''Rasa'' ( gu, રાસ) or ''Raso'' is a certain didactic literary form in Apabhramsa. It is a genre of poetry in Old Gujarati language popular during early period of

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarati literature ( gu, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય) may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, oth ...

. Sometimes the term is used interchangeably with '' Prabandha'' of medieval literature.

History

''Rasa'' developed during the period of Gurjar Apbhramsa. It is a period between

Hemachandra Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gai ...

and

Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of K ...

. They are mostly written by

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

monks and were performed in

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

s on certain occasions. Early examples are ''Updeshrasayan Rasa'' (1143) by Jinadattasuri, ''Bharateshwar-Bahubali Raso'' (1184) by Shilabhadrasuri, ''Jeevdaya Raso'' (1200) by Asigu. ''Sandesa Rasak'' (15th century) by Abdul Rahman is one example of non-Jain composition. The literary tradition till 19th century. ''Gajsinh-Raja-no-Rasa'' (1851) is one late example.

Form

During its earliest form, it was a musical ''Roopaka'' (theatrical performance). Vagbhatta describes ''Rasaka'' as a soft and vigorous musical ''Roopaka'