UNIT III: INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

A. The Concept of Structure Underlying Bharata’s Natyashastra

Origin of Natyashastra:
The great sage Bharata is believed to be the pioneer of Sanskrit drama and an eminent scholar of
dramaturgy. In his famous work Natyashastra, Bharata‟s views on the origin of drama are given
in the first chapter. The Natyashastra states that natya was created to meet the demand of a play-
thing, a source of pleasure for everyone on the earth.
Long ago during the transitional period between two ages, people of the world took to
uncivilized ways of life. They were governed by lust, greed, jealousy and anger. A deputation of
gods, led by Lord Indra approached Brahma and requested that he give them something which
would “not only teach us but be pleasing both to the
eyes and the ears”. The Vedas prevailed in ancient times but shudras were prohibited from
listening to them and learning from them. Lord Brahma meditated in solitude and decided to
compose a fifth Veda. So Lord Brahma took words or recitative text from Rigveda, music from
Samveda, acting and art of make up from Yajurveda and
emotional states and sentiments from Atharvaveda.
Bharta’s Contribution:
The book dictated by Lord Brahma turned out to be tough and voluminous. Indra read the book
and concluded that the gods were unable to understand and put into practice the contents of this
book. So Brahma entrusted sage Bharata to take charge of the book. Bharata had 100 “sons” so
he could take up the practice of Natyaveda. “I got
the Natyaveda from god Brahma and started teaching my sons and also rehearsing with them”,
says Bharata.
Kaisiki Vritti:
When Bharata told Brahma all that he had done, he suggested that dance and music (Kaisiki
Vritti) should also be introduced. Bharata told Brahma that this could be more graceful if it is
performed by females in beautiful costumes and to the accompaniment of music. So Brahma
created apsaras to perform, Narada and gandharvas to
sing and Swati and his disciples to play instruments.
The Structure of Natyashastra:
The Natyashastra is divided into thirty six chapters which can be further divided into four parts
dealing with the following topics: (i) art of effective speech (ii) art of music (iii) art of acting (iv)
rasas. The drama with the science and theory of which Natya veda is concerned primarily
presents rasas. The three arts are the means of its effective
presentation. Thus it is an organic whole. According to Bharata, the drama should begin with
Nandi, benedictory singing of eight sentences from the Vedas. Most of the things Bharata talks
of are only the means of presenting Rasa which is presented by the means of abhinaya. It is of
four types: (i) angika (ii) vachika (iii) sattvik (iv)
aharya. He also discusses ten types of drama extending from one act plays to ten act plays.

B. The Concept of Rasa

Rasa, the cardinal concept of Indian aesthetics, was first expounded in the sixth chapter of
Bharata‟s Natyashashtra. It has influenced the entire discussion of dramaturgy. It is, in fact,
considered the soul of literature. Bharata says that without rasa there cannot be drama. The word
rasa literally means taste, flavour, relish, aesthetic
emotion etc. The theory of rasa essentially deals with the various kinds of emotions, and how
they are depicted, inferred and transmitted through a work of art. “Rasa signifies the aesthetic
pleasure or the thrill invariably accompanied by joy that the audience experiences while
witnessing the skilful enactment of a play rendered highly
appealing through excellent poetry, music and action”, says Dr P. K. Rajan.
The earliest use of the word rasa is found in the Vedas and the Upanishadas to mean „water‟,
„soma juice‟, „flavour‟, „sap of the grain‟ or „taste‟. Whichever way rasa is seen – as flavour or
as essence – it implies to something that cannot be captured directly by the senses. The use of
rasa in Natyashashtra retained all these meanings, since in Natyashashtra, rasa is used in a
concrete culinary and an abstract aesthetic sense. Bharata believed that the main purpose of
dramatic performance is to create or enact the rasas. Drama cannot have any appeal to the
spectator without rasa. He calls it the soul of poetry. Bharata‟s famous rasasutra is:
“Vibhavanubhava vyabhichari samyogat rasa nishpatti”. This means that rasa emanates from a
combination of vibhavas (Causes), anubhavas (effects) and vyabhicharibhavas (transitory mental
states).
Bharata clarifies his point by using an analogy: just as people relish the rasa (flavours) of food
prepared using various spices or condiments, so sensitive spectators relish the dominant or
permanent emotions suggested by the acting out of the bhavas. Bharata coined the term rasa for
aesthetic relish because it can be tasted. For him bhava
and rasa are inseparable. There cannot be bhava without rasa and vice versa. The eight
sthayibhavas are Rati (love), Hasa (laughter), Shoka (sorrow), Krodha (anger), Utsaha
(enthusiasm), Bhaya (fear), Jugupsa (disgust), Vismaya (astonishment/wonder). They lead to the
following eight rasas: sringara (erotic), hasya (comic), karuna
(compassionate), raudra (furious), vira (heroic), bhayanaka (terrifying) bibhatsa (disgusting)
and adbhuta (awesome). The ninth rasa, that is, shanta rasa is a later addition according to most
scholars.

