Application of Rasa Siddhānta in Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa

A Research Proposal
Submitted for the
Registration to
the Programme of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in
English

Submitted by: Supervisor:

Mohini Sharma Dr Pinki Arora
Ph.D. (English) Assistant Professor
Roll No. 210124 Department of English & Foreign Languages

Department of English and Foreign Languages

Central University of Haryana
September, 2022
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Application of Rasa Siddhānta in Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa

Area of Research
In Indian Sanskrit poetics, Rasa has been considered as the soul of the poetry. In Indian

mystics, it is regarded as a substitute for beauty and joy. Rasa has been described as ‘Akhand

Swaprakasananda’, ‘Chinmay’, ‘Brahmananda – Sahodar’ by various Acharyas. By the time of

Bharat, the meaning of Rasa had developed a lot. This is confirmed by the fact that Bharata has

mentioned the names of some previous Acharyas in his book, but the books written by the previous

Acharyas are not available today. Therefore, Natyashastra is the first book available in which rasa

has been discussed.

Acharya Bharat Muni is considered to be the original founder of the Rasa Sampradaya.

Bharata Muni’s dramaturgy is mainly related to music, poetry, drama and Rasa. In this, the first

three are the means, through which the fourth one is perceived, which is called Rasanubhuti. The

ultimate goal of drama is the corium i.e. the result of rasa and its enjoyment through harmony.

Like the Vira rasa, it does not resemble the Bhayanaka rasa. Actors in the theatre create feelings

of beauty and joy by infusing 'rasa' into the hearts of the audience. Drashya-Shravya Kavya is

considered the highest art, where the pleasure for both eyes and ears are described simultaneously.

The Natyashastra, composed by Bharata, is the first to describe a systematic discussion on the

theory of rasa. The aim of any art in Indian culture is not the beauty but the realization of rasa.

Rasa is the direct source of pleasure and is regarded as the goal because it pervades all arts. The

purpose of this present research endeavor is to find out the Rasa in Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa, hence,

it would be worthwhile to talk about this grand epic.

According to the beliefs, it is said that in Tretayuga, the Vedas are manifested in the form

of Shrimadrāmāyaṇa by Maharishi Valmiki. Therefore, the Rāmāyaṇa enjoys the status of Vedas.
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Being the ādikāvya of dharma, it is the first roundabout of the holy character of God. Each verse

contains the divine fragrance of infinite flowers of God’s divine qualities, truth, harmony, mercy,

forgiveness, mildness, patience, seriousness, knowledge, might, wisdom-pigmentation, guru-

bhakti, friendship and compassion.

The Rāmāyaṇa is not only an epic but an essential part of Indian culture for more than 2000

years. Till then, the Rāmāyaṇa has been translated into various Indian and European languages. It

got popular not only in India but in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Rāmāyaṇa is

embedded in our culture, life, art, and literature and motivating the world at present. It is the oldest

cultural tradition which is surviving in the world till now. The other epics of the west like Iliad,

Aeneid have taken the last breath long back in Greece but the Rāmāyaṇa is still inspiring,

motivating, and enlightening. The time of its composition is not certain, but some historians

believe that it is written somewhere between 500 and 100 BCE.

Maharishi Valmiki's Ramayana is a mirror of ancient Aryan civilization and culture. In it,

Shri Ram is shown as an ideal friend, ideal brother, ideal husband, and ideal emperor while

Lakshman can be seen as the ideal brother. The highest culmination of Shri Ram’s truthfulness,

justice and mother-father devotion is found in Ramayana. Valmiki’s Ramayana holds the highest

position among the epics of the highest quality in different languages of the world. It describes the

theism, piety, devotion to God, lofty and divine sentiments and high moral ideals, which is rare

elsewhere.

Topic of Research

Rasa Siddhānta was originally propounded from the perspective of drama and actually lays

the greatest emphasis on the principle of emotion. Bharata has defined Rasa in Nāțyaśāstra as

“vibhāvanubhāvavyābhicārisamyogata Rasanisapattih”. It means rasa is defined as something

which is produced a combination of three things i.e. Vibhava, Anubhava and Vyabhicharisbhava.
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Vibhava means cause due to which the emotion in the heart of the Sahardaya is awakened.

