Rasarnavasudhakara 2.220

English (machine translation) 2.220

Language: English

2.220

The independence of despair is as in:
“Fortunes that yield all desires have been obtained—what then?
A foot has been placed upon the heads of enemies—what then?
Friends have been enriched with wealth—what then?
The bodies of embodied beings have endured for an eon—what then?”

2.220.p1

[Vairāgyaśataka 67]

2.220.p2

And so forth. Here, despair is independent because it is not subordinate to anything else.

2.220.p3

Now, it may be objected: despair has been stated by some to be the durable emotional state of the aesthetic sentiment of tranquility. How then can it be an accessory to other aesthetic sentiments? If this is asked, we reply: Indeed, the boundary of a village can be contemplated only when the village exists. A durable emotional state is the repeated renewal, through the vigor of latent impressions, of an emotion (existing in the form of a latent trace and awakened by causes). Therefore, in determinants and the like which are regarded as futile in the mind of an appreciator imbued with the latent trace of despair (since the initial engagement of appreciators is impossible), the very arising of despair, which is the fruit of that aggregate of factors, is untenable. How much less its durability! Moreover, in the absence of despair as a durable emotional state, the aesthetic experience of tranquility by appreciators would be a brother to the discernment of royal parrots eager to relish the juice of a plantain fruit depicted in a painting; so enough of this agitation!

Linked texts (1)

Rasārṇavasudhākara — Siṃhabhūpāla, Sanskrit