Abhinavagupta: Works and Contribution to Indian Art & Culture
Abhinavagupta was a Kashmiri Saiva philosopher, who lived in 1000 AD, exactly a millennium ago. He was one of the world’s greatest philosophers and literary critics, and a mystic and aesthetician par excellence. His contribution to Indian philosophy, literature, drama and performing art is immense. He is to South Asia what Plato or Aristotle were to western civilization.
Contribution of Abhinavgupta to Rasa-Bhava theory
The Rasa-Bhava is the central concept in Indian performing arts such as dance, drama, cinema, literature etc. Bhava means “to become”. Bhava is the state of mind while Rasa is the aesthetic flavour that results from that Bhava. The Bhava themselves carry no meaning in the absence of Rasa. Thus Rasa is basically forms and manifestations of Bhava in the form of multitude of sensations through taste, emotion, and delight. In other words, Rasa is the dominant emotional theme that is invoked in the audience. When we watch a movie, a sad scene makes us cry – that is Rasa. The Rasa-Bhava is what establishes a relationship between the performer and the audience.
The Rasa theory was basically propounded by Bharata in Natyashastra. He described eight Rasas viz. Śṛngāram (love, attractiveness), Hāsyam (laughter, comedy), Raudram (fury, wrath), Kāruṇyam (compassion, tragedy), Bībhatsam (disgust, aversion), Bhayānakam (horror, terror), Vīram (heroic mood) and Adbhutam (wonder, amazement).
Contribution of Abhinavgupta to Rasa theory
Abhinavagupta wrote Abhinavabhāratī, a commentary of Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata. For the first time he brought a technical definition of rasa. As per him, Rasa is the universal bliss of the atman coloured by the emotional tone of a drama. Abhivangupta introduced a ninth rasa called Śāntam which denotes the peace or tranquillity. These total nine rasas make the Navarasa.
Abhinavagupta’s other works
Abhinavagupta’s work is almost unparalleled in Indian intellectual history. Although, he is labeled as a Saiva philosopher, his works comprises of various currents of intellectual thinking such as Aesthetics, dramaturgy, music, tantra, yoga, literary criticism, devotional poetry, cognitive science, emotions, philosophy of mind, language. His works fall in various categories such as commentaries, poems, manuals of religious rituals, philosophy etc.
His most important work is Tantraloka, which is an encyclopedia of Tantra and synthesis of the Trika system {Trika System is another name of Kashmir Shavism and refers to three-fold science of man and his world}. The supplementary work to Tantraloka is Tantrasara which is a summary of the Tantraloka. His commentary known as Abhinavabharati on Bharat Muni’s Natyashastra forms an essential part of the Indian discourse on poetry, drama, dance and music.
Other writings include Pratyabhigya, which stands for ‘identifying’ and not attaining. Knowledge has always had a very important place in the Indian society. There is an unusual sense of humanity that exists in his commentary on the Gita. He is a more egalitarian, which can be observed in his works.
Need for recognition
The versatility of Abhinavagupta was such that his works are even today being researched in over fifty countries worldwide. For centuries, he was associated largely in the portals of south Indian Saivite tantrism. Acharya Abhinavagupta’s teachings are such a necessity for the contemporary society, but sadly he finds no mention in the school books today.
One central problem for the modern reader is the problem of translation. There is a more general problem with translations of Indian philosophical texts. While some projects like the Murty Classical Library are now addressing the problem, the difficult problem of translating Indian philosophical texts has still not been addressed. It is said that, even non-Greek readers can get a vivid sense of and use Greek texts in ways in which it is impossible to use translated Sanskrit texts.
The question of intellectual distance also distances modern readers from the works of genius like Abhinavagupta. Modern readers are embarrassed by references to tantrism and yoga. It can only be seen as an ideological resistance in marginalizing such works of great importance.
Using Abhinavagupta’s case, to establish a contested Kashmiri identity alone would be an injustice. He has given great messages to the world. His knowledge and teachings should be made to reach the masses.