C. BHAVA, VIBHAVA, ANUBHAVA AND VYABHICHARI-BHAVAS

Bhava: Bharata has used bhavas in a technical sense from the point of view of the spectator.
Derived from the root “abhu”, bhava means an instrument of being. Bhavas are called so because
they “become” something or they create something. They are called bhavas because they lead to
the meaning of a literary work which includes
words, physical gestures and emotions. In the context of natya, bhavas convey all the rasas
through varied acting, vibhava and anubhava. They are called mental states which pervade the
mind of the spectator as a perfume does with the cloth. The Rasa theory is built around the
concept of bhava which is subdivided into vibhava,
sthayibhava, vyabhicharibhava, anubhava and sattvikabhava. Bharata enumerates forty-nine
bhavas. Eight of these are sthayi or stable/permanent emotions, thirty three are
vyabhicharibhavas or transitory mental states and eight are sattvikbhavas. For example,
sthayibhava of karuna (compassionate) rasa is shoka (grief). Its vibhavas are
separation from loved ones, death, suffering of any kind, misfortunes, loss, falling on bad times.
The anubhavas are mourning, weeping, shedding tears and vyabhicharibhavas include nirveda
(indifference), glani (debility), chinta (painful reflection), dainya (depression), jadata
(immobility) etc. The Sattvikabhavas of Karuna rasa are tears and change of voice.
Vibhava: Vibhava is the objective condition producing an emotion. Vibhava, karana (cause),
nimitta (instrument), hetu (reason) are synonyms. It acts as a stimulus, responsible for the
awakening of sthayi or permanent emotion. Vibhava is not the cause producing an emotion. It is
only a medium through which it passes to the spectator. It is of two types: (i) alambana and (ii)
uddipana. Alambana vibhava means a person or persons with reference to whom the emotion is
manifested. Uddipana vibhava means the circumstances or the environment that has excited the
emotion. For example, in the case of love portrayed in dramas like Abhijnanashakuntalam by
Kalidas or Romeo
and Juliet by Shakespeare, Dushyant and Shakunatala or Romeo and Juliet are alambana or
substantial excitant respectively. The secluded place like groves, the bank of a river, the
moonlight are uddipana or enhancer excitant.

Anubhava: Anubhavas or consequents are the physical changes due to the rise of an emotion.
Anubhavas are called so because they are accompanied by words, gestures and facial
expressions. S. K. De points out that anubhavas are those that make the different kinds of
representations capable of being sensed. They follow the
vibhavas. P.V. Kane also defines anubhavas as those that convey the emotions through external
manifestation. They are called anubhavas because i) they communicate the basic emotion to the
characters present on the stage; ii) they make known the nature of emotion in the protagonist; iii)
they make the spectator experience an identical
emotion. Since permanent emotions are not perceptible through the senses, they have to be
manifested through anubhavas. For instance, rati or love is a permanent emotion but it resides in
the heart and cannot be known unless it is manifested through restlessness, anxiety, trembling
and other outward symptoms. Thus these outward
symptoms serve as anubhavas. These manifestations are simply the physical effects of the
emotion. Bharata talks of two types of manifestations - auditory and visual- angika and vachika.
Both these are essential in a play where the spectator experiences rasa through visual
manifestation.
Vyabhicharibhavas: Vyabhicharibhavas also known as sancharibhavas are transitory or
temporary mental states. There are thirty three vyabhicharibhavas. These- unlike the permanent
emotions- are neither inborn nor permanent but born out of the emotions themselves. Bharata
compares them to servants. For Example, bashfulness is born out
of love and depression out of sorrow. They are like waves, which rise from the ocean of the basic
mental state and subside into the same. These supporting feelings are short lived. They can enter
into alliance with a number of
sthayibhavas. For example, the feelings like unsteadiness, longing, madness, remorse, dejection,
sickness, agony despair, depression are attached with the emotions like sorrow, love as well as
fear.