Rasa theory and its

application in translation
With reference to the drama “Shakuntala”
Original Writer: Kalidas
Presentation by Ravi Kumar
University of Ottawa
Structure of Presentation

 Context of rasa theory

 Structure of rasa theory
 Rasa theory in Action
 “Shakuntala”: Translation and Story Presentation”
 Discussion & Conclusion
 Audio –medial Clip
Context of rasa theory
Rasa theory finds its root in late vedic period in
Atharvaveda ( 200 BC-100 BC)

Bharatmuni (First century AD approx.) gave

major statement in his Book Natyashastra

Natyashatra is Indian treatise on the

performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance
and music
Context of rasa theory
Bharatmuni says

“rasa is realization of one’s own

consciousness as colored by emotions”

“rasa and emotions cannot be expressed

directly through words, their essence
being immediate experience; so they can
be only suggested by words”
Context of rasa theory
Philosophical side of rasa theory

“rasa school emphasizes on experiential aspect

of literature, the qualitatively new product that
must be directly experienced in order not to
confuse with an aggregate of its natural
constituents. It is unworldly pleasure which
accompanies it as transcendental”
Context of rasa theory
Analogy by Bharatmuni

“The unique taste delicacy arises from coming together

of many  ingredients each of which has its particular
taste like conditioned response, but the taste of dish is
different and of a higher order than that of each
component”, the later one is unconditioned response
or called cultivated response.

“Similarly cooking involves providing heat as well as

expertise – thus it not only involves bhavas but poetic
inspiration and poetic art as well”   
Context of rasa theory
New dimensions

Accepted as the core literary theory by all major

dramatists as well as theoreticians including
Abhinavgupta, Viswanatha, Pt. Jagananatha and
Kapil Kapoor who have contributed towards a
more subtle understanding of this theory.

Equated with words like – flavour, sentiment,

passion, mood or no translation at all
Structure of rasa theory
 The Rasa theory is built around the concept
of bhava which is subdivided into vibhava
(विभव), sthayibhava (स्थायी भाव), sancaribhava ( संकरी
भाव), anubhava (अनुभव) and sattvikabhava (सात्विक
भाव). 

 Bharata enumerates forty-nine bhavas  - it is

a claim about the range of human
experience. 
Structure of rasa theory
Rasa is an emotion experienced by the audience created by the facial
expression or the Bhava of the actor. Our discussion will focus only on
following sthayibhavas (स्थायी भाव).

RASA BHAVA MEANING COLOUR

Shringar(love) Rati Love/delight Pale Light Green

Hasya (humorous) Hasa Laughter White

Karuna (Pathetic/kindly) Shoka Sorrow Grey

Raudra (furious) Krodh Anger Red

Veera (heroic) Utsaha Heroism PaleOrange

Bhayanaka (Fearful) Bhaya Fear Black

Bibhatsa (Odious) Jugupsa Hate/disgust Blue

Adbhuta (Wonderful) Vismaya Wonder Yellow

Shanta (Peaceful) Shanta Peace White

Structure of rasa theory
 Rasa theory: the experience of rasa
Rasa can be experienced individually or collectively

Rasa

Impersonal
Awakened Emotion
contemplative mood

Artists actions & their

Representation of Known characters/
Natural situation physical expressions
objects artists
of emotions

Whereas feelings and emotions when aroused by linguistic means are

conditioned responses, moods are not, and this is also a fundamental aspect of
rasa; rasa is based on conditioned responses, but in itself is something higher:
we may call it unconditional or cultivated response.
Rasa theory and the audience
Experts

Patrons Poets

Audience
Familiar
Elders with text/
context

Singers Buffons

Level of response depends on aesthetics sense of an individual/a

group determined by their world view of the people. ( Kapil Kapoor
links it to Sanskar and explains cab drives story in Chekov’s writings)
Rasa theory in action
text /actors

Rasa

Cosmic balance
Cosmic balance

evoke
create beauty
emotion

text and
coherence of dominant subservient
context
bhavas emotions emotions
important

readers/ audience
Rasa is realized when self looses its egoistic, pragmatic aspect and assumes an
impersonal contemplative attitude – highest modes of being – free from all
carving, striving and external necessity – it is blissful.
 Shakuntala by Kalidas (370-450 AD)
Kalidasa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास "servant of Kali")
was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely
regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in
the Sanskrit language.

