Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c8.s2.31

c8.s2.31

Of this Bhakti Rasa, the dominant underlying emotion (Sthāyi-bhāva) is suppossed to be the emotion of Kṛṣṇa himself and his dear ones (Kṛṣṇa-rati), which by means of the Excitants (Vibhāvas) etc. is raised to a state of relish (svādyatām) as a sentiment (Rasa) in the Bhakta or the devotee, who stands for the literary Sāmājika or Sahṛdaya. As in the theory of the Rasa-Dhvani school of orthodox Poetics, the latent germ of this feeling (Vāsanā of Sadbhakti) is presumed in the heart of the Bhakta, either as acquired from previous births (prāktanī) or as due to present experience (adhunikī); and the process of the awakening of Rasa runs along the familiar grooves of Alaṃkāra expression. Against the nine conventional Rasas of Sanskrit Poetics, Rūpa Gosvāmin mentions twelve, but seven of these are regarded as secondary. Of the five primary Rasas, he practically gives prominence to one, namely, the Erotic (Śṛṅgāra). In this attitude he resembles Bhoja ; unlike Bhoja, however, our author evaluates it in terms of Vaiṣṇava devotion.