoted so much time to its study and whose knowledge of it is so wide, is of special value and deserves the careful attention of all scholars.

The particular problem considered here is that of the number of Rasa-s, and its consideration necessarily involves the discussion of many important points reiating to their nature and scope. As in the case of other problems investigated by the ancient Indians, we find here also an astounding variety of solutions. While some thinkers have held that there is but one Rasa, others have maintained that the Rasa-s are many, there being a wide divergence of opinion respecting their exact number. The usual view, however, is that there are eight Rasa-s or nine, with the addition of what is termed Santa:

Although Dr. Raghavan considers all these views more or less in detail, the main part of his discussion is concerned with the admissibility of Santa as the ninth Rasa. His treatment of the question is quite compre- hensive, and he examines it both from the historical and the aesthetic sides. A brief reference to each of them may not be out of place.

Owing to the uncertainty of our knowledge of the early phases of Indian classical literature, it is not possible to say when poets began to portray this Rasa. The ascetic and mystic elements, however, .which form its distinctive basis, are very old features of Indian life; and they were highly valued by those who followed the teaching of the Veda as well as by those who did not. So we may assume that the Santa attitude found expression in literature quite early; and this is corro- borated by the works of Asvaghosa even if, on account of its chronological indefiniteness, we leave out of con- sideration the Mahabharata, the usual example given of Santa Rasa. As regards writers on Poetics, the earliest to recognize it definitely, so far as our knowledge at present goes, was Udbhata. Possibly its recognition by them was even earlier. Bharata's view in the matter is somewhat doubtful, by reason of the unsatis- factory character of the text of the Natyasastra as it has come down to us. Some manuscripts of it mention only eight Rasa-s, but others nine. The weight of evidence bearing on the point seems, on the whole, to be on the former side; and Dr. Raghavan adduces several convincing arguments to show that the references to this Rasa in Bharata are all spurious. But it should be added that the Natyasastra contains nearly all the essential points necessary for a theoretical formulation of it.

Before we pass on to the aesthetic aspect of the question, it is desirable to distinguish the emotive content or theme of a literary work from the aesthetic sentiment which, according to the prevalent Indian view, its idealized representation evokes in the reader or the spectator. Thus in the case of the Sakuntala, Dusyanta's love for Sakuntala forms the chief theme while the emotion, which it awakens in us as we witness the drama enacted, is Srngara. When we ask whether Santa can be a Rasa, we mean whether situations in life involving the quietistic sentiment lend themselves to be similarly dealt with in literature. If they do, then Santa is a Rasa; otherwise, it is not. The practice of great poets like Kalidasa, which is after all the true touchstone in such matters, shows that Santa situations can certainly be thus delineated in literary works. In the last act of his play, just alluded to, Kalidasa describes the tranquillity and holiness of Marica's hermitage in a manner which affects us most pro- foundly. But, however splendidly depicted, Santa Rasa occupies only a subordinate place there; and a doubt may therefore arise whether it can be the leading sentiment in a work, i.e. whether it can be portrayed in such a manner that it will impress us at the end as the predominant element in the unity of Rasa-s which, according to the Indian view, every work of art is expected to achieve. Some of the works of Asvaghosa, to whom I have already referred, show that it can be so represented. The Mahabharata also, at any rate in its present form, illustrates the same truth, as set forth by Anandavardhana in his masterly way in the last section of his Dhvanyaloka.

Yet there were theorists who denied that Santa could be an art emotion. It is hardly necessary to examine their arguments when we have the practice of great poets and the opinion of great art critics to the contrary. But a reference should be made to one of them which appears, at first sight, to possess some force. This argument is that the attitude of mind for which Santa stands is altogether a rare one, and that its representation in art cannot therefore appeal to more than a very few. The objection, it is obvious, is based on the supposition that the test of true art is in the wideness of its appeal. The advocates of Santa brush this argument aside usually by saying that such questions are not to be decided by a plebiscite; but, by thus admitting the narrowness of its appeal, they seem to give up their position.' Their conclusion that Santa is a Rasa is irresistible. Indeed, it would have been a strange irony of circumstance if Indians, of all, had excluded it from the sphere of art. The way in which this particular objection is met, however, is not satisfactory. May it be that the contention that the appeal of Santa is only to a very few is wrong? No unwonted occasion in life-whether it be one of joy or one of sorrow-passes without bringing home to man the supreme desirability of spiritual peace. Lt means that the need for such peace is fundamental to the human heart; and this conclusion is confirmed by the pure satisfaction which the contemplation, for example, of the images of Buddha in meditative .repose brings to so many. If so,the Santa mood is by no means uncommon; and Santa Rasa need not be an exception to the rule that the appeal of art is general. What is uncommon is the capacity in man to capture that mood and cultivate it, so that it may come to prevail over all other moods; but this deficiency does not matter so far as art is concerned, for it has the power, of itself, to enable him to attain, albeit only for a while, the peace of spirit which, as an old Indian critic has observed, even a Yogin has to strain himself long to win,

Dr. Raghavan makes a valuable contribution to the study not merely of Sanskrit literary criticism but of Indian Aesthetics as a whole, for the conception of Rasa, though it is here dealt with chiefly in its relation to poetry, is general and furnishes the criterion by which the worth of all forms of fine art may be judged. I have no doubt that the book will be read and appreciated very widely.

Preface

Before The Number of Rasa-s was published in book form by the Adyar Library, in 1940, it had appeared serially in the pages of the Journal of Oriental of Oriental Research, Madras, in the years 1936-37. it was then the first detailed study of the study of the subject and of Santa Rasa in particular.

In this, as in my other studies, as Prof. M. Hiriyanna mentioned in the foreword which he kindly wrote to the first edition, I had drown my data from unpublished manuscripts as much as from published works, bringing to light and also bringing together all the crucial textual material bearing on the subject and required for its exposition. In the years that had passed, during which the book has been in wide use, not only have some texts been newly published, but I myself have been continuously noting additional data and portions of the book where the treatment could be elaborated.

The present second edition of the book is thus a revised and enlarged one. Besides effecting some improvements in the presentation, I have dealt with some additional ideas like the identity of Alambana and Sthayin in Santa, have devoted greater attention to some topics like the treatment of Bhakti by Bopadeva and Hemadri, the Maya and citra Rasa-s, the varieties of vipralambha, particularly Sapa and Karuna-vipra-lambha-s, the daya-vira and the additional Vyabhicarin-s and Sattvika-s, and have also taken into consideration certain additional texts not available formerly.

I am thankful to the Adyar Library and research Centre and its authorities for bringing out this second edition, and to its staff and to Dr. K. Kunjunni Raja, for assistance in the course of the printing of this work. Dr. S.S. Janaki has also helped in the reading of the proofs.