Anubhava means the physical changes in the characters due to rise of that emotion. These changes

can be manifested physically, or orally, or by dress or by involuntarily behaviour. Vyabhicharis

Bhava are the transitory emotions which help in the realization of rasa. It reinforces the permanent

emotions. It transmits all the rasas.

Bharat, while defining rasa, says that rasa is an emotional artistic experience represented

by theatrical instruments. Mistaking a rope for a snake certainly creates fear, but knowingly seeing

a rope as a snake creates amusement, not fear. For the better understanding of rasa, it is important

to know about Stahyi Bhava as well. Those perpetuated emotions, which always exist in the mind,

but arise due to favorable reasons, they are called Stahyi Bhava. There is a rasa associated with

each Sthayi bhava. Bharata Muni has defined eight rasas in Natyashastra.

शृगं ार हा(य क+ण रौ.वीर भयानकाः।

वीभ5सा7ुतसं:ौ चे5य=ौ नाट्ये रसाः (मृता ।।

Bharata Muni has described eight Rasas: Srngara, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Vira,

Bhayanaka, Bibhatsa, and Adbhuta. Although among these eight rasas, Bharata considered four to

be the most important i.e. Srngara, Karuna, Vira and Bibhatsa Rasa. Later Achrayas developed

and recognized three more rasas, which are Shant, Vatsalya and Bhakti Rasa.

1. Srngara Rasa: The basis of Srngara rasa is the mutual attraction or separation of men and

women. When the combination of Vibhava, Anubhava and Vyabhicharis Bhava produces

permanent feelings of love, it is called Srngara Rasa.

2. Hasya Rasa: A person’s distorted shape, dress, speech, and gesture that produce laughter

is called Hasya Rasa. Its constituents are of the following types – Sthayi Bhava - laughter.

Alambana- the deformity, shape, dress, speech etc. of someone. Uddipana- gestures that
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produce laughter. Anubhava- movement of lips, nose, mouth. Vyabhicharis- laziness, sleep

etc.

3. Karuna Rasa: The loss of some object or death of loved one, which produces grief is called

Karuna Rasa. Its constituents are of the following types – Sthayi Bhava - grief. Alambana-

the dead body of loved ones. Anubhava- moaning, relaxation, tears. Vyabhicharis - nirved,

glani, moha.

4. Vira Rasa: The feeling of enthusiasm that arises in the heart during a difficult task or war

is called Vira rasa. Its constituents are of the following types – Sthayi Bhava - enthusiasm.

Alambana- enemy. Ashrayalambana- Vira/hero. Uddipana- the sound of musical

instrument in the war. Anubhav- excitement, fluttering of limbs.

5. Raudra Rasa: The anger that is generated by teasing an enemy or an unscrupulous person,

teasing or insulting teachers, etc., gets saturated with vibhava, anubhava and Vyabhicharis

becomes unpleasant and produces Raudra rasa. Its components are as follows – Sthayi

Bhava - anger. Alambana- enemy, traitor, traitor, evil person. Uddipana- bad words, crimes

committed by enemies. Anubhava- Redness of the eyes. Vyabhicharis- enchantment,

inertia, pride.

6. Bhayanaka Rasa: A description of a fearful object, situation or person that evokes fear or

a sense of dread in the heart, is called Bhayanaka rasa. Its components are as follows–

sthayi bhava – fear. Alambana - a terrible sight. Uddipana – fainting, tremors, sweating.

Vyabhicharis - impulse, doubt, pity.

7. Bibhatsa rasa: When due to certain circumstances or objects, the feeling of disgust arises

in the mind is called Bibhatsa rasa. Its components are as follows– sthayi bhava – disgust.

Alambana - stench, flesh, blood, cremation. Uddipana – rotting of flesh etc., scavenging of
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dead bodies by vultures. Anubhava- spitting, constriction of nostrils. Vyabhicharis -

disease, infatuation, inertia.

