Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c8.s2.70

c8.s2.70

The Sthāyī-bhāva or the root-emotion of the Vaisnava Bhakti-rasa is taken to be the feeling which concerns Kṛṣṇa as the object (*śrīkṛṣṇa-viṣayā rati*), and the nine orthodox Sthāyī-bhāvas are evaluated in terms of this idea. The Kṛṣṇa-rati, as the Sthāyin, may be Mukhya (Primary) or Gauṇa (Secondary), according as it is directly or indirectly related. Thus, Sakhya (Friendship) or Vātsalya (Parental Affection) is Mukhya or Primary, while Hāsa-rati (=Hāsottarā Rati or Kṛṣṇa-rati involving Mirth) is Gauṇa or Secondary; in the former the Kṛṣṇa-viṣayā Rati is direct, while in the latter it subordinates itself to Hāsa. Under the latter, the septet of orthodox Sthāyins (excluding the erotic Rati and Nirveda) is included, while the former includes the two excluded Sthāyins, (Rati, erotic love, and Nirveda, self-disparagement), as well as Prīti (Grace), Sakhya (Friendship) and Vātsalya (Parental Affection), which are innovations. The classification of Mukhya and Gauṇa Sthāyins is, therefore, as follows: