Rasa, Dhwani and Auchitya

Bharatha’s  Rasa,  Anandavardhana’s  Dhwani  and Kshemendra’s Aucityaare considered the cardinal

concepts of Indian Aesthetics by many Indian aestheticians

2.1 Rasa theory

Rasa is produced from a combination of determinants (vibhavas), consequents (anubhavas) and

transitory states.

TASTES  results from a combination of spices, vegetables and other articles. Six tastes are produced
by articles such as raw sugar or spices or vegetables. So the stayibhava in combination with
other bhavas become rasa.

What is the meaning of rasa—it is capable of being tasted- (asvadyate). How is rasa tasted?

It is said that just as  well-disposed persons while eating food cooked with many kinds of spices enjoy
its tastes and attain pleasure and satisfaction, so the cultured people taste the dominant states
(stayibhava) while they see them represented by an expression of the various states with works,
gestures and the temperament and derive pleasure and satisfaction.

In Vedas, rasa means sap or essence—experience of the supreme reality. Seers of the Vedas knew

about the need for Sahridayatwa to understand poetry. The primary rasa of Ramayana is
the karunarasa as the great poet curses the hunter for shooting down one of the kraunca birds.

Bharata, who lived during the first or second part of the first century B.C. deals with various aspects
of dramaturgy in his Natyashastra as drama was a much developed art during his times. Bharata
gives a proper definition to rasa in his Natyashastra. Rasa  is defined thus: vibhava anubhava
vyabhichari samyogat rasa (VI.31)

Much has been talked about the relationship between Natyasastra and rasa, so much so that one
may form an impression that Natyasastra discusses only the rasa theory. But in fact, the book
devotes only one chapter of its thirty-six chapters for the discussion of rasa. It is only in the context
of plays that Bharata talks of rasa. In an off hand manner, Bharata states that without rasa there can
be no drama, that is the soul of any play. Bharat assumes that we know about this theory from
earlier works which are devoted to it.

From the definition given above, it is clear that cause and effects added to transitory

states create rasa.

The causes or mainsprings of emotion are called vibhava.  Characters, setting, season, background
etc. can be called vibhava  or the main springs of action. The effects of emotions that develop
sentiments or rasas  (anxiety, anger, depression through which love (the principal emotion) is
expressed is theanubhavas. Vyabhicharibhava  or transitory states are 33 in number.
Anandavardhana, the author of Dhwanyaloka  formulated the rasa theory in categorical terms—
rasa cannot be directly expressed—only through dhwani, rasa gets expressed. Abhinavagupta, who
was a commentator of Dhwanyaloka,  believed that the sahridaya realizes rasa which isalaukika—
transcendental, ineffable, cannot be experienced. Thus rasacomes very near to what Longinus had
called ‘the Sublime’.  

Bharata listed eight rasas—

Sringara—love, Hasya—comic, Karuna—pathetic, Raudra—furious, vira—heroic, bhayanaka—
terrible, bibhatsa—odious and Adbhuta—marvellous. Later writers added one more rasa—santhi—
making the total into 9 rasas—navarasas.

Then Bharata speaks about the dominant states:- stayibhava, vyabhicharibhava, and satvikabhava.

Satvikabhava is translated as temperamental state. Sat is connected with manas.

Stayibhava:- love, mirth, sorrow, anger, energy, terror, disgust, astonishment (8)

vyabhicharibhava:- discouragement, weakness, apprehension, envy, intoxication, weariness,

indolence, depression, anxiety, distraction, recollection, contentment, shame, inconstancy, joy,
agitation, stupor, arrogance, despair, impatience, sleep, epilepsy, dreaming, awakening, indignation,
dissimulation, cruelty, assurance, sickness, insanity, death, fright, and deliberation. (33)

2.2 The eight Rasas

2.2a. Sringara Rasa(the erotic)

Indian aestheticians give much importance to this rasa. In Natyasastrathis rasa has been divided into
two categories—sambhoga sringara andvipralambha sringara which can be roughly translated as
love-in-union and love in separation.