8. Adbhuta Rasa: By seeing the sight of some extraordinary object, a permanent feeling called

surprise arises in the mind and it is converted into Adbhuta rasa after being combined with

Vibhava. Its components are as follows – sthayi bhava - surprise. Alambana- An object of

surprise. Uddipana- the qualities of alambana. Anubhava- confusion. Vyabhicharis-

argument, harsh, impulsiveness.

The Rāmāyaṇa is written in twenty-two languages. The story of Rama is told in around 22

languages including Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Nepali and Tibetan. However, there are around 25

versions of Rāmāyaṇa available at present, but Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa is considered the complete

one. It is the most influential one among the other versions. He has also written other versions of

Rāmāyaṇa which are known as Yogavasistha or Vashishtha Rāmāyaṇa, Anand Rāmāyaṇa,

Agastya Rāmāyaṇa, and Adbhut Rāmāyaṇa.

The epic Rāmāyaṇa has a total of 24,000 verses, 500 cantos and 7 books (episodes). The

names of these seven books/episodes are – Balkanda, Ayodhyakanda, Aranyakanda,

Kishkindhakanda, Sunderkanda, Yuddhkanda and Uttarkanda. Of these, the largest chapter is

Balkand and the smallest is Kishkindhakanda. Balkanda, Ayodhyakanda, Aranyakanda,

Kishkindhakanda, Sunderkanda, Yuddhkanda and Uttarkanda consists of 77, 119, 75, 67, 68, 130,

and 111 cantos respectively. However, there are some critics/theorists, who believe that Uttarkand

is not the part of original Rāmāyaṇa, and it has been added later.

According to some research, the period of the Rāmāyaṇa has been told about 7323 BC i.e.

about 9341 years ago, while Lord Shri Ram was born on the ninth of Chaitra month in 5114 BC.
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It was composed in the 31st century BC. Whereas according to some research, its composition is

considered to be in 1400 BC.

The amalgamation of Rasa, Alankara and other poetic techniques enhances the poetic

beauty of the epic. The Rāmāyaṇa is not only based on the story of the life of Lord Rama but it

also represents religious, cultural, and social identity of India and its people. Maharishi Valmiki

beautifully uses all these elements while narrating the story of the Rāmāyaṇa in the poetic form.

The Rāmāyaṇa is not only a grand epic but is also considered one of the bricks of the solid

foundation on which Indian theatre stands. Although the various art forms like music, dance and

theatre were already in their prime at the time of the Rāmāyaṇa. There are lots of references of

music, dance and rasa throughout the text of the Rāmāyaṇa.

Review of Literature
Maharishi Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa is not only a text but a culture which is showing the path

to the humanity for centuries. It has been studied till now from various perspectives. It is not

possible to enlist here all the studies done on it till now. However, for the sake of understanding

the kind of research work done on Rāmāyaṇa, few research are enlisted here.

Rayavarapu Pavan Kumar, in his thesis, “Ascetic Culture in the Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa -

Characteristic Importance of Various Sages -A Study” talks about the significance of ascetic

culture in the opinion of different sages. Anushua Roy in her work “Narratives of Rāmāyaṇa: A

Sociological Inquiry” makes a study of the Rāmāyaṇa from sociological perspective. Researcher

Ramamurthi Govindram, in his thesis, “Management Concepts in Rāmāyaṇa” analyzed various

management concepts based on motivation, leadership and some other principles. The epic

explains Sanatan Dharma and Sadacharya. Mrs. S. Ramadevi in her work “The Concept of

Dharma: With reference to Rāmāyaṇa: A Critical Analysis” analyses that how Rāmāyaṇa focused
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upon the glory and deep devotional relationships followed by commitment and sacrifice. Another

research scholar named Sadhana Kumari in her thesis titled “Art of Characterization in Valmiki’s

Rāmāyaṇa” said that Rāmāyaṇa is pious epic based on the religious sentiments of Indians as the

hero of the story is not only a common man but the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Nabakishore

Hazra, in his thesis, “A Comparative Study of Valmiki’s and Kittitas’s Rāmāyaṇas their

