Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c10.s6.7

c10.s6.7

To Lollaṭa, the intensification of the abiding emotion or *sthāyī bhāva* becomes *rasa* after it is originated through its *vibhāvas* (causes) and manifests through *vyabhicārīs* (auxiliaries). The actors are mistaken for the original characters through “a willing suspension of disbelief”. The abiding emotions of the original characters are superimposed on these actors. This process of superimposition is combined with another process which Lollaṭa had termed *tādrūpyānusandhāna* — a searching thereafter for an identification. This search for identity leads an actor to present a semblance of the dramatis personae and the audience to perceive the intensified emotion, which is finally consummated as *rasa*. The process requires the existence of the subject and the object as two separate entities. This process presupposes a conscious effort on the part of the connoisseur for realization of *rasa*.