SECTION 04 • THE MECHANISM OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
From Bhāva to Rasa
How determinants, expressions and emotional states become aesthetic experience
THE THEORY AS A PROCESS
Rasa Does Not Appear Suddenly
Bharata's rasa theory becomes much clearer when we understand it as a process. Rasa is not simply an emotion written inside a poem or performed on a stage. A particular emotional experience develops through several interconnected elements.
The central formula traditionally associated with Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra is:
विभावानुभावव्यभिचारिसंयोगाद्रसनिष्पत्तिः
Vibhāvānubhāvavyabhicārisaṃyogād rasaniṣpattiḥ
In simple terms, the theory directs our attention towards the relationship between vibhāva, anubhāva, vyabhicāribhāva and the emotional foundation of sthāyibhāva, through which rasa is aesthetically experienced.
The Complete Rasa Process
Vibhāva
Determinants
Anubhāva
Expressions
Vyabhicāribhāva
Transitory states
Sthāyibhāva
Durable state
Rasa
Aesthetic relish
The movement is not merely from “emotion” to “emotion.” It is from represented emotional conditions towards an aesthetic experience.
The Four Essential Components
| Concept | What it means | What it does |
|---|---|---|
|
विभाव Vibhāva |
Determinants | Provides the circumstances, persons or objects through which an emotional state becomes activated. |
|
अनुभाव Anubhāva |
Consequent expressions | Makes an emotional condition perceptible through expression, gesture, speech or action. |
|
व्यभिचारिभाव Vyabhicāribhāva |
Transitory emotional states | Moves around and supports the dominant emotional disposition. |
|
स्थायिभाव Sthāyibhāva |
Durable / dominant emotional disposition | Provides the emotional foundation associated with the emergence of a particular rasa. |
01 • THE DETERMINANT
Vibhāva — विभाव
Vibhāva may be understood as the determinant or stimulus through which an emotional state becomes activated in the dramatic situation. It answers a basic question: What makes this emotional response possible?
Ālambana
The person or object that serves as the immediate support of the emotion.
Uddīpana
The surrounding circumstances, setting or qualities that intensify the emotional response.
02 • EMOTION BECOMES VISIBLE
Anubhāva — अनुभाव
Anubhāvas are the expressions or consequences through which an inner emotional condition becomes perceptible. A character may feel something internally, but drama needs a form through which the audience can perceive that state.
Inner emotion → bodily expression → dramatic perception
Facial expression, gesture, movement, speech, silence and other dramatic signs can function as expressive consequences.
03 • THE MOVING EMOTIONS
Vyabhicāribhāva — व्यभिचारिभाव
The emotional experience of a character is rarely simple. Alongside the dominant emotional disposition, temporary states may appear: doubt, anxiety, shame, impatience, remembrance, fatigue, excitement, despair and many other changing conditions.
These temporary states enrich the emotional texture of the dramatic situation. They do not necessarily become the final rasa themselves; rather, they support and intensify the dominant emotional movement.
04 • THE EMOTIONAL FOUNDATION
Sthāyibhāva — स्थायिभाव
The sthāyibhāva is the enduring emotional disposition that provides the foundation for rasa. The changing emotional states surround and support this more persistent emotional centre.
Temporary emotions may come and go, but the dominant emotional disposition gives the experience its direction.
APPLICATION I • SANSKRIT LITERATURE
Kālidāsa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam
Kālidāsa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam provides a productive example for understanding how the components of rasa work together. The love between Śakuntalā and Duṣyanta can be examined in relation to śṛṅgāra.
शृङ्गारः
Śṛṅgāra — the aesthetic experience associated with love.
| Rasa Component | Application |
|---|---|
| Vibhāva | Śakuntalā and Duṣyanta, their meeting, the hermitage and the natural environment surrounding their relationship. |
| Anubhāva | Glances, speech, gestures and behavioural expressions through which attraction becomes perceptible. |
| Vyabhicāribhāva | Longing, anxiety, remembrance, uncertainty and other changing states that complicate the relationship. |
| Sthāyibhāva | Love as the enduring emotional disposition. |
Critical point:
The aesthetic experience does not arise because the text simply contains the word “love.” It arises from the artistic organisation of the entire emotional situation.
APPLICATION II • EPIC TRADITION
The Rāmāyaṇa and Karuṇa
The Rāmāyaṇa also allows us to see how suffering can be organised into an aesthetic experience of karuṇa. The grief surrounding separation, loss and death can activate a complex network of emotional responses.
Situations of separation, suffering or loss.
Visible expressions of grief, lamentation and distress.
Sorrow as the dominant emotional foundation.
The suffering represented by the epic is therefore not merely biographical grief; it can become aesthetically experienced through literary form.