Love -in -union is described thus in Natyasastra:

Of the various rasas, the erotic one arises from the stayibhavaof love. Whatever in the ordinary
world is bright, pure, shining, or beautiful is associated with love (VI.45)

Love-in-separation is described thus:

As for love in separation, it should be acted out by anubhavassuch as world-weariness, physical

weakness, anxiety, envy, fatigue, worry, longing, dreaming, awakening, sickness, insanity, apoplexy,
lifelessness, and death. (VI.46)

The Erotic (Sringara) Rasa proceeds from the Dominant State of love (Rati) and it has as its basis
bright attire; for whatever in this world is white, pure, bright and beautiful is appreciated in terms of
the dominant state of love (sringara).            Hence the Erotic sentiment has been so named on
account of its usually being associated with bright and elegant attire. It owns its origin to men and
women and related to the fullness of youth. It should be represented on the stage by consequents
such as clever movement of eye, eyebrows, glances, soft and delicate movement of limbs and sweet
words and similar other things. Transitory states in it do not include fear, indolence, cruelty and
disgust. [The Erotic sentiment] in separation should be represented on the stage by consequents
such as indifference, languor, fear, jealousy, fatigue, anxiety, yearning, drowsiness, sleep, dreaming
awakening, illness, insanity, epilepsy, inactivity, [fainting], death and other conditions.

2.2b Hasya Rasa (the comic)

Natya Sastra explains hasya or comic rasa thus:

As for comic (rasa), it consists of the primary emotion of laughter. It arises from such vibhavas as
wearing clothes and ornaments that belong to someone else or do not fit (vikrata), shamelessness
(dhrstya), greed, ticking sensitive parts of the body, telling fantastic tales, seeing some deformity,
and describing faults (VI. 48)

The comic (hasya) sentiment has as its basis the Dominant emotion of laughter. This is created by
determinants such as showing unseemly dress or ornament, impudence, greediness, quarrel,
defective limb, use of irrelevant words, mentioning of different faults, and similar other things. This
(the comic sentiment) is to be represented on the stage by consequents like the throbbing of the
lips, the nose and the cheek, opening the eyes wide or contracting them, perspiration, colour of the
face, and taking hold of the sides. Transitory states in it are indolence, dissimulation, drowsiness,
sleep, dreaming, insomnia, envy and the like. This (sentiment) is of two kinds; self -centred and
centred in others. When a person himself laughs it relates to the self – centred (Comic sentiment),
but when he makes others laugh it (the comic sentiment therein) is centred in others.

            It has six varieties.  They are: Slight Smile (Smita), Smile (Hasita), Gentle Laughter (Vihasita),
Laughter of Ridicule (Upahasita), Vulgar Laughter (apahasita) and Excessive Laughter
(Atihasita). Two by two they belong respectively to the superior, the middle and the inferior types
[of persons].

            To persons of the superior type belong the slight smile (Smita) and the smile (Hasita), to those
of the middle type of Gentle Laughter (vihasita) and the Laughter of Ridicule (upahasita) to those of
the inferior type the Vulgar Laughter (apahasita) and the Violent Laughter (atihasita)

2.2c Karuna rasa (the pathetic)

The features of karuna rasa are listed in Natyasastra  (VI.61) as follows

Now (the rasa) known as karuna arises from the permanent emotion of sorrow. It proceeds
from vibhavas such as curse, affliction, separation form those who are dear, (their) downfall, loss of
wealth, death and imprisonment, or from contact with misfortune, destruction and calamity

The Pathetic (karuna) Sentiment arises from the dominant state of sorrow. It grows from
Determinants such as affliction under a curse, separation from dear ones, loss of wealth, death,
captivity flight) [from one’s own place], [dangerous] accidents or any other misfortune. This is to be
represented on the stage by means of consequents such as, shedding tears, lamentation, dryness of
the mouth, change of colour, drooping limbs, being out of breath, loss of memory and the like.
Transitory states connected with it are indifference, languor, anxiety, inactivity, insanity, epilepsy,
fear, fainting, sadness, dejection, illness, inactivity, insanity, epilepsy, fear, indolence, death,
paralysis, tremor, change of colour, weeping, loss of voice and the like.

