Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v2.c86.2

v2.c86.2

This is the general position of all later theorists with regard to the nature and function of rasa in poetry. Dhanañjaya, for instance, gives us the same process of transformation of an ordinary emotion, which is dominant in a composition, into a poetic sentiment, as formally laid down by Bharata and interpreted by Abhinavagupta; and in this he is practically in agreement with Mammaṭa, Vidyādhara Viśvanātha and others. The dominant emotion (sthāyi-bhāva), he says, becomes a sentiment (rasa) when it is brought into a relishable condition through the co-operation of the excitants, the ensuants and the accessories (including the sāttvika bhāvas). This statement is further amplified by the assertion that the enjoyer of rasa (rasika) is the audience (sāmājika)