APPLICATION III • WESTERN LITERATURE
Shakespeare's King Lear
A cross-cultural application can be made through Shakespeare's King Lear. Although the play belongs to a different literary tradition and should not simply be forced into the Sanskrit system, its emotional construction can still be examined productively through the vocabulary of rasa.
| Rasa Framework | Possible Reading in King Lear |
|---|---|
| Vibhāva | Lear's political and family crisis, betrayal, separation and suffering. |
| Anubhāva | Lamentation, dialogue, gestures, anger, grief and actions. |
| Vyabhicāribhāva | Fear, confusion, despair, anger, remorse and uncertainty. |
| Emotional foundation | Suffering and compassion can become particularly prominent in the spectator's experience. |
This is a comparative application, not a claim that Shakespeare consciously followed Bharata's rasa theory. The value of comparison lies in seeing how two different traditions theorise the relationship between dramatic representation and emotional experience.
SECTION 07 • ĀNANDAVARDHANA Dhvani: When Meaning Speaks Beyond WordsWhen words speak one meaning, but the imagination hears another, poetry begins to resonate beyond the literal. BEYOND THE LITERAL When a poem says more than it saysOne of the most fascinating developments in Indian poetics is the theory of Dhvani, associated especially with Ānandavardhana and his Dhvanyāloka. Dhvani directs our attention towards the meaning that is suggested rather than simply the meaning that is directly expressed. This is particularly important in poetry because literary language often works through suggestion, association, imagery, atmosphere and emotion. A poet does not always need to name an emotion directly. Sometimes a single image can make the reader experience an entire psychological world. The word gives us the surface; suggestion opens the depth. THE CLASSICAL FOUNDATION Ānandavardhana and the Theory of DhvaniĀnandavardhana gave Dhvani a central place in Sanskrit literary criticism. His theory explains how poetic meaning can operate beyond the directly expressed sense through vyañjanā, or suggestion. काव्यस्यात्मा ध्वनिः Kāvyasyātmā dhvaniḥ “Dhvani is the soul of poetry.” The importance of Dhvani lies in the relationship between expression and suggestion. The reader begins with the words but does not necessarily end with their surface meaning. Three Layers of MeaningThe movement towards Dhvani becomes clearer when we distinguish between direct meaning, indicated meaning and suggested meaning. 01 • ABHIDHĀ Direct MeaningThe conventional meaning directly conveyed by the words. 02 • LAKṢAṆĀ Indicative MeaningA secondary meaning understood when the literal meaning is not sufficient in a particular context. 03 • VYAÑJANĀ Suggested MeaningThe deeper resonance suggested through context, association and aesthetic imagination. The Movement of Dhvani
WORDS
What is explicitly expressed
↓
CONTEXT
Situation + imagery + cultural associations
↓
SUGGESTION • VYAÑJANĀ
What the reader understands beyond the surface
↓
AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
Meaning becomes emotional and imaginative experience. CASE STUDY • SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH “Here is the smell of blood…”A particularly powerful Western example for understanding Dhvani can be found in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After committing murder, Lady Macbeth becomes psychologically overwhelmed by guilt. Her language begins to reveal much more than its literal meaning. “Here is the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” — William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1 At the literal level, Lady Macbeth speaks about the smell of blood and the inability of perfumes to remove it. But the statement becomes much more powerful when we read it through the theory of Dhvani. The blood is not merely physical blood. It becomes a sign of the murder that has taken place and, more importantly, of the guilt that Lady Macbeth cannot wash away psychologically. The perfume therefore cannot simply be understood as a fragrance. It becomes an image of the inadequacy of external cleansing before internal guilt.