Agreements and Divergences” studies the comparison and contrast between Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa

and Krttivasa’s Rāmāyaṇa. G. Varalakshmi, in her work, “Position of Women in Rāmāyaṇa” states

that the story of Rāmāyaṇa depicts the patriarchal family structure. Vijay Kumar in his article

entitled “Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa mein Rasa Nirupan” discusses different types of Rasas including

Karun-Rasa, Srangara Rasa, Hasya Rasa, Vira Rasa, Raudra Rasa, Bhayanaka Rasa, Bibhatsa

Rasa, Adhbhut Rasa, Shant Rasa, Vatsalya Rasa in Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa at superficial level. Priti

Sinha in her thesis “The theory of Karuna-Rasa and its practice in the Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa and the

Mahakavyas” discussed various Mahakavyas in the light of Karuna-Rasa. She has taken some

other Mahakavyas hence Rāmāyaṇa has not been given the proper weightage. Another article

written by Chandra Shekhar entitled “Rāmāyaṇa Mahkavya mein Pradhan-Rasa ke Roop Mein

Nirupit ‘Karun-Rasa’ ka Vivechan” states that though Valmiki has used all the different type of

Rasas in Rāmāyaṇa but Karuna-Rasa is the prominent Rasa.

After doing the minute scrutiny of the above-mentioned works, it can be concluded that

Maharishi Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa has not been studied extensively from the perspective of Rasa

theory till now. The research works done on Rāmāyaṇa from the perspective of Rasa theory are

not doing justice to this epic. There were some researchers who have written only few pages to

study this grand epic from the perspective of Rasa theory. On the other side, none of the researcher

has discussed various constituents of Rasa theory in Maharishi Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa. Hence, the
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present research proposed by the researcher is unique and no such kind of work has been done on

Maharishi Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa till now.

Research Objectives

The proposed research will have the following objectives:

- To study Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa from the perspective of Rasa Theory

- To analyse the various constituents of Rasa Theory in Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa

- To discuss the prominent and corresponding Rasa

Research Methodology
At the initial stage of the research, a framework of the Rasa theory will be made after

making a thorough study of Bharata’s Natyashastra and the works of other Acharyas on Rasa

theory. The researcher will collect all the critical readings available on Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa and

will study them to understand the creative art and craft of Mahrishi Valmiki. The material on

Rāmāyaṇa and Rasa theory will be collected from all the centers of oriental studies in India. The

researcher will apply textual analysis method to study the Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa under the lens of

Rasa theory. All constituents of the Rasa will be discussed in the Rasas found in the Rāmāyaṇa.

A complete study of all prominent and corresponding Rasa will be made to reach on the

conclusion. The thesis will follow the rules, norms and guidelines laid down in the MLA handbook

for the Writers of Research Papers (9th edition).

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Scope of Research

Maharshi Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa is magnificent epic about politics, religion, values,

aesthetic sentiment etc. He, who is also called Ādikavi, tells the story of a human being who is the

symbol of perfection. He describes that a human being can be elevated to the position of God if

he/she follows the path of religion or virtue. I. Panduranga Rao writes about Maharshi Valmiki in

the following way:

“He was purity, penance, benevolence, and meditation personified and the sole object of

his dedication and contemplation was Man, a man leaves his selfish existence and lives for

others identifying himself with the composite culture of the cosmic creation.”

The story of the epic revolves around Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman. The

Rāmāyaṇa is an epic about war, love, humor, magic realism. Rasa being a major aesthetic flavour

has been given the special weightage in the epic. The theory of Rasa, which has been propounded

by Bharata in his Nāțyaśāstra, dealt with the aesthetic pleasure one feels after the reading or

watching the performance of a piece of drama or poetry. Rāmāyaṇa is a very good example of

these aesthetic pleasures. Aacharya Ananadvardhana has mentioned the existence of Karuna-Rasa

in Rāmāyaṇa, according to him Maharishi Valmiki himself accepted Karuna-Rasa as a principal

