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Rasa-niṣpatti-vicāra in Abhinavagupta
1581
The A.bh. is clear. It observes: "In the beginning (Bharata used) the plural. (viz. rasan), and here (i.e. in rasad ṛte) when singular is used (by the author, Bharata), the idea is- Only one (and identical) rasa is seen in a drama (=any art-form) in form of a string (running through the beads). From the point of view of division, the (individual variety) -'vibhāga' is (suggested). Even that (division into subvarieties) does never miss focussing on that (one basic rasa) alone. This we have already stated when contents were discussed. We will say this even later, (as we go on)."
(ii) It may be noted that in Na.Śā, VI. 10, (pp. 257, ibid) the samgraha' or enumeration of topics to be covered in theNa.Śā. was given beginning with "rasāḥ." : "rasa bhāvā hy abhinayaḥ...." etc. Then, on pp. 260, ibid, verse 15 (ch. VI) reads as :
"śṛngāra-hāsya-karuṇā....”
The A.bh. passage (pp. 260, ibid) reads as :
"tatra vibhāgam tāvad āha- śṛngāra-hāsyety ādinā, nātya-samgraha (6/39) ity
antena.
tatra natyam nāma naṭa-gata-abhinaya-prabhāva-sākṣātkārāyamāṇa-ekaghana -manasa-niścaládhyavaseyaḥ, samasta-nāṭakady anyatama-kavya-viseṣa-dyotaniyór
thaḥ.
sa ca yady apy ananta-vibhāvādy ātmā, tathápi sarveṣām jaḍānām simvidi, tasyāś ca bhoktari, bhoktṛ-vargasya ca pradhan bhoktari paryavasānān nāyakábhidhāna-bhoktr-viseṣa-sthāyi-citta-vṛtti-svabhāvaḥ."
(Translation): "Parts (of the general content) are narrated by the words, beginning with "śṛngāra, hāsya" etc., and ending with "natya-samgraha."
Here 'natya' (in nātya-samgraha) means that ultimate meaning (or intention) which is the outcome of the whole of a (given) dramatic piece or a (given) poem. It is arrived at as a result of a solid mental cognition, which is as it were directly experienced with the help of the force of acting of an actor.
This (ultimate meaning, viz. rasa) is having innumerable vibhāvādi-s (both sentient and insentient and presented in a variety of shapes and forms), but all the insentient ones (among them) terminate into consciousness (samvit), and this consciousness terminates into (or is centred round a bhoktā (i.e. alambanavibhāva, i.e. character), and all the bhokta-s centre round a central character (principal bhoktā, the hero). So (the ultimate meaning of) the rasa is of the form of the permanent emotion of the hero.
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