Vedic Aesthetics
Duration of Program
45 Hours
VSF201
Credits: 3
L-T-P ratio: 3-0-0
Hours: 45
Course designer: Prof Nagaraj Paturi
Prerequisites: None
Objectives
To enable the learner to understand and make aesthetic judgement and analysis of creative works of self and others in the areas such as art, design and architecture based on Vedic aesthetic perspectives
Outcome
- To get new models of inspiration for artistic creativity
- Familiarity with the Vedic concepts of aesthetics and creativity; various aspects and theories related to poetics and arts in Indic creative knowledge systems and their extension to contemporary art and design
- To get new aesthetic guidelines for artistic creativity
- To gain the benefit of ancient Indian explorations of art, beauty and creativity that are mathematically precise, computably adequate and aesthetically fulfilling at the same time
- To realize the benefit of aesthetic inquiry towards self-exploration or spiritual attainment (if one could call it so)
- To gain an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of therapeutic aspects of art, beauty and creativity
Details
Vedas: View of beauty of nature and art
- Vedas as ‘romantic poetry’, bhāvukatva of mantradraṣṭas, “nānṛṣiḥ kurute kāvyam”, “kaviṁ kavīnām upamas’ravastamam”
- Mantras on beauty, art, poet, poetry, imagination etc.
- Roots of later theories in Mīmāṁsā and other Vaidika-darśanas and as such in yajňa etc.
Upaniṣads
- Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas on the beauty aspects in Veda
- “raso vai saḥ”
- “ānando brahmeti vyajānāt”
Classification of sources
- Training manuals: Kaviśikṣā-granthas
- Theoretical works : Siddhānta-granthas
- Interpretative works: Vyākhyāna-granthas
Art-wise classification, mutual connections and scope for extension
- Nāṭya
- Kāvya/Kavitva
- Nṛtya
- Nāṭaka /Rūpaka
- Saṅgīta
- Śilpa /Vigrahanirmāṇa
- Vāstu
- Citralekhana
- Contemporary extension of each to the arts other than the focus of the work
Prerequisites of creativity: Kāvyahetus: Pratibhā, Vyutpatti, Abhyāsa
- Pratibhā: definition and various views, theories
- Vyutpatti: loka-śāstra-kāvyādy-avekṣaṇa
- Abhyāsa:
- Relative significance and mutual connection among the three
- Extension to all art, all creativity in general
Purpose /benefits of poetry (art) Kāvyaprayojanas
काव्यं यशसे अर्थकृते व्यवहारविदे शिवेतरक्षतये। सद्यः परनिर्वृतये कान्तासम्मिततयोपदेशयुजे।।
- Vyavahāravide (khalacaritam etc.) modern view of presentation without instruction
- Upadeśa-ānanda (Instruction and delight)
- Arthakṛte
Mother of all Vedic Aesthetic texts: Nāṭyaśāstra
- Lokavṛttānukaraṇa
- Loka-dharmi – Nāṭya-dharmi
- Realism in pātrocita
Itivritta (plot) analysis
- Paňcasandhi etc.
- Extension to narrative literature, film studies etc.
Kāvyātmā theories
- Rasa theory
- Dhvani theory
- Rīti theory
- Alaṅkāra theory
- Aucitya theory
- Vakrokti theory
Alaṅkāras
- Centrality
- Classification: Sāmyamūlaka, Atiśayoktimūlaka, Śṛṅkhalāmūlaka etc.
- Abundance, naturalism etc. as Alaṅkaras
World of Rasa
- Rasa Centrality (Ecstasy of empathy)
- Rasaniṣpatti up to Abhinavagupta
- Rasasaṅkhyā
- First eight and Śānta-bhakti: trivarga-caturthavarga
- Rasasamīkaraṇavādas
- Rasābhāsa
- Rasavaividhya, Rasaparivartana, Rasanirvahaṇa etc.
World of Dhvani
- Dhvani ātmā (Vedic science of semantics: abhidhā, lakṣaṇā, vyaňjanā; rūḍha, yoga/yaugika, yoga-rūḍha)
- Intricate classification of dhvani varieties
- Semantics to Semiotics
- Extension to art, design, music, dance, sculpture, architecture etc.
World of Aucitya – short work but big world
- Aucitya as jīvitam
- Propriety
- Unity
- Proportion
- Congruence
- Matching etc.
- Extension to art, design, music, dance, sculpture, architecture etc
World of Vakrokti: Vakrokti-jīvitam (Creativity)
- Sukumāramārga (path of delicacy /fragility as creativity) and Vicitramārga (path of being/doing different as creativity)
- Vakratā (Deviance) as part of Vicitramārga (path of being/doing different as creativity)
- Deviance at the ‘whole’ (of work of art) level
- Deviance at the main sub unit (of work of art) level
- Deviance at the ‘syntactic unit’ (of work of art) level
- Deviance at the ‘unit of syntax’ (of work of art) level
- Deviance at ‘cellular’ level (of work of art)
- Extension to art, design, music, dance, sculpture, architecture etc
Rīti-jīvitam (Style?), Vṛtti, Pāka, Guṇa, Śayyā
- Rīti-jīvitam (Style?), Vṛtti, Pāka, Guṇa, Śayyā
Kavisamayas (Poetic conventions)
- Conventions of unscientific /unrealistic but aesthetic imaginations of laws of nature
- Extension to art and design
