________________
What did Bharata mean by Rusa ?
215
process of creation or production of Rasa. It is evident that the "Bhāva”, here cannot mean the Sthāyıbhāva in the view of the spectator, but the Sthayibhāva in the mind of the poet - - the Vyabhicāribhāva, Anubhāva, and Vibhāvas – which are stipulated elsewhere as necessary for the production of Rasa. This is clear from an earlier Kārikā, Bhāvābhinayasambaddhan
Sthāyibhāvānstathā hudhāh Asvādavanti manasā.
Tasmāt nātyarasāḥ smộtāḥ. 8 9 Of this kārikā too, usually a wrong rendering is given. It is said that because the Rasas i. e. the Sihāyibhāvas which are connected with the other Bhāvas such as vibhāva etc., and acting are experienced by mind, therefore the Rasas are also mental. In the first place everything that is experienced by mind need not be mental. But in this particular case, the experience of the Sthāyrbhāvas is not a direct experience and so it is quite correct to say that they are experienced by mind. I have drawn a distinction between the Sthayibhāva, that is a state of the poet's mind and that which is a state of the appreciator's mind. I have called them Sl and S3 respectively. I have also said that S3 is simillar to Sl and that S3 is the meaning of S2 (or Ds2). The stage of S.3 should not be confused with sthā yıbhāva. It appears to me that Bharata is quite conscious of this fact. Whenever he talks of the stage S3 he uses the word 'Artha' for it; e g. in the kārikā Yo'rtho hğdayusamvādī tasya bhāvo rasodbhavah. (VII 7 N.S.) i.e. that meaning which appeals to the heart, it is produced by Rasa. (It must be noted that the word 'Bhāva' is used here not in its technical sense. It simply means existence as it commonly does in Sanskrit.)
What Bharata meant by Rasa cannot be fully realised unless the meaning he gives the term Bhāva is properly understood. Perhaps Bharata himself has used the word in a loose way or his commentators have interfered with the original texto and abused it to the maximum. This has led
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org