In this session, we will read about and discuss the concept of love as it was imagined in early Hindi literature. As discussed earlier in the course, śṛṅgār (शृंगार) or erotic love carried specific meanings and involved specific conventions in the world of early Hindi poetry. Not just any situation could be romantic; the characters, setting, situation, dialogue, and details had to follow particular rules in order to bring about the desired effect (and affect) in the listener or reader.

In that regard, we will discuss the concept of rasa (रस), literally ‘juice’ or ‘essence’, but in this context referring to the pleasure that one experiences when apprehending an aesthetic object (like a play, a poem, or a painting). This pleasure is distinct from ‘everyday’ emotions like joy, anger, sadness, fear, etc. (Indeed it must be so, otherwise why would we enjoy watching tragedies and horror films?)

In the beginning of the Ras-Sārāṁś, Bhikharidas lays out the basic components of the aesthetic theory of rasa, including vibhāva, anubhāva, sthāyībhāva, etc. As you read, do not worry too much about how each of these components work– we will discuss this in class– but do pay attention to how Bhikharidas defines each of them, and how they fit together into a system.

Also note the importance given to śṛṅgār-– it is quite explicitly the ‘first’ among the rasas.

For help in reading the verses, see the following video:

 

 

Vocabulary:

Verse 8

रसिक m.  a connoisseur, someone who takes pleasure in rasa, i.e. aesthetic enjoyment.

रस m. juice, essence, flavor, aesthetic sentiment or effect.

हेत (tadbhava form of Sanskrit हेतु) m. 1. motive, purpose; object; vested interest. 2. cause, reason; reason for an inference. 3. meaning, purport; deduction (from facts). 4. fig. Av. attachment, love.

Verse 9

नवरस – new flavour, fresh character
प्रथम – first
सिँगार – erotic love
पुनि – moreover, thereafter
हास – to laugh
करून – to do (*)
अरु – and (*)
बीर – illness

अद्भुत – extreme
रूद्र – name for shiv
बीभत्स – loathsome, abhorrence
भय – fear
सांत – limited, finite
सुनौ – listen
कबि – poet (*)
धीर – mild, steady, patient

Verse 10

जासॊँ – from where
रस – flavour, character
उत्पत्र – good work, good writing
सो – with/ from/ to
बिभाव – difference, divisibility; cause of emotion (*)
उर – the heart, chest (*)
आनि – poet/ honour, vow, oath (*)

आलंबन-उ६ीपनौ – foundation
सो – with/ from/ to
दूै – prayer
बिधि – method, law
पहिजनि – first generation

Verse 11

कहूँ – कहीं – somewhere
क्रिया – verb/action
बचन – speech/dialogue
चेषटा – चेष्टा – movement, gesture, expression
देखि – seen, perfective/imperative
जी – heart
गति – path; movement
जानी -perfective, from जानना, to know
परै – from पडना; present subjunctive
बिसेखि – to describe; detail; emphasize

Verse 12

प्रतिरसन – each rasa
उपजै – is born; produced
हिये – heart; locative
बिकार – change
ताको – उसका
थाई – stable
बरनत – describes
बुद्धिउदार – generous with intellect

Verse 13

बरनि — to choose *
नायिका – heroine
नायकहि — hero *
दरसालंबन — ?
नीति — manner of conducting oneself
सोई — carrier
सृंगार — ?
प्रीति — love, affection

Verse 14

राधा — Krishna’s Raddha
राधारमन — ?
सिँगार — erotic love
अंग — part of
उन्ह — kind, type, appearance *
वारौँ — increase
कोटि — category, standard
रति — in love
अनंग — bodiless

Verse 15

अालंबन-foundational factors, characters
विभाव-m. any cause of a particular emotion (that which gives rise to rasa)
सुंदरता- f. beauty
बरननु- first person subjunctive present (?), I describe
तरुनि- f. youth
समति- f. good understanding, good disposition
नायिका- f. Heroine
सोइ- demonstrative correlative pronoun
सोभा- (शोभा), radiant, splendid
कांति- luster
सुदीप्ति- sparkling, brightness, splendor
जुत- adj. joined to, possessed of
बरनत- imperfective, he/she/it describes