South Asia — India
The Indian (Sanskrit) dramatic and aesthetic tradition — the theory of rasa articulated in the Natyashastra (the ancient Sanskrit treatise on dramaturgy attributed to Bharata Muni) and developed across Indian poetics, drama, dance, and music.
Aesthetic Structure. A view in which the aim of art is rasa — the emotional "flavor" or aesthetic sentiment savored by the audience, arising from the artful composition and balance of emotional states. The Natyashastra names the primary rasas (the navarasa: shringara/love, hasya/comic, karuna/compassion, raudra/fury, vira/heroic, bhayanaka/terror, bibhatsa/disgust, adbhuta/wonder, and shanta/peace), each arising from an underlying durable emotion (sthayi bhava) through its causes (vibhava), manifestations (anubhava), and the play of transitory emotions (vyabhichari bhava). The art is one of balance and composition: the emotional flavors evoked, balanced, and brought to their savoring (rasa nishpatti), often resolving toward shanta (peace).
Structure. The composition and balance of emotional flavors — a primary rasa established, its emotional foundation set, the causes and manifestations evoked, the transitory emotions played, and the rasa realized and savored, balanced and often resolving toward peace. The structure is one of emotional balance and composition rather than conflict-driven plot.
The Valued. Rasa (the savored emotional flavor). The bhavas (the emotional states). The balance and composition of the emotional flavors. Vibhava (the causes of emotion), anubhava (its manifestations), vyabhichari bhava (the transitory emotions). Rasa nishpatti (the realization/savoring of rasa). Shanta (peace) as the resolving flavor. ---
Valued Aesthetic Elements. The rasas (the emotional flavors). The sthayi bhavas (the durable underlying emotions). Vibhava (causes/determinants), anubhava (manifestations/consequents), and vyabhichari bhava (transitory emotions). Rasa nishpatti (the production/savoring of rasa). The balance and composition of the emotional flavors. Shanta (peace).
Aesthetic Discipline. Compose and balance the emotional flavors; evoke the rasa through its causes and manifestations; play the transitory emotions to enrich it; bring the rasa to its savoring; and, in the fullest vision, resolve toward shanta (peace). The art is one of emotional balance and composition. ---
`balance`
Rasa is an architecture of balance — the artful composition and balancing of emotional flavors (rasas) and states (bhavas) into an aesthetic whole to be savored. It is not driven by conflict toward a climax but composed as a balance of emotional flavors: a primary rasa established and balanced with others, the causes and manifestations evoked, the transitory emotions played, the whole brought into balance and savoring, often resolving toward shanta (peace). The structure is the balanced composition of emotional flavor — balance architecture in its emotional-aesthetic Indian form.
Primary Rasa (the central emotional flavor) → Bhava Foundation (the emotional setting) → Character Rasa Profiles (the emotional flavors of the characters) → Rasa Sandhi (the transitions/junctures among the flavors) → Vibhava (the causes of emotion) → Anubhava (the manifestations of emotion) → Vyabhichari Bhavas (the transitory emotions) → Rasa Nishpatti (the realization/savoring of rasa) → Shanta Samapti (the peaceful resolution). ---