2.2d  Raudra rasa (the Furious)

 The features of raudra rasa are defined thus in Natyasastra:

Now (the rasa) called raudra has anger for its permanent emotion. Demons, monsters and violent
men are its characters. It is caused by battles. It arises from such vibhavas as anger, provocative
actions, lies, assaults, harsh words, oppression and envy. (VI.63)

The Furious (raudra) Sentiment has as its basis the dominant state of anger. It owes its origin to
Raksasas, Danavas and haughty men, and is caused by fights. This is created by determinants such as
anger, rape, abuse, insult, untrue allegation, exorcizing, threatening, revengefulness, jealousy and
the like. Its actions are beating, breaking, crushing, cutting, piercing, taking up arms, hurling of
missiles, fighting, drawing, of blood, and similar other deeds. This is to be represented on the stage
by means of consequents such as red eyes, knitting of eyebrows, defiance, biting of the lips,
movement of the cheeks, pressing one hand with the other, and the like. Transitory states in it are
presence of mind, determination, energy, indignation, fury, perspiration, trembling, horripilation,
chocking voice and the like.

2.2e  Vira rasa  (the heroic)

In the Natyasastra  Bharata says:

Virarasa is properly acted out by firmness, patience, heroism, pride, dynamic energy, bravery, knight
and profound emotions (VI.67)..It has noble people for its characters and consists in dynamic
energy…it should be acted out with such anubhavasas firmness, patience, heroism, generosity and
shrewdness (VI.66)

The Herioc (vira) sentiment relates to the superior type of persons and has energy as its basis. This is
created by determinants such as presence of mind, perseverance, diplomacy, discipline, military
strength, aggressiveness, reputation of might, influence and the like. It is to be represented on the
stage by consequents such as firmness, patients, heroism, charity, diplomacy and the like. Transitory
states in it are contentment, judgement, pride, agitation, energy (vega) ferocity, indignation,
remembrance, horripilation and the like.

2.2f  Bhayanak rasa (the terrifying)

This is one of the most neglected rasas in the Indian tradition. In the mainstream of Indian tradition,
this rasa exists only in the margins. “In fact, in the literature of the following two thousand years,
very few instances are found” (Patnaik, 175).

Natyasastra speaks thus about this rasa:

It has fear as its permanent emotion. It arises from suchvibhavas  as ghastly noises, seeing of
supernatural beings, fear and panic due to the cries of owls or jackals, going to an empty house or to
a forest, hearing about, speaking about, or seeing the imprisonment or murder of one’s relatives.

The Terrible (bhayanaka) sentiment has as its basis the Dominant state of fear. This is created by
Determinants like hideous noise, sight of ghosts, panic and anxiety due to (untimely cry of jackals
and owls, staying in an empty house or forest, sight of death or captivity of dear ones, or news of it,
or discussion about it. It is to be represented on the stage by consequents such as trembling of the
hands and the feet, horripilation, change of colour and loss of voice. Its Transitory states are
paralysis, perspiration, choking voice, horripilation, trembling, loss of voice, change of colour, fear,
stupefaction, dejection, agitation, restlessness, inactivity, fear, epilepsy and death and the like.

2.2g  Bhibhatsa rasa (the disgusting/odious)

Like the earlier rasa, this too provides very few instances in the Indian tradition. One of the few
examples is in Mahabharatha where the disrobing of Draupadi takes place.

Natyasastra  speaks  about this rasa thus:

Now the rasa known as bibhatsa has disgust as its permanent emotion. It arises from
such vibhavas as discussing, hearing, or seeing what is ugly, unpleasant, unclear and undesired
(VI.72)…it arises from seeing something one doesn’t like, from unpleasant smells, tastes, physical
contacts, words and from many violent trembling of the body.(VI.73)

The odious (bibhatsa) sentiment has as its basis the dominant state of disgust. It is created by
determinants like hearing of unpleasant, offensive, impure and harmful things or seeing them or
discussing them. It is to be represented on the stage by consequents such as stopping the movement
of all the limbs, narrowing down of the mouth, vomiting, spitting, shaking the limbs [in disgust] and
the like. Transitory states in it are epilepsy, delusion, agitation, fainting, sickness, death and the like.