Lady Macbeth: The Layers of Suggestion
BLOOD
physical stain
→
MURDER
memory of crime
→
GUILT
moral burden
→
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR
suggested experience The hand can be washed, the room can be cleaned, and perfume can cover a physical smell—but none of these can erase the memory of murder from the mind. Why Does the Macbeth Passage Become Dhvani?Shakespeare does not simply write, “Lady Macbeth feels guilty because she participated in murder.” Instead, he gives us an image: blood that still smells and a hand that cannot be sweetened even by the perfumes of Arabia. The reader performs the interpretive movement. We move from the physical image to the memory of murder, from murder to guilt, and from guilt to the deeper psychological collapse of Lady Macbeth. Blood → Murder → Memory → Guilt → Psychological Horror Dhvani Across Indian and Western Literature
THINK LIKE A CRITIC Does poetry become more powerful when it leaves something unsaid?The Macbeth passage suggests that it can. Shakespeare does not need to explain Lady Macbeth's entire psychological condition. The image of blood and perfume allows the reader to reconstruct her inner experience. This is where I find a strong connection with Dhvani. The reader does not merely receive information; the reader participates in creating the larger meaning of the literary moment. MY READING From Reading Words to Reading What Lies Behind ThemDhvani changed the way I understand literary language. Earlier, I often approached a sentence by asking, “What does this mean?” After studying suggestion, another question becomes equally important: “What else does this make me feel, imagine or understand?” The Macbeth example makes this especially clear. “Blood” is not merely a physical substance, and “perfume” is not merely a fragrance. Within the dramatic context, they become carriers of guilt, memory and psychological suffering. For me, this is the beauty of Dhvani: literature does not always complete the meaning for us. Sometimes it gives us an image and allows our imagination to complete the experience. DHVANI • THE COMPLETE IDEA
WORD
→
CONTEXT
→
SUGGESTION
→
AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
In Dhvani, the meaning of poetry is not confined to what the words declare; it expands into what the reader discovers. SECTION 08 • POETIC EXCELLENCE Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama KāvyaThree levels of poetic expression — from suggestion at its highest power to poetry in which the suggested meaning becomes secondary. AFTER DHVANI Not all poetry uses suggestion in the same wayThe theory of Dhvani allows us to understand that poetic meaning can extend beyond the literal. But an important question follows: Does every poem make its suggested meaning equally powerful? Indian literary criticism provides a way of thinking about this difference through the classification of Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama Kāvya. In this framework, the distinction is not simply about whether a poem is “good” or “bad” in an everyday sense. It concerns the relationship between the expressed meaning and the suggested meaning. The greater the aesthetic importance of suggestion, the higher the poetic effect can be considered. The question is not merely “What does the poem say?” but also “What becomes meaningful beyond what it says?” THE KEY DISTINCTION Vācya and VyaṅgyaVĀCYA Expressed MeaningThe meaning directly conveyed by the words of the poem. VYAṄGYA Suggested MeaningThe meaning or aesthetic suggestion that emerges beyond the directly expressed statement. The Three Levels of KāvyaThink of poetic excellence as a movement from direct expression towards increasingly powerful suggestion. HIGHEST UTTAMA KĀVYASuggested meaning predominates. MIDDLE MADHYAMA KĀVYASuggested meaning is present but less dominant. LOWER ADHAMA KĀVYAThe directly expressed meaning remains more prominent. Uttama • Madhyama • Adhama
UTTAMA KĀVYA • YOUR REQUIRED EXAMPLE The Bhagavad Gītā: When a Statement Opens into a World of MeaningThe Bhagavad Gītā provides a powerful example for thinking about poetic and philosophical language because its statements often operate on more than one level. A verse can communicate a direct teaching while simultaneously opening philosophical, ethical and spiritual dimensions.
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
Bhagavad Gītā, 2.47 At the direct level, the verse instructs Arjuna to focus on action rather than attachment to its fruits. But the statement does not end there. Its significance expands into questions of duty, desire, detachment, ethical action and the relationship between human agency and consequence. This makes it a useful illustrative example when discussing the idea of Uttama Kāvya: the expressed statement opens towards a wider field of significance. The reader or listener is invited to contemplate what the teaching means beyond the immediate situation of Arjuna on the battlefield.
DIRECT
Perform your duty without attachment to the result.
→
PHILOSOPHICAL
Action, duty, desire and detachment become interconnected.
→
DEEPER
The reader reflects on how one should act without being controlled by attachment to outcomes. The verse does not merely tell Arjuna what to do; it invites him—and the reader—to reconsider the meaning of action itself. MADHYAMA KĀVYA When Suggestion Supports the Expressed MeaningIn Madhyama Kāvya, suggestion remains meaningful, but it does not completely dominate the expressed meaning. The reader can understand the surface statement clearly while also recognising an additional emotional, symbolic or contextual significance. A poem may therefore work successfully on two levels: the immediate meaning gives clarity, while suggestion enriches the experience. Neither level completely eliminates the other. Madhyama Kāvya reminds us that explicit meaning and suggested meaning do not always compete; they can cooperate. ADHAMA KĀVYA When the Expressed Meaning Remains DominantIn Adhama Kāvya, the suggested meaning does not have the same aesthetic dominance. The direct meaning remains central, and whatever suggestion exists is subordinate to it. It is important, however, not to interpret the word “Adhama” as a simple judgement that a poem has no value. The classification belongs to a particular theoretical framework concerned with the relationship between expressed and suggested meaning. The distinction is primarily about the hierarchy of meanings, not about reducing literature to “good” and “bad.” From Direct Meaning to Aesthetic Suggestion
ADHAMA
Vācya dominates
→
MADHYAMA
Vācya + Vyaṅgya
→
UTTAMA
Vyaṅgya dominates THINK LIKE A CRITIC Is the deepest poetry always the poetry that says the least directly?The classification of Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama Kāvya encourages me to question the relationship between explicitness and poetic power. A completely direct statement may communicate efficiently, but suggestion can make the reader participate in constructing meaning. At the same time, suggestion does not mean that direct meaning becomes irrelevant. The two often depend upon each other. Without the words, there may be no path towards the suggested meaning. MY READING Why This Classification Matters to MeThe distinction between Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama Kāvya helped me understand that Indian poetics does not look at poetry only as a collection of beautiful words. It asks how different levels of meaning work together to create an aesthetic experience. The Bhagavad Gītā example is particularly meaningful in this context. The statement about action and its fruits begins as a direct teaching, but its philosophical implications continue to unfold as the reader reflects upon duty, desire, attachment and ethical action. For me, this is one of the most valuable lessons of Indian poetics: great literary language can become larger than its immediate statement. THE THREE LEVELS Uttama allows suggestion to become the deepest experience; Madhyama balances expression and suggestion; Adhama keeps the expressed meaning in the foreground.
