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126
V. M. Kulkarni ..
Objection; "Then since Karuna, etc. (io. bibhatsa, bhayanaka and raudra) arise out of sorrow, etc., they cannot be called rasas at all."
Answer: In Karuna, etc. supreme aesthetic joy is produced. And in this matter the experience of the sensitive spectators and readers is the sole proof. Moreover, if they were to produce sorrow, nobody would be attracted towards (the works depicting) these Karuna and such other rasas. No sensible person exerts himself to experience sorrow, and since all (se.isible and sensitive people are seda to be drawn towards Karnna, etc., it is evident that karuna and such other rasas consist of aesthetic) joy. If Karuna-rasa were the cause or source of sorrow, such great works as Ramāyaṇa would cause sorrow. And how then some one may ask, can joy arise from what causes sorrow ? To this Visvanatha replies as follows: Granted that worldly jays and sorrows, arise from wordldly cause of joy and sorrows. But when these very causes etc, are depicted in Kavya (creative literature) they lose their character as causes, etc., and turn into vibhāvas etc., which no longer remain laukika worldly and are called alaukika (non-worldly). They like love-bites, etc., in sexual union, produce pleasure and pleasure alone, and therefore, our above thesis is unexceptionable.
. But if the thesis (poetic or dramatic representation of sorrows and sufferings produces only joy) be correct, how is it that the shedding of of tears, (etc., are produced while) witnessing or hearing sad events in in the life of Hariscandra, etc. in the Mahabharata and the like? To this it is replied as follows: The sheddling of tears etc, are held to come from the mind (or lieart) being melted.
Jagannatha in the course of his exposition of the nature of rasa as elucidated by various alamkarikas (literary thinkers) sets forth for the first time the views of the Navyas (Moderns) and Pare (other literary thinkers). It may not be wrong to suggest that Jagannatha himself held the view ascribed to the Nayyas. The Navyas account for joy produced by Karundt and such other rasas as follows:
"The sensitive spectator (Sahrılaya) identifies himself with a hero, say, Duşyanta; and enjoys the dramatic performance, ay, Abhijnanasit. kuntala. In this connection it may be asked : Rati 'love) of Sakuntala for Dusyanta, let us grant for the sake of argument, produces peculiar joy in the spectator as in the case of Duşyanta. But how can soku (sorrow), the permanent emotion of the sentiment of pathos, which is well-known to be the cause of unhappiness produce joy in the spectator ?
