Estados emocionais (Bhāva) e experiência estética (Rasa): os conceitos centrais da filosofia da arte indiana e alguns de seus desdobramentos

Abstract

On the first chapter, we explore the foundational text of Indian Aesthetics, the Nāṭyaśāstra, attributed to Bharatamuni (sec. II B.C.E to II C.E.). Our attention is on chapters I, VI, VII and XXXVI from the treatise, where one can find some of the main concepts of Indian philosophy of arts, namely: emotional state (bhāva), aesthetic experience (rasa), expression planes (abhinaya) and mimesis (anukīrtana). Such conceptual framework extends its influence over both the speculative and practical fields related to Indian arts. The second chapter is dedicated to two medieval developments of speculative thought, named, the aesthetics of peace, based on śanti-rasa, that characterizes the doctrine of the Kashmirian and shaivist philosopher Abhinavagupta; in contrast to the aesthetics of love, centered on śṛṅgāra-rasa, from the eastern vaishnava theologian, Rūpa Gosvāmin. On the third chapter, the focus is on more concrete applications of the poetics of rasa, including three topics: i) the perfect congruence between the poetics of Bharata and the artistic creation of Kālidāsa (court poet from the IV C.E.). Also we can contrast this congruence to what would be expected from an artwork that followed the Greek poetics described by Aristotle. ii) the second topic is an exposition about the classicalization process that takes place inside the intense Indian social reformism of the second half of XIX and the first half of XX centuries of the C.E., deeply marked by Nationalism and Victorianism. Inside this context, we can notice the centrality of the concept of aesthetic experience (rasa) on different discourses on art, even from the opposite points of view represented by Rukmini Devi and Balasaraswati. iii) finally, we focus on the entertainment industry of Bollywood, which idiosyncratic language among world cinemas can be explained by the centrality of the concept of mood – a common parlance word for aesthetic experience (rasa) and emotional state (bhāva) – largely used by technicians and artists from the cinema métier.