VĀCYA → VYAṄGYA → AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE
SECTION 09 • POETIC EXPRESSION AlaṅkāraThe ornaments that transform ordinary expression into poetic expression. THE IDEA OF ORNAMENT When language becomes more than informationIf someone says, “Her face is beautiful,” the statement gives us information. But if a poet says that her face is like the moon, the language creates an image in the imagination. The second expression does not merely communicate an idea; it gives that idea a particular aesthetic form. This is the basic intuition behind Alaṅkāra. The Sanskrit word alaṅkāra literally carries the sense of an ornament or adornment. In Indian poetics, alaṅkāras are devices through which poetic language acquires beauty, vividness, emphasis and expressive power. Poetry does not merely tell us something; it makes us experience the way in which something is said. Two Major Directions of AlaṅkāraA useful introductory distinction is between ornaments based primarily on the sound/form of words and those based primarily on meaning. 01 • ŚABDĀLAṄKĀRA Ornaments of SoundThe poetic effect arises primarily through the arrangement, repetition or relationship of sounds and words.
Focus
Sound • repetition • verbal pattern • musicality 02 • ARTHĀLAṄKĀRA Ornaments of MeaningThe poetic effect arises primarily through an imaginative or significant relationship between meanings.
Focus
Comparison • metaphor • imagination • semantic relation The Alaṅkāra Map🔊
Śabda
Sound and verbal arrangement 💭
Artha
Meaning and imagination 🌙
Upamā
Simile / comparison ✨
Rūpaka
Metaphorical identification A CLASSICAL FAVOURITE Upamā — The Power of ComparisonOne of the most familiar poetic devices is Upamā, generally understood as simile or comparison. A quality belonging to one thing is illuminated by comparing it with another. The face is like the moon. Object → comparison → shared quality → intensified image The comparison allows the reader to visualise beauty rather than receiving beauty as an abstract statement. The moon contributes associations of brightness, coolness, radiance and aesthetic beauty. The poetic image therefore becomes richer than the literal adjective “beautiful.” FROM “LIKE” TO “IS” Rūpaka — Metaphorical IdentificationIf Upamā establishes a comparison, Rūpaka can create a more intense identification between two things. Instead of saying that someone is like a lion, metaphorical expression may present the person as a lion.
COMPARISON
“He is like a lion.”
→
METAPHOR
“He is a lion.” The second formulation can make the quality of courage, strength or ferocity feel immediate and vivid. The poetic device therefore changes not simply the information but the imaginative relationship between the reader and the subject. Alaṅkāra and Dhvani: Are They the Same?
Alaṅkāra can beautify expression; Dhvani can deepen meaning; Rasa can transform emotional representation into aesthetic experience. APPLICATION • SANSKRIT LITERATURE Kālidāsa and the Poetics of ImageryThe poetry of Kālidāsa demonstrates how natural imagery can become a vehicle for emotional and aesthetic expression. In works such as Meghadūta, clouds, landscapes, seasons and natural phenomena are not merely decorative descriptions. They participate in the emotional world of the speaker. In such poetry, imagery can function simultaneously as alaṅkāra, emotional suggestion and a pathway towards rasa. This is important because it shows that poetic devices should not be treated as isolated technical labels. Their value emerges from what they contribute to the total aesthetic experience of the poem. A CROSS-CULTURAL CONNECTION Alaṅkāra and Western RhetoricThe idea of poetic ornament can be placed in dialogue with Western rhetorical traditions. Simile, metaphor, repetition, sound pattern and figurative expression are also important in English literary criticism. Aristotle, for example, gives particular importance to metaphor as a significant feature of poetic language. Indian PoeticsAlaṅkāra examines the ways poetic expression becomes aesthetically ornamented and striking. Western RhetoricFigurative language and rhetorical devices examine how expression produces force, imagery, persuasion and artistic effect. CRITICAL INSIGHT Is poetry beautiful because it is ornamented?This question makes the study of Alaṅkāra more interesting. If ornaments are treated as decorations added mechanically to an otherwise ordinary statement, poetry can become artificial. But when the figure of speech grows naturally from the emotion, situation and meaning, it becomes an organic part of the poetic experience. Therefore, I do not understand Alaṅkāra simply as “decoration.” For me, it is better understood as a way of shaping perception. A metaphor makes me see one thing through another; a comparison creates a new relationship; repetition can intensify sound and emotion. The ornament is successful when it does not merely decorate the poem, but changes the way the reader experiences it. Alaṅkāra at a Glance
MY READING From Decoration to PerceptionBefore studying Indian poetics, I might have understood metaphor or simile simply as figures of speech that make writing attractive. Alaṅkāra helped me see something deeper: poetic devices influence how the reader perceives the subject itself. A comparison can create a new image, a metaphor can collapse the distance between two things, and sound can make language memorable. Thus, poetic ornament is not merely something placed on top of meaning; it can participate in the creation of meaning and aesthetic experience. FROM ORNAMENT TO STYLE But poetic beauty is not only about individual ornaments.The larger question is: what happens when a poet's entire manner of expression acquires a distinctive character? This takes us from Alaṅkāra to Rīti — the theory of poetic style. |
SECTION 10 • STYLE & EXPRESSION
Rīti
When the arrangement of words becomes the distinctive personality of poetry.
