Tuesday, February 17, 2009

 

Navarasas

The Navarasas are supposed to be nine principal emotions. They are love, comedy, pathos, fury, valour, horror, disgust, wonder, peace.   

Red, blue and green are prinicipal colors which means any color can be expressed as a combination of each of them.

(a) Likewise can any human emotion be expressed as a combination of 9 prinicipal emotions?

(b) Red, blue and green are necessary and sufficient to represent all colors. Likewise, are the 9 prinicipal emotions necessary and sufficient?

Some notes:

1. It is worth noting that the minimum value (0 intensity) of red, green and blue corresponds to "black"
2. Lisewise what does the minmum value (0 intensity) of all the emotions correspond to?
Intuitively, I think it should be the emotion "peace". Then, it means "peace" should not be a principal emotion? (Interestingly, there were only 8 prinicipal emotions earlier and "peace" was added later; Maybe it is redundant).
3. I tried some tough emotions and was able to qualitatively describe them. For example:
 a. jealosy = fear + pathos?
 b. nostalgia = pathos +  comedy?


Comments:
dont think if peace is an intensity level of 0 of everything else. there might be some intensity of love for eg for peace to exist.
probably if everything is at intensity level of 0, the person maybe dead(or maybe at sleep while not dreaming) or coma.
 
there might be some intensity of love for eg for peace to exist.

If this is true, then "peace" is not a principal emotion.
 
Interesting. how about *smile*?
 
In Natyasastra six types of Hasya (comic rasa) are given: gentle smile (smita), smile (hasita), gentle laughter, sarcasm, vulgar laughter and excessive laughter.

So, I think smile would be 'hasya'.
 
i had a similar train of thought as point (a) a few years ago.
i have a feeling that the word "peace" is a principal emotion because of incorrect translation. i have to see what the actual words are.
also, why is "happiness" not included as a principal emotion? it can exist independently.

-varun
 
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