2.2h  Adbhuta rasa (the marvellous/wonderful)

Natyasastra  writes thus about this rasa:

The rasa called adbhuta has for its permanent emotion wonder. It arises from such vibhavas as
seeing heavenly beings, gaining one’s desired object, going to a temple, a gardern or a meeting
place, or flying chariot, a magic show or a juggler’s show (VI.74)

The Marvellous (adbhuta) Sentiment has as its basis the dominant state of astonishment. It is
created by determinants such as sight of heavenly beings or events, attainment of desired objects,
entrance into a superior mansion, temple, audience hall (sabha), a seven – storied palace and
(seeing) illusory and magical acts. It is to be represented on the stage by consequents such as wide
opening of eyes, looking with fixed gaze, hooripilation, tears [ of joy] perspiration, joy, uttering
words of approbation, making gifts, crying incessantly ha, ha, ha waving the end of dhoti or sari, and
movement of fingers and the like. Transitory states in it are weeping, paralysis, perspiration like.
Transitory states in it are weeping, paralysis, perspiration, chocking voice, horripilation, agitation,
hurry, inactivity, death and the like.

2.2i  Santa rasa (the marvellous/wonderful)

This rasa is not mentioned in Natyasastra as Bharata mentions only eight rasas. The santa rasa was
interpolated by later aestheticians. It is emphasized again and again as being unique among
the rasas and as being different from the other eight. The reasons are many

For one, as mentioned in Natyasastra all the rasas arise from it and finally merge into it. Both
in Natyasastra andAbhinavabharati  it is considered the original and natural state of mind from
which, due to various causes the different emotions arise. Secondly, in the absence of stimuli,
desires abate and lead to a calm. Thus, it is different from the other rasas, leading one away from
the emotions. (Patnaik, 226)

K.R.S. Iyengar writes in the foreword to Krishnamoorthy’s translation of Dhvanyaloka:

In the appreciation of literature, rasa or communicated sensibility is the deciding factor

and dhvani or the richness of the undertones is the soul of poetry. Such in a nutshell was therasa-
dhvani theory , perhaps the most rewarding peak of all the Himalayas of Sanskrit treatises on poetics
(ii)

2.2j Rasa Sahridaya

Not everybody, according to Abhinava Gupta, has the intrinsic capacity to taste a poem. Individuals
possessed of aesthetic sensibility are called possessed of heart, those who have the consent of the
heart sahrdaya.   The fact of being possessed of heart is defined in the following way.

The faculty of self – identification with the events represented (the determinants, etc.,) demands
that the mirror of the mind should be made completely clear, by means of repeated acquaintance
with and practice of poetry. The possessed of heart, those who possess the consent of their own
hearts, are these who have this faculty. For it has been said, “the tasting of that which finds the
consent of the heart arouses the rasa. The body is pervaded   by, it as dry wood by the fire”. The
mind and heart must be mirror-like (visada, vimala), ready to receive all the images which are
reflected in them (qtd. in 43)

2.3. Dhwani

About the importance of dhwani, Iyengar writes, “Dhwani in poetry is really this soul-quality which is
at once the excuse and the explanation of the rest” (v)

In Dhwani, the conventional meaning is secondary or the conventional meaning of the words

becomes secondary and the implied meaning becomes more important. Explicit meaning is not very
important in Dhwani. Poetic devices like simile, metaphor or alliteration do not qualify into dhwani.
Simile and alliteration make the explicit meaning or sound important and cannot be called dhwani.
Suggestion is conditioned by only the relation between the suggested and the person or thing that
suggests. It is never found in the beauty of the expressed and the expression.

            There are some aestheticians who argue that figure of speech like condensed metaphor,
paraleipsis, metonymy, perphrasis, Fancied Denial, Ellipsis, implying a simile, and merging of figures
may be treated as examples of Dhwani (Sethuraman).  The idea is that in a work of poetry an explicit
meaning renders itself secondary or when a word renders its own denotative meaning secondary
and each of these suggests another sense, it can be called Dhwani. Suggestion is possible only when
the suggested element is exclusively important. This is not so in condensed Metaphor and the like.