A QUESTION OF STYLE
Why do two poets describing the same thing sound completely different?
Imagine two poets describing the same sunset. One may use soft, delicate and flowing language. Another may use powerful, compact and energetic expressions. The subject is the same, but the experience created by the language is different.
This difference brings us to the theory of Rīti. While Alaṅkāra draws attention to particular poetic ornaments, Rīti directs attention towards the poet's overall manner or style of expression.
Alaṅkāra may be an ornament of poetry; Rīti concerns the distinctive way poetry is written.
THE ACHARYA
Vāmana and the Theory of Rīti
The theorist most closely associated with Rīti is Vāmana. His discussion of poetic style gives Rīti a central position in the understanding of kāvya.
“रीतिरात्मा काव्यस्य”
Rīti is the soul of poetry.
This famous formulation is important because it makes style more than a superficial feature. For Vāmana, the distinctive arrangement and quality of expression contributes fundamentally to poetic excellence.
How Rīti Works
Choice of vocabulary
How words are organised
Flow, force and texture
Distinctive poetic style
RĪTI AND GUṆA
Style is not simply vocabulary
The theory of Rīti becomes more meaningful when connected with Guṇa, the qualities of poetic expression. The style of a poem is not produced merely by selecting unusual words. Its effect depends on the qualities embodied in the language and its arrangement.
Mādhurya
Sweetness, softness and graceful flow.
Ojas
Energy, force and vigour in expression.
Prasāda
Clarity, ease and accessibility of expression.
Three Important Stylistic Directions
| Style / Quality | Characteristic | Possible Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Mādhurya | Soft, smooth and graceful expression | Tenderness and emotional sweetness |
| Ojas | Strong, vigorous and energetic expression | Power, heroism and intensity |
| Prasāda | Clear and easily comprehensible expression | Lucidity and immediate understanding |
APPLICATION • INDIAN LITERATURE
Kālidāsa: Style and Emotional Atmosphere
Kālidāsa provides a useful example for thinking about the relationship between style and aesthetic experience. His descriptions of nature, love, separation and beauty often move through graceful and carefully shaped language.
In a work such as Meghadūta, the language of clouds, landscapes, seasons and distance participates in the emotional atmosphere of the poem. The style is therefore inseparable from the mood being created.
The style of expression becomes part of the emotional journey of the reader.
INDIAN ↔ WESTERN
Rīti and the Western Idea of Style
Western literary criticism also pays close attention to style, diction, syntax, rhythm and the distinctive voice of a writer. Thinkers such as Aristotle and later rhetorical traditions recognise that the manner of expression affects literary effect.
| Indian Poetics | Western Critical Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Rīti — distinctive poetic manner | Style / diction / literary manner |
| Guṇa — qualities of expression | Clarity / force / grace / verbal texture |
| Relation between language and aesthetic effect | Relation between style and literary effect |
Alaṅkāra vs Rīti
Alaṅkāra
Looks closely at particular poetic devices such as comparison, metaphor and other forms of ornamentation.
“What poetic device is being used?”
Rīti
Looks at the larger manner, arrangement and quality of poetic expression.
“What kind of style shapes the poem?”
THINK LIKE A CRITIC
Can style itself create emotion?
I think it can. Before studying Rīti, I tended to separate “what a poem says” from “how a poem says it.” Rīti makes that separation much harder to maintain.
A poem about love may require softness and musicality; a poem about war may demand force and energetic movement; a philosophical passage may benefit from clarity. In each case, the style participates in shaping the reader's response.
Style is not simply the clothing of thought; sometimes style is the very form through which thought becomes emotionally visible.
THE FORMULA
MY READING
I Began to Notice the “Voice” of Poetry
Rīti helped me understand why the personality of a poem cannot always be reduced to its subject. Two poems can discuss love, nature, war or death, yet their language can create completely different experiences.