His plays and poetry are primarily based on

Hindu Puranas and philosophy.

The text of Abhijñānaśākuntalam itself is

adapted version, “re-telling of story from the
epic Mahabharata. A radical departure from the
basic text. Focus: Political

Books:

Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Raghuvaṃśa,
Meghadūta, Vikramōrvaśīyam,Kumārasambhava
Shakuntala and its translation – the continued
life
 As per the available records, the play was the first
Indian drama to be translated into a Western
language, by Sir William Jones in 1789. ( Pre-
colonial India)
 Monier – Williams in 1855 ( colonial India)
 Kale in 1898 – Colonial India
 Chandra Rajan – Post –colonial India
 Currently there will be more 200 popular versions
of translation available in different languages.
Shakuntala and its translation
Sir William Jones (Orientalist from England)

“Great praise for Indian civilization. Equated Kalidas with

Shakespeare”.

Domesticated Shakuntala to suit the sense of morality of his target

readership”. Example:

Heavy hips of shakuntala toned down to elegant limbs.

Passages explaining love between shakuntala and
Dushyant appeared too erotic for his European readers.
The translation sanitized and made appropriate for the receptor.
Presented his opinion and felt apologetic about explicitness of the
text
Shakuntala and its translation
Sir Monier Williams – Sanskrit Professor at Oxford

Administrative control from East India company transferred to

crown of England. Inspite of great praise for India, Sir Monier
Williams shifted focus towards prevailing attitude of crown
towards India
The subtle romance and elegance of shakuntla is depicted as
rustic shakuntala
She is seen as representative of hindu way of life
Depicts victorian disapproval of sexuality hence expression of
art is manipulated
Shakuntala and its translation
M.R. Kale – Sanskrit Scholar and Grammar expert from India

Appreciates the work of Monier Williams but develops totally a different attitude towards
his version of translation

Applies literal (word–to–word) that makes it very difficult for the English reader to
understand the text as well as the context
He gives detailed analysis of the play in terms of background, life of kalidas, plots,
character and structure but he does not discuss translation strategy

Sanskrit text and its corresponding translation go in parallel

Intended for Indian reader who is familiar with Sanskrit and the culture, appears to be
purely scholarly piece

Text was translated during colonial period and Kale is not aware of post colonial theories
Shakuntala and its translation
Chandra Rajan - Translator and English expert with connections in
India and Canada

Takes feedback from Indian as well as foreign readers before

publishing
Target readers are from India as well as outside India
Gives lengthy introduction introducing Sanskrit, drama and Indian
traditions
Follows sense for sense – meant for reader not familiar with
Sanskrit tradition
Scholarly too but streamlined to meet the demands of a receptor
culture
Shakuntala and its translation
Four line stanza in Sanskrit where Dushyant describes
Shakuntla’act

Sir Monier Monier-Williams

Sir William Jones
Sir Monier Monier-Williams
Spare her this trouble, gentle maiden. The
The damsel is fatigued, I imagine, exertion of watering the shrubs has already
by pouring so much water on the fatigued her.
cherished plants. The water-jar has overtasked the strength
Of her slim arms; her shoulders droop, her
Her arms, graced with palms like hands
fresh blossoms, hang carelessly Are ruddy with the glow of quickened pulses;
down; her bosom heaves with E'en now her agitated breath imparts
Unwonted tremor to her heaving breast;
strong breathing; and now her
The pearly drops that mar the recent bloom
dishevelled locks, from which the Of the [S']irísha pendent in her ear,
string has dropped, are held by Gather in clustering circles on her cheek;
one of her lovely hands. Suffer Loosed is the fillet of her hair; her hand
me, therefore, thus to discharge Restrains the locks that struggle to be free.
Suffer me, then, thus to discharge the debt for
the debt. you.
Shakuntala and its translation
Four line stanza in Sanskrit where Dushyant describes Shakuntla’ act

Kale Chandra Rajan

Gentle maiden, I see that this lady is I see that the lady is exhausted from
exhausted just by watering the trees. watering the trees; as it is,
For her arms, on account of Her arms droop, languid, her palms
lifting up the jar, have their shoulders glow
drooping, and their palms extremely reddened lifting up the watering-jar;
reddened; her abnormal breathing, still her bosom still heaves as she draws
causes her breasts to heave; on her deep breaths.
face has gathered a mist of the drops
The Sirisa blossom adorning her ear,
of perspiration,
caught in the sparkling web of beads
obstructing (the play of) the Sirisha
flower placed on her ear; and the knot
of sweat,
of hair being loosened, her ceases its delicate play against her
tresses, held (by her) with one hand, cheek.
are disheveled. I will, therefore, With one hand she restrains her hair,
discharge her (lit. make her free from straying wild,
debt). unruly, released from its knot undone.
Shakuntala and its translation
Bhavas and Rasas at work

