''Abhinavabharati'' is a Sanskrit commentary on the '' Natyasastra'', an ancient treatise on dramatic theory by

Bharata Muni Bharata (Devanagari: भरत) was a '' muni'' (sage) of ancient India. He is traditionally attributed authorship of the influential performing arts treatise '' Natya Shastra'', which covers ancient Indian dance, poetics, dramaturgy, and music ...

. It is the oldest extant commentary on the treatise. The ''Abhinavabharati'' was written by Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020), the great

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

i Saivite spiritual leader and a yogi. In this monumental work, Abhinavagupta explains the ''rasasutra'' of Bharata in consonance with the theory of ''abhivyakti'' (expression) propounded in Anandavardhana's (820–890) work ''Dhvanyaloka'' ("aesthetic suggestion"), as well as the tenets of the

Pratyabhijna Pratyabhijñā or Pratyabhigyā () is an idealistic, monistic, and theistic school of philosophy in Kashmir Shaivism which originated in the ninth century CE. The name of the system is derived from its most famous work, ''Īśvara-pratyabhij� ...

philosophy of

. According to Abhinavagupta, the

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

experience is the manifestation of the innate dispositions of the

self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

, such as love and sorrow, by the self. It is characterised by the contemplation of the bliss of the self by the connoisseur. It is akin to the spiritual experience as one transcends the limitations of one's limited self because of the process of universalisation taking place during the aesthetic contemplation of characters depicted in the work of

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

. Abhinavagupta maintains that this ''rasa'' (literally, ''taste'' or ''essence'', the outcome)of the various constituents of an artistic or theatrical performance, has been a central concept in Indian art and aesthetics from ancient times. is the ''summum bonum'' of all literature.

Bibliography

Natyasastra of Bharatamuni: Text, Commentary of Abhinava Bharati by Abhinavaguptacarya and English Translation/edited by Pushpendra Kumar. Translated by M.M. Ghosh. Delhi, New Bharatiya Book Corporation, 2006, 3 Vols., 1614 p

Notes

Ancient Indian literature {{India-lit-stub