For me, Rīti therefore provides a bridge between linguistic form and aesthetic response. It asks me not only to identify what a poet is saying, but to pay attention to the particular manner in which the poet makes that meaning felt.
FROM STYLE TO STRIKING EXPRESSION
But what makes poetic language unexpectedly beautiful?
Sometimes poetry becomes powerful precisely because it refuses to say something in the ordinary way.
This leads to Kuntaka's theory of Vakrokti — the power of oblique and distinctive expression.
SECTION 11 • KUNTaka'S POETICS
Vakrokti
When poetry bends ordinary language into something unexpected, memorable and aesthetically alive.
THE CENTRAL QUESTION
What makes a poetic sentence different from an ordinary sentence?
Imagine two people looking at the same sunset. One simply says, “The sunset is beautiful.” Another poet may describe the sky through an unexpected metaphor, unusual word arrangement or striking image. The object remains the same, but our perception of it changes.
This idea takes us towards Vakrokti, the theory associated with the Sanskrit critic Kuntaka. For Kuntaka, poetic beauty is closely connected with the distinctive manner in which language is used.
The subject may be ordinary; the expression makes it extraordinary.
THE ACHARYA
Kuntaka and the Life of Poetry
Kuntaka develops the theory of Vakrokti in his Vakroktijīvita. The title itself connects Vakrokti with the jīvita, or “life,” of poetry. The theory therefore does not treat poetic deviation as an ornamental extra added after poetry has already been created. Rather, distinctive expression becomes central to poetic beauty.
वक्रोक्तिः काव्यजीवितम्
Vakrokti is the life of poetry.
The word vakra carries the sense of something indirect, crooked, unusual or deviating from a straightforward path, while ukti means expression or utterance. In literary criticism, therefore, Vakrokti points towards a distinctive or oblique way of expressing an idea.
The Basic Movement of Vakrokti
ORDINARY
“I am very sad.”
Direct statement
VAKRA
“My heart is a house of rain.”
Imaginative expression
The second statement does not merely report sadness. It transforms sadness into an image. The reader is invited to experience the emotion rather than simply receive information about it.
THE SIX LEVELS OF VAKRATĀ
Vakrokti from Sound to the Whole Composition
Kuntaka's theory operates at multiple levels. This makes Vakrokti broader than a single figure of speech: poetic distinctiveness can emerge through sound, words, sentences, episodes and the complete composition.
Distinctive arrangement of sounds or phonetic elements.
Creative distinctiveness at the level of the earlier part of a word.
Distinctiveness created through the latter part and grammatical use of words.
Strikingness created through sentence construction and expression.
Creative shaping of an individual episode or section of a work.
Distinctive design and organisation of the complete literary work.
CLASSICAL APPLICATION
Kālidāsa: When a Cloud Becomes a Messenger
A particularly illuminating Sanskrit example is Kālidāsa's Meghadūta. A cloud is ordinarily a natural phenomenon. Kālidāsa, however, transforms it into a participant in the emotional and narrative world of the Yakṣa.
कश्चित्कान्ताविरहगुरुणा स्वाधिकारात्प्रमत्तः
The opening of Meghadūta introduces the Yakṣa burdened by separation from his beloved.
The creative transformation becomes especially significant because the cloud is no longer merely “a cloud.” Through poetic imagination it becomes a possible carrier of memory, longing and communication. The ordinary object is re-seen through the emotional consciousness of the speaker.
Nature → personified messenger → emotional participant.
INDIAN LANGUAGE APPLICATION • HINDI
Tulsidas: Emotion Through Image
Hindi devotional poetry provides many examples in which a simple religious or emotional idea becomes powerful through imaginative expression. Tulsidas frequently turns abstract qualities such as devotion, grace and moral goodness into concrete images.
“श्री रामचन्द्र कृपालु भजु मन हरण भवभय दारुणम्”
— Tulsidas, Vinay Patrika
Here, the abstract idea of divine grace is not presented as a dry philosophical proposition. The expression gives Rama a transformative presence for the devotee. The language carries emotional and visual force beyond a bare statement of belief.
The poetic experience emerges through the manner of expression, not merely through the information being communicated.
INDIAN LANGUAGE APPLICATION • GUJARATI
Narsinh Mehta: The Ethical Idea Becomes an Image
“વૈષ્ણવ જન તો તેને રે કહીએ
જે પીડ પરાઈ જાણે રે”
— Narsinh Mehta
The idea could have been expressed simply as “A good person understands the suffering of others.” Instead, the poetic expression turns ethical sensitivity into an intimate recognition of another person's pain.
The force of the expression lies partly in this movement from an abstract moral principle to an emotionally immediate formulation. The listener is not merely told what goodness is; goodness is made emotionally perceptible.
WESTERN LITERARY APPLICATION • ENGLISH
Keats: Turning Beauty into an Image
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”
— John Keats, Endymion
Keats does not merely say that beautiful things make us happy. He turns beauty into something enduring and almost independent of time: a source of continuing joy. The abstract idea is transformed through poetic formulation.