Rasa of the epic. Anandavardhana mentions in his treatise Dhvanyāloka

रामायणे िह क+णो रसः (वयमिदकिवमाना सिू Eतः शोकः FोकGवमागतः इ5येववािदना ।

िनJयढू L स एव सीता5यNतिवयोगपयPNतमेव(वQबनधमपु रचयता।

Another renowned acharya Vishwanath also believed Karuna-Rasa as the prominent Rasa

in Rāmāyaṇa. He quoted, “Tatha Rāmāyaṇadinam bhāvita dukhhetita”. Though Acharya Valmiki

has not focused on the number of Rasas to be used in Rāmāyaṇa because his ultimate aim is to

write the story of Rama, but one can find almost all Rasas in the epic. Karuna Rasa has been given
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a significant place in the Rāmāyaṇa. Ānandvardhan has also described the importance of Karuna-

Rasa in his Dhavanyaloka.

Tentative Chapters

The tentative scheme of chapters is mentioned below:

Introduction

Chapter – I Rasa Theory

- Meaning
- Constituents
- Kinds

Chapter – II Bala Kanda or Book of Youth

Chapter – III Ayodhya Kanda or Book of Ayodhya

Chapter – IV Aranya Kanda or Book of Forest

Chapter – V Kishkindha Kanda or The Empire of Holy Monkeys

Chapter – VI Sundara Kanda or Book of Beauty

Chapter – VII Yuddha Kanda or Book of War

Chapter – VIII Uttar Kanda or Book of Love and Kush

Conclusion
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Works Cited:

Ānandvardhan. Dhavanyaloka. Translated by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Harvard

Oriental Series, 1990.

Ghosh, Manomohan, translator. Natya Shastra (with English Translations).

Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1951.

Srimad Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa Part-1. Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 1990.

Srimad Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa. Part-2. Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 2022.

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Select Bibliography

Primary Sources

Ghosh, Manomohan, translator. Natya Shastra (with English Translations). Calcutta: Asiatic

Society of Bengal, 1951.

Valmiki, Mahrishi. Valmiki Ramayanam. Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 1980.

Srimad Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa Part-1. Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 1990.

Srimad Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa Part-2. Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 1990.

Secondary Sources

Altekar, GS. Studies on Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1987.

Bose, Mandakranta, editor. The Rāmāyaṇa Revisited. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Brockington, J. L. “Religious Attitudes in Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic

Society. Volume 108, Issue 2, April 1976, pp. 108–129.

Brockington, John. The Sanskrit Epics. In Flood, Gavin. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 2006.

Gogoi, Hridayananda. “The Concept of Love & Peace”, Valmiki’s Rāmāyaṇa. July 5, 2020.

https://ssrn.com/abstract=3643746 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3643746

Goldman, R. P. “Ramah Sahalaksmanah: Psychological and Literary Aspects of the Composite

Hero of Valmiki's "Rāmāyaṇa”, Journal of Indian Philosophy. Vol. 8, Jan 1, 1980, p. 149.

Goldman, Robert P. “Historicising the Ramakatha: Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa and its medieval

commentators”, India International Centre Quarterly. Vol. 31, No. 4 (SPRING 2005), pp.

83-97.
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Gupt, Bharat. “Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa and the Nāțyaśāstra”, Sangeet Natak. Nos. 81-82: July-

December 1986, pp. 63-76.

Kumar, Sanjeev. “A study of social issues in the Rāmāyaṇa in the context of subcommentaries”,

International Journal of Sanskrit Research. 2020; 6(4): pp. 144-147.

Mifsud, Mari Lee. “Storytelling as Soul-Tuning: The Ancient Rhetoric of Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa”

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Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press, 2009.

Muniapan, Balakrishnan and Biswajit Satpathy. “Ancient Indian wisdom for managers: the

relevance of Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa in developing managerial effectiveness” Int. J. Indian

Culture and Business Management. Vol. 3, No. 6, 2010. pp. 645-668.

Rao, I Panduranga. Makers of Indian Literature: Valmiki. Sahitya Akademi, 1994.

Srinivasan, S. “Value Education Concepts as reflected in Sri Sundara Kanda of Srimad Valmiki

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Subbaro, Chalasani. Maharshi Valmiki. Machilipatnam, 1988.