Indian Theories of Aesthetics - Rasa

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If equivalence is not a major issue for Indian translators, what are the problems that they face? Does it mean that translation can be a free-for-all exercise? Not quite. We might not be overly concerned about meaning and equivalence, but there are other areas that we are careful about. The critic T. R. S. Sharma has identified four major areas in which translators face problems – rasa, riti, alamkara and dhvani. One of the main theories, if not the most important theory, of Sanskrit aesthetics is the theory of rasa. Propounded by Bharata in his work Natyashastra, rasa is the ultimate emotional pleasure that can be derived from a work of art. Bharata gives a formula for the arousal of rasa – vibhavanubhava vyabhichari samyogad rasa nispatti – which means that the combination of vibhava, anubhava and vyabhichari bhava gives rise to rasa. Vibhavas are the stimulants of emotions, anubhavas the physical responses that go with these emotional responses and vyabhichari bhavas are transitory emotions. The basic emotions (bhavas) of the reader or spectator, who reads / watches a literary text or performance, are aroused by the vibhavas. The emotional response is indicated by the anubhavas and vyabhichari bhavas.Rasa is this heightened emotional response to the text. Critics differed as to how rasa could be aroused, but none disputed Bharata's statement that rasa is the ultimate purpose of a work of art. Sharma calls rasa the ‘shaping principle' or that quality which gives the work of art its distinctive quality. He is of the view that this ‘inner rhetoricity' of rasa would give the translator the overall orientation of the text. ("Translating Literary Texts through Indian Poetics: A Phenomenological Study" http:/www.anukriti.net/tt1/article-k/a3.html//) So, it is very important for a translator to be able to recognize the rasa of a work, before
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