In each successive acts and scenes, the characters play their roles
through variety of bhavas, but the dominance of rati, shoka, utsaha
and vismaya makes the play more receptive, hence at successive
acts, well informed audience experiences heightened emotions and
rasa that has combination of love and karuna. Simultaneously,
veera and adbhut rasas play their subservient role.

Separation of Shakuntala from his beloved creates imbalance in the

environment influencing the emotional response of the audience.
Her longing for her husband (shoka-bhava) moves the audience
toward karuna rasa. Once she re-unites with the king Duhsyant,
harmonay is restored, the audience gets heightened delight.
 Shakuntala : Background
Shakuntala is the daughter of sage
Vishwamitra and the beautiful
Apsara, Menaka who left her in an
ashram of rishis.

This tale revolves round the love of

Shakuntala and the mighty king,
Dushyanta.

Originally mentioned in the

Mahabharata, the story of Shakuntala
has been immortalized by way of the
Abhijyanashakuntalam, written by the
great poet and dramatist Kalidasa.
Shakuntala – Her life
Shakuntala's childhood was spent
happily roaming around in the
greenery of the hills, along with her
two closest friends, Anasuya and
Priyamvada.

So gentle and soft-spoken was she,

that even the birds and animals
residing in the forest were drawn to
her.

She grew up to be a strikingly

beautiful young woman, who radiated
youth and elegance, though simply
clad in cotton garments and flowers
for ornaments. Dominant Bhava: rati
Dominant Rasa: shringar
Shakuntala – Falls in love
While on hunt in Jangales, King
Dushyanta the most powerful
king of his time meet Shakuntala
and instantly fell in love with her.

When he expressed his love for

her, he realized that Shakuntala
too reciprocated his feelings.

Dominant Bhava: utsaha, rati

Dominant Rasa: veera, shringar
Shakuntala – gets married
Shakuntka and Dushyanta secretly got
married as per Gandarv Vivah rules
prevelent at that time. Dushyant
spends overnight in the ashram and
then left for his capital city, promising
Shakunatala that he would return
soon to take her back to his kingdom,
as his lawfully wedded wife.

Before leaving, Dushyant gave his

precious ring to Shakuntala, as a sign
of his love for her. He also particularly
asked her not to lose it under any
circumstance.

Dominant Bhava: rati

Dominant Rasa: shringar
 Shakuntala – cursed by a rishi
 After Dushyanta's departure from the ashram,
Shakuntala spent much time dreaming about him
and was often in her own dream world, neither
eating nor sleeping properly. One day, rishi
Durvasa, who was infamous for his nasty temper,
came to the ashram. Lost in her thoughts,
Shakuntala failed to notice the sage and did not
greet him properly.

 Enraged by this insult, Durvasa cursed

Shakuntala, saying that the person of her dreams
would forget about her altogether. As he was
about to depart, one of Shakuntala's friends
explained to him the real reason behind
Shakuntala's distraction and that it was never her
intention to insult the rishi.

 Understanding Shakuntala's state and realizing

that she was truly innocent; Durvasa modified his
curse saying that the person who had forgotten
Shakuntala would recall everything if she showed
him a personal token of love that had been given
to her.
Dominant Bhava: krodh, shoka
Dominant Rasa: raudra, karuna
 Shakuntala – King’s memory loss
 Dressed in beautiful silk attire, Shakuntala left
the ashram along with her foster father. On the
way to the kingdom, the ring given to her by
Dushyanta slipped off her finger into the river
without her realizing it.

 Meanwhile, a fish swimming in the river

swallowed the ring.

 When she reached Dushyanta's court,

unfortunately, the king Dushyanta had lost his
memory, due to Durvasa's curse. He did not
recall anything at all about Shakuntala and their
wedding. Hence, he refused to accept
Shakuntala as his wife.