Wherever we find the implied meaning unimportant and merely ancillary to the expressed, we
should clearly conclude that such instances contain only figures like the condensed Metaphor. In
places where the implied is just a hint or where the implied is just subsidiary to the expressed, or
where the importance of the implied is not clearly discernible there is no Dhwani.Dhwani can be
explained better through examples.

            A tercet from  Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) ‘Inferno’ , which is quoted in Allen Tate’s essay,
“Tension in Poetry” (Ramaswamy, 373-386) may serve as an example for Dhwani at its best. The
tercet is from a scene where Dante meets the lovers, Paolo and Franscesca. The lovers are in the
second circle of hell where illicit lovers are placed. Their crime is neither adultery nor pandering but
incontinence. When Dante sees the lovers they are in a high wind, the symbol of lust. When
Franscesa’s conversation with the poet begins, the wind dies down, and she tells him where she was
born, in these lines:

                        The town where I was born sits on the shore,

                        Whither the Po descends to be at peace

                        Together with the streams that follow him.

Dante use the term serguaci  to describe the followers. The serguaci are not merely followers. They
are pursuers also.  Tate writes

Although Francesca has told Dante where she lives, in the most directly descriptive language
possible, she has told him more than that. Without the least imposition of strain upon the firmly
denoted natural setting, she fuses herself with the river Po near which she was born. By a subtle shift
of focus we see the pursued river as Francesca in Hell: the pursuing tributaries at once pursue and
become one with the pursued; that is to say, Francesca has completely absorbed the substance of
her sin—she is the sin. (384)

The use of Dhwani in the lines is very obvious even to an amateur reader of Dante. A totally different
meaning other than the implied is arrived at by the reader on careful examination of the lines.

             Again, the example given by Krishna Chaitanya is illustrative of the greatness of dhwani as an
aesthetic principle. In the free rendering of theMahabharata by Ezhuttachhan, the sixteenth century
poet of Kerala, queen mother Gandhari wails over the mangled body of her son Dussasana.

                        Child, how can I bear to see the breast

                        Bhima drank deeply from

                        The breast shattered, ripped asunder? (18)

            The words Gandhari uses—“child…breast…drank from”—resurrect from the past the days
when Dussasana was an infant, contentedly drawing life-conserving nourishment from his mother’s
breast, and Bhima too was a similar infant. The two images are brought together without the
slightest hint of comparison. Krishna Chaitanya adds,

In fact, they cannot be compared, for the images are polar opposites: one representing the most
important development in biological evolution which tempered the bitterness of the struggle for
existence with the rise of the mammalian and parental care and contributed, at the level of man, to
profound humanisation; the other representing the atavistic regression to bestiality and cannibalism
that is a perennial danger in human nature. The images collide and explode in a burst of apocalyptic
meaning. (18)

2.3b. The  basic assumption of Anandavardhana is that though the meaning complex of literature
appears to be an integrated whole, closer scrutiny shows that it has two aspects, one the expressed
and the other the suggested one.

            While the expressed meaning is understood by all, the suggested meaning can be grasped
only by people of refined sensibility. While mere grammar and lexis may suffice to understand the
expressed meaning, this is not the case with the suggested meaning, which is explored imaginatively
by a discerning reader who is not fully satisfied with the expressed content of literature alone. The
expressed meaning is nothing but the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and those who believe that it is
the be-all and end-all of literature miss its soul.

Anandavardhana maintains that the suggested sense, manifested in poetry by means of the peculiar
suggestive power existing in the sound and sense of the poetic language, may be either be an idea,
figure or an emotion (Rasa). Among these three, Rasa occupies the pivotal position since all the
elements of poetry, including even the suggested idea and figure finally resolve into the ultimate
significance. Accordingly, Rasa is reckoned as the soul of poetry, which is the fountain-spring of all
poetic outpourings. 

