Rasa in Aesthetics

Book Detail

• Author: Patnaik, Priyadarshi
• Publisher: D.K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd.
• Edition: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• ISBN: 9788124600818
• Number of Pages: 294
• Release Date: 01-12-1996
• Package Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Language: English

Overview: In this insightful book, Dr. Priyadarshi Patnaik explores the ancient Indian tradition of aesthetic criticism through the lens of rasa theory, which is over two millennia old. First articulated in Bharata's Natya Shastra, rasa theory addresses the emotive content of art—how emotions are depicted, interpreted, and conveyed. Patnaik’s work offers a fresh examination of rasa theory, showing its universal applicability to not only Indian literature but also modern Western classics and other global literary traditions.

Key Themes:

• Rasa Theory: A deep dive into the nine primary rasas (emotions) as outlined in Natya Shastra and explained through the commentaries of Abhinavagupta, applying them to various genres of literature.
• Transcultural Application: The book explores how rasa theory can be applied to modern Western literature, including works by authors like Lawrence, Mayakovsky, Kafka, Camus, Conrad, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Marquez, among others.
• Global Literature: It includes the application of rasa to other literary forms, such as Chinese love lyrics and Japanese haiku poems.
• Literary Criticism: Dr. Patnaik investigates rasa theory as a literary and aesthetic theory, analyzing how it influences the interpretation of texts and the audience's emotional response.
• Comparative Literary Criticism: The book takes a comparative approach to literature, bridging Eastern and Western literary traditions to demonstrate the universality of rasa theory.

Target Audience:

• Scholars of Indology, Indian aesthetics, and comparative literary criticism.
• Students and professionals of literature and philosophy.
• Anyone interested in the intersection of ancient Indian theories and modern literary analysis.

Key Insights:

• The universal applicability of rasa theory across different cultures and literary traditions.
• A new framework for understanding the emotional depth in both classical and modern literary works.
• An exploration of how modern literary texts align with or differ from ancient Indian concepts of aesthetics.

Patnaik’s work is a bold and innovative approach to applying ancient Indian literary criticism to modern texts, providing an enriching perspective for students, scholars, and literary critics alike.