BharatNotes What is Navarasa?
Navarasa (Sanskrit: nava = nine, rasa = essence/sentiment) is the set of nine aesthetic emotions that a performer or artist seeks to evoke in a connoisseur (rasika) through drama, dance, music, sculpture and poetry. The theory is the cornerstone of Indian aesthetics and is rooted in the Natyashastra, the treatise on the dramatic arts attributed to sage Bharata Muni and conventionally dated between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE.
Bharata originally codified eight rasas. A ninth — Shanta (the peaceful/tranquil) — was added by later thinkers, most authoritatively by the Kashmiri Shaivite philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 10th–11th century CE) in his commentary Abhinavabharati. Abhinavagupta regarded Shanta as the ground from which all other rasas emerge and into which they dissolve.
The Nine Rasas
Each rasa corresponds to a sthayi bhava (stable dominant emotion). The classical pairings are:
| Rasa | Sentiment | Sthayi Bhava (dominant emotion) |
|---|---|---|
| Shringara | Love / the erotic | Rati (delight) |
| Hasya | Laughter / the comic | Hasa (mirth) |
| Karuna | Compassion / pathos | Shoka (sorrow) |
| Raudra | Anger / fury | Krodha (anger) |
| Veera | Heroism / valour | Utsaha (energy/courage) |
| Bhayanaka | Fear / terror | Bhaya (fear) |
| Bibhatsa | Disgust / the odious | Jugupsa (aversion) |
| Adbhuta | Wonder / the marvellous | Vismaya (astonishment) |
| Shanta | Tranquillity / peace | Sama / Shama (calm) |
The first eight are Bharata's; Shanta is the later ninth, making the total nine.
How Rasa is Created
Bharata's celebrated rasa-sutra states: "Vibhava-anubhava-vyabhichari-samyogad rasa-nishpattih" — rasa is produced from the union of:
- Vibhava — determinants (the cause of the emotion, e.g. the hero/heroine, time, place).
- Anubhava — consequents (outward physical expression of the emotion).
- Vyabhichari (Sanchari) bhava — the 33 transient emotional states that flit through a performance.
When these nourish the sthayi bhava, the dominant emotion is heightened into rasa — a relished, generalised aesthetic experience co-created between the performer and a receptive spectator.
Significance and Current Relevance
The Navarasa framework remains the working vocabulary of India's classical performing arts. Abhinaya (expression) in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi and Odissi is built on conveying these rasas through facial expression, gesture and posture; each rasa is also conventionally associated with a presiding deity and a colour. Beyond performance, the theory has shaped Sanskrit poetics (alankara-shastra), temple sculpture and even modern cinema and design.
UPSC Angle
For GS1 Art and Culture, candidates should remember: the source text (Natyashastra), its author (Bharata Muni), the eight-original-plus-Shanta history, and Abhinavagupta's contribution. The most commonly examined nuance is the distinction between eight rasas (Bharata) and nine rasas / Navarasa (post-Abhinavagupta). Linking Navarasa to specific dance forms and to the concept of abhinaya strengthens Mains answers on the depth and continuity of Indian aesthetic traditions.