Although Keats belongs to a different literary and theoretical tradition, his poetic language provides a useful comparative case for thinking about the relationship between ordinary statement and artistically distinctive expression.
INDIAN–ENGLISH LITERARY BRIDGE
Rabindranath Tagore: The Mind as a Poetic Space
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”
— Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
Tagore transforms an abstract political and ethical aspiration into a physical and psychological image: a mind without fear and a head held high. The language gives freedom a visible human posture.
This illustrates an important dimension of poetic expression: abstraction can become memorable when imagination gives it shape.
Vakrokti Across Literary Traditions
| Writer | Ordinary Idea | Creative Transformation | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kālidāsa | A cloud | Cloud as messenger | Longing and imagination |
| Tulsidas | Devotion | Devotional image and emotional address | Spiritual intensity |
| Narsinh Mehta | Moral goodness | Knowing another's pain | Empathy |
| Keats | Beauty gives pleasure | Beauty as everlasting joy | Endurance |
| Tagore | Freedom from fear | Mind without fear / head held high | Idealism and aspiration |
MODERN APPLICATION
From Poetic Language to Cinema
Vakrokti can also help us understand cinema. A filmmaker does not always communicate an idea directly. Camera angle, editing, silence, sound, visual metaphor and narrative structure can create an oblique way of communicating meaning.
An unexpected visual perspective
Meaning through what remains unsaid
Meaning created through juxtaposition
An image standing for a large
SECTION 14 • THEORY MEETS CINEMA
Indian Poetics in Contemporary Cinema
Laapataa Ladies: When Classical Aesthetic Theory Meets Modern Indian Life
THE FILM AT A GLANCE
Before Applying the Theory
Before applying Indian aesthetic theories to a contemporary film, it is important to understand the artwork itself. Laapataa Ladies is a Hindi-language comedy-drama directed by Kiran Rao. It was released in India on 1 March 2024 and is set in rural India in the year 2001.
The story begins when two newly married brides become separated from their intended husbands during a crowded train journey. A mistaken identity then sets both women on unexpected journeys of self-discovery. 2
TITLE
Laapataa Ladies
A Hindi-language comedy-drama about two missing/swapped brides.
DIRECTOR
Kiran Rao
The film turns a comic misunderstanding into a story of identity, agency and self-discovery.
SETTING
Rural India • 2001
The period setting is important to the film's social and cultural context.
RELEASE
1 March 2024
The film was released theatrically in India in 2024.
MEET THE CHARACTERS
The Human World Behind the Theory
The aesthetic experience of a film emerges through characters, situations, relationships and actions. Therefore, these characters are not merely names in the plot; they become the dramatic elements through which Rasa and other aesthetic principles can be experienced.
| Character | Played by | Role in the story |
|---|---|---|
| Phool Kumari | Nitanshi Goel | Deepak's newly married bride who becomes separated from him and gradually begins to discover greater independence. |
| Jaya / Pushpa Rani | Pratibha Ranta | The other bride mistakenly taken home by Deepak. She initially introduces herself as Pushpa Rani, while her real name is Jaya. Her story is closely connected with education, autonomy and escape from an abusive marriage. |
| Deepak Kumar | Sparsh Shrivastava | Phool's husband, whose accidental mistake begins the central confusion of the film. |
| Pradeep | Bhaskar Jha | Jaya's husband, whose behaviour becomes central to the film's exploration of control, violence and women's agency. |
| SI Shyam Manohar | Ravi Kishan | The police officer investigating the disappearance and gradually becoming involved in the larger human story. |
| Manju Mai | Chhaya Kadam | The woman running the tea stall who helps Phool and becomes an important figure in her journey towards self-reliance. |
Character and cast information is based on the film's official listing and plot descriptions. 3
THE CENTRAL CONFLICT
A Mistaken Bride Becomes a Journey of Self-Discovery
Several newly married couples travel together.
Deepak mistakenly leaves with Jaya instead of Phool.
Both women find themselves in unfamiliar situations.
The mistake becomes an unexpected opportunity for transformation.
The official synopsis describes the two brides' unexpected journey as one involving discovery about themselves, womanhood and life. 4
WHY THIS FILM?
From the Ghoonghat to the Question of Identity
The most interesting visual motif in the film is the ghoonghat. At first, it creates the mistaken identity that drives the plot. But symbolically, the veil can also be read as a representation of identities imposed upon women.
The two brides are initially recognised through external signs: their clothing, their veils, their marital status and their roles as wives. As the narrative progresses, however, the audience begins to know them as individual people with different personalities, desires and choices.
The veil hides the face, but the journey gradually reveals the person.
This makes the film particularly useful for an aesthetic reading: what appears to be a simple comic device becomes a source of suggestion, emotional transformation and social reflection.
