Bhatta Lollata and Rasa Theory

Oct 25, 2024

Mindmap

Lecture on Fattah Lollada

Introduction

  • Fattah Lollada: Kashmiri scholar and Mimamsaka philosopher.
  • Appears later than Udbhata (post-800 CE) and before Sri Sankuga (around 850 CE), placing him early in the 9th century.

Context and Challenges

  • Understanding Rasa's intellectual history is hampered by lost texts.
  • Lollada's commentary on Faridha's Nati Shastra is irrecoverably lost.
  • Knowledge of Lollada's theory comes from:
    • Abhinavagupta's commentary on Ananda Varthana's commentary on Thuanyaloka and Bharata's Nattisastra.
    • Mamata's Kaviprakasha.

Lollada's Contributions

  • Considered one of the earliest commentators on Bharata's Natyashastra.
  • Recognized for initiating intense investigation into literary emotion, leading to a flourishing period of aesthetic development in India.

Theory of Rasa

  • Key Concepts:
    • Rasa: Produced by the conjunction of bhava, anubhava, and vyapijari bhavas with sthai bhavas.
    • Vipavas: Cause of Rasa, stimulating stable emotions (stai bhavas) in characters.
    • Anubhavas: Physical reactions indicating stai bhavas; characters' response to emotions.
    • Vyapijari bhavas: Transitory emotions that enhance and nourish stai bhavas.
  • Locus of Rasa: Primarily in the character, not the spectator.

Relationships in Rasa Theory

  • Stai bhava and Vipava: Object and means of production relationship (utpadhya utpadhaka bhava bandha).
  • Stai bhava and Anubhava: Object and means of knowledge (gamya gamaga bhava bandha).
  • Stai bhava and Vyapijari bhava: Object and means of enhancement (posya poshaka bhava bandha).

Lollada's Beliefs

  • Rasa inherently exists in the character (Utpatti Vada), focusing on intensified stai bhava.
  • Unable to explain the transfer of Rasa to the spectator.
  • Believed rasas are potentially infinite but only those listed by Bharata are stage-portrayable.

Conclusion

  • Lollada's theory highlights the intensification of stai bhava through relationships with vipava, anubhava, and vyapijari bhava.
  • Upcoming discussion will cover criticism by Shankuka.

These notes summarize the major points of Fattah Lollada's theory of Rasa as presented in the lecture. Understanding these concepts is crucial for further exploration of aesthetic theories in Indian intellectual history.