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“Concept of Rasa" as seen in Anandavardhana and......
1399 bhayānaka and karuna) the basic emotions of fear and sorrow (i.e. bhaya and śoka) staying in the mind of the apprehender, result in the experience of bhayānaka and karuna rasa. If the sthāyin of the apprehender himself does not terminate into the state of rasa, then there is no possibility of the apprehension of rasa which stays outside the self of the enjoyer. For, actually if rasa is noted basically located in the self of the enjoyer than there is no possibility of its being located in either poetry or the artist. For if there is apprehension of something which is non-existent, then even a non-sensitive person will experience rasa : "asatasca api pratyaye ahțdayasya api pratītiḥ syāt.” (ND. pp. 303, ibid).
Thus, after the apprehension of poetry that describes vibhāva (etc.), the sthāyin of the apprehender himself becomes rasa. It is for this reason that poetry is also said to be "having rasa" (only metaphorically). ND. observes : (pp. 303, ibid) - "tato vibhāva-pratipadaka-kāvya-pratipatter anataram pratipattur eva sthāyī raso (sī) bhavati. tad hetutvāc ca kāvyam rasavad iti."
The ND. ends its discussion on rasa with this remark. Hopefully it looks that the authors are concerned more with rasa through art-medium, rather than through real causes in practical world.
It may be said to the credit of the authors Rāmacandra and Gunacandra that they have discụssed the problem of rasa-experience from many angels, both relevant and irrelevant. But they have presented a broad-based theory of rasa to their satisfaction. They being the disciples of Ācārya Hemacandra who was a staunch follower and admirer of Anandavardhana, Abhinavagupta and Mammata, and therefore a die-hard supporter of the Kashmir School of aesthetics, these authors showed guts to differ from their great guru. This shows the brighter side of the academic climate in those days in Gujarat and India, where freedom of thought and expression prevailed perfectly and when respect for human values touched the highest peak.
After giving the rasa theory the ND. discusses, practically after Bharata and the tradition in dramaturgy in general, the topics such as the nature, number and scope of anubhāvas, vibhāvas and vyabhicārins. Following Mammata, it looks the ND. observes (pp. 303, ibid, Kārikā III. 8) :
“kārya-hetuḥ-sahacāri sthāyyādeh kavya-vartmani, anubhāvo vibhāvasca vyabhicāri ca kirtyate.”
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