LENS 01 • RASA
A Film of Many Rasas
The most immediate connection between Indian poetics and Laapataa Ladies is Rasa. The film does not remain within a single emotional register. Its humour gradually opens into empathy, compassion, courage and wonder.
| Rasa | Film situation | Aesthetic response |
|---|---|---|
|
Hāsya हास्य |
The mistaken-bride situation creates comic confusion. | Laughter |
|
Karuṇa करुण |
Phool's isolation and Jaya's difficult circumstances evoke sympathy. | Empathy |
|
Vīra वीर |
Jaya's movement towards independence and education reflects courage. | Admiration |
|
Adbhuta अद्भुत |
The unexpected transformations of the characters produce surprise. | Wonder and reflection |
LENS 02 • DHVANI
What the Film Says Without Saying It
Dhvani becomes especially useful when we move beyond the literal story. The visible narrative concerns two brides who become separated, but the suggested meaning reaches towards larger questions of identity, freedom and social expectation.
Two brides are accidentally separated during a train journey.
The story suggests that a person can become “lost” not only geographically, but also within socially imposed identities.
The journey from being recognised as a “bride” towards being recognised as an individual becomes the deeper suggested meaning.
Laapataa Ladies Through Indian Poetics
What emotion becomes aesthetic experience?
Hāsya → Karuṇa → Vīra → Adbhuta
What lies beyond the literal story?
Identity → Freedom → Self-discovery
How can serious issues be expressed indirectly?
Comedy → Social criticism
Why does the mixture of humour and seriousness work?
Context → Character → Tone → Effect
MY CRITICAL READING
When Ancient Theory Began to Feel Contemporary
Studying Laapataa Ladies through Indian poetics helped me understand that aesthetic theories do not have to remain confined to ancient Sanskrit literature. They can become interpretive tools for reading modern cultural forms as well.
Rasa helps me understand the emotional experience of the film; Dhvani helps me recognise meanings that are suggested rather than directly stated; Vakrokti helps me understand the power of indirect and humorous expression; and Aucitya helps me see why different tones and situations work together.
Most importantly, the film reminds me that literature and cinema are not merely ways of telling stories. They are ways of making us feel, infer, question and reflect.
THE FINAL TURN
From Sanskrit Theory to Modern Reading
If ancient theories can help us read a contemporary film, perhaps their greatest value lies not in preserving the past, but in teaching us how to read the present.
REFERENCES • PRIMARY TEXTS • CRITICAL SOURCES
Works Cited
Sources consulted for the study of Indian Poetics and Aesthetics
Bharata Muni. Nāṭyaśāstra. Translated by Manomohan Ghosh, Asiatic Society, 1961. [Online Sanskrit Text]
Ānandavardhana. Dhvanyāloka. Translated by K. Krishnamoorthy, Motilal Banarsidass, 1982. [Online Sanskrit Text]
Abhinavagupta. Abhinavabhāratī. Commentary on Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra. [GRETIL Sanskrit Text Collection]
Kuntaka. Vakroktijīvita. [Online Sanskrit Text — GRETIL]
Vāmana. Kāvyālaṅkārasūtra. [GRETIL Sanskrit Text Collection]
Kṣemendra. Aucityavicāracarcā. [GRETIL Sanskrit Text Collection]
Viśvanātha Kavirāja. Sāhityadarpaṇa.
Bhamaha. Kāvyālaṅkāra. [GRETIL Sanskrit Text Collection]
Daṇḍin. Kāvyādarśa. [GRETIL Sanskrit Text Collection]
Kane, P. V. History of Sanskrit Poetics. Motilal Banarsidass, 1971.
Ingalls, Daniel H. H., Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and M. V. Patwardhan. The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta. Harvard University Press, 1990.
Gnoli, Raniero. The Aesthetic Experience According to Abhinavagupta. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1968.
Aristotle. Poetics. Translated by Malcolm Heath, Penguin Classics, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Sandra Clark and Pamela Mason, Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury, 2015.
Rao, Kiran, director. Laapataa Ladies. Aamir Khan Productions, Kindling Pictures, and Jio Studios, 2024. [Official Film Information]
Barad, Dilip. “Indian Poetics and Aesthetic Philosophy.” Dilip Barad: English Literature, 2026. [Prof. Dilip Barad's Blog]
Barad, Dilip. “Indian Aesthetics and Indian Poetics.” Dilip Barad: English Literature, 17 Feb. 2026. [Online Article]
Indian Poetics and Aesthetics. BAOU Study Material, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University.
Laapataa Ladies. Netflix, 2024. [Official Streaming Page]
Netflix India. “Laapataa Ladies | Official Trailer.” YouTube, 2024. [Official Trailer]
Note: The Sanskrit primary texts are used for the original formulations of Rasa, Dhvani and Vakrokti. The secondary sources are used for interpretation and historical context, while Macbeth and Laapataa Ladies are used as Western and contemporary examples for applying aesthetic theory.