 In a final bid, Shakuntala told him about the

ring he had given her and raised her hand to
show it to him. Only then did she realize that it
had fallen off somewhere and that she had lost
it forever.
Dominant Bhava: rati, shoka
Dominant Rasa: shringar, karuna
Shakuntala – gives birth to a child

Utterly humiliated and dejected,

Shakuntala returned to a remote part
the forest, where she, in due course
of time, gave birth to a beautiful
baby boy.

Bharata gradually grew older and

turned out to be a strong, handsome
youth. He used to ride the wild
animals and often made a sport of
opening the mouths of lions and
tigers in order to count their teeth.

Bharata, as she named him, was one

day destined to become one of the
most powerful icons of Indian
history. 
Dominant Bhava:shoka, utsaha
Dominant Rasa: karuna, veera
Shakuntala – King recalls his past
 In the meantime, a fisherman was
utterly surprised to find a royal
ring inside the belly of a fish he
had caught.

 Recognizing the royal seal, he

took the ring to Dushyanta.

 As he held the ring, Dushyanta

immediately recalled his past - his
love for Shakuntala, the wonderful
time spent with her and the
memories of his lovely bride.

Dominant Bhava: vismaya, rati

Dominant Rasa:adbhuta, shringar
 Shakuntala - king meets his son
 Wasting no more time, Dushyanta
immediately sets out to find
Shakuntala. As he did not find her
at her father's ashram, he moves
deeper into the forest to find her.

 In the forest, he saw a young lad

playing with lion cubs.

 Utterly amazed, Dushyanta asked

the boy his name. The boy said
that he was Bharata, the son of
King Dushyanta, the king gets a
pleasant surprise.

Dominant Bhava: utsaha, vismaya,

Dominant Rasa: veera, adbhuta
Shakuntala, Bharat and Dushyant reunite
– Harmony Restored
 Upon Dushyanta’s requests, the boy took him to Shakuntala.

 Dushyanta meets Shakuntala and narrates about his memory

loss.

 He asked her to join him again and thus, the family gets
reunited.

Dominant Bhava: utsaha, vismaya shoka, rati, shanta

Dominant Rasa:veera, adbhuta, karuna, shringar, shanta

Audience gets heightened delight – the mixture of many rasas

Discussion and Conclusion

 Domestication by William Jones

 Domestication by Sir Monier Williams
 Literal Word to word by Kale
 Sense to Sense by Chandra Rajan
Discussion and Conclusion
RK:
Story telling or adaptation with of support of images: Rewriting and trans-creation

Little closer to

Structuralists: jackobson – Intersemiotic - written text translated into different mode Cinema / drama /
music

Functionalists: Katharina Reiss –Communication approach - audio-medial.

Nida’s dynamic equivalance: Meaning of ST with same impact of TL audience

Skopos: Reiss and Vermeer: Based on scope / aim translator decides how to maintain functional adequacy
in intercultural context
Even – Zohar’s polysystem at play but mix of innovatory and conservative is needed
Toury DTS (norms, rules and idiosyncrasies) idiosyncrasies related to behavior characteristics provide part
support as does manipulation school
Bassnett and Lefevere’s idea of cultural turn helps more as it deals with power, ideology, institution and
manipulation. Refraction also fails as Kalidas is already classists, however, the idea of greater popularity in
different culture remain within the context. So is the role of idea of after life or continued life by Walter
Benjamin
Discussion and Conclusion
More closer

hermeneutics of translation ( philosophical approach to translation) by George Steiner as philosophical as

well as intellectual working of translator are at work : first Kalidas as rewriter or transcreator, later, the
other translators from Sanskrit to English) . Thus his four motions: initiative trust, aggression,
incorporation as well as compensation brings us closer to understand rasa theory. I remain critical to the
concept of aggression though.

Where

“rasa is based on conditioned responses, but in itself is something higher: unconditional or

cultivated response.

However, all theories discussed before fail to address

“Realization of Rasa when self looses its egoistic, pragmatic aspect and assumes an impersonal
contemplative attitude – highest modes of being – free from all carving, striving and external
necessity – it is blissful”.

This is one of the most

“Striking Difference between western thoughts and Indian traditions”
Discussion and Conclusion
The answer may be sought in Indian Drama
and Indian Cinema where, a very careful
approach is taken to arouse the feelings of the
viewers and provide heightened experience
through a story based on action, love,
romance, separation and reunion supported by
songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBx0BH77L
3E