2.3c Based on the importance enjoyed by the suggested meaning, Anandavardhana proposes a novel

hierarchy for poetry.

i.        Dhwani proper—the suggested element is the most prominent in poetry.

ii.     Gunibhutavyangya—the suggested element is subordinated to the expressed meaning, as in the

case of ostentatious figures of speech, or in poems wherein the poet is unduly obsessed with the
surface features of expression to the detriment of its suggested content.

iii.   Citrakavya—this is poetry which does not have any suggestive charm at all, with no emotive
significance worth mentioning is designated pictorial poetry.

2.3d Connotation and Denotation

The twin concepts of connotation and denotation mean more or less the same as suggestion and
direct statement. Denotation stands for the primary meaning of a word, as is specified by a
dictionary. The range of meaning evoked or implied by it is called its connotation.  Thus while the
word ‘home’ denotes the place where one lives, its connotations are privacy, intimacy and coziness.
Many instances of Dhwani cited by Anandavardhana under the variety of Padaprakasa can be
regarded as cases of connotation. Thus the Meghasandesa   passage,  “I am Rama. I can understand
everything”. The word ‘Rama’ connotes the innumerable calamities undergone by the hero.

2.4. Aucitya
“In one way, the greatest Guna or Excellence of poetry is Aucitya and it comprehends all the
other gunas, and the greatest dosa or flaw comprehending other flaws, is its absence, Anaucitya.”
writes Raghavan (247).

            Ksemendra was the proponent of Auchitya. He was the pupil of Abhinava Gupta. Among his
works, it is his Aucityavicaracarca that deals with the concept of propriety or Aucitya. Although small
in size, the book belongs to the class called Prasthana—works which expound a new path.

            In his Aucityavicaracarcca,  Acarya Ksemendra points out “the propriety (aucitya) is the soul of
poetry, and when any description, alamkara, rasa etc. oversteps its proper bounds it hurts the rasa
and mars the poetry” ( De, 554)

Aucitya is defined as harmony and in one aspect it is proportion between the whole and the parts,
between the chief and the subsidiary. This proportion is all the morals and beauty in art. Almost all
the aestheticians—Bhamaha, Dandin, Lollata, Rudrata and Abhinava Gupta—speak about Aucitya.
The term was not used by Anandavardhana as it came to be used after his time.

Anandavardhana lays down that the ‘soul’ of poetry is Rasa or Rasa-dhwani.  The most essential
thing in rasa is Aucitya. The Aucitya of character and action are essential for the derivation of rasa.
Nothing hinders rasa asanauchitya or impropriety. Aucitya or propriety is the greatest secret ofrasa.

            Rajasekhara, the author of Kavya-mimamsa, speaks of Aucitya under poetic culture and

leaning and opines that all poetic culture is only the discrimination of the proper and the
improper, Ucita and Anucita (Raghavan, 253) Abhinava Gupta takes his aesthetic position on the
tripod of Rasa, Dhwani and Aucitya

            In Kuntaka also the concept of Aucitya is predominant. In almost all cases of Vakrata, the test
or proof of charm is Aucitya. As Raghavan adds:

When we see Kuntaka equating pada-aucitya with pada-vakrata, we may well exclaim that

his vakroti is only another name for Aucitya…Kuntaka’s vakrokti and Ksemendra’sAucitya are
identical (257)

Defining aucitya (propriety), Kshemendra mentions twenty seven places in which propriety should
be present. All these proprieties may be divided into five major proprieties: Bhasha aucitya,
(propriety of diction),saundaryaucitya (propriety of aesthetics), Vyakaranaucitya (propriety of
grammar), samskriti aucitya (propriety of culture), pratibha aucitya(propriety of creative genius).
Each of the five categories includes the various constituents of language in them.

Indian aestheticians viewed poets as the arbitrators of laws and as founders of civil society.
Assessment of Indian literary theories shows that literature embodies a significant aspect of human
experience in the stylized linguistic form. It is based on a carefully built linguistic system and its
language is more opaque, reflective than the everyday language. Indian aesthetics always mentioned
that a certain obliqueness of suggestion is the most distinguishing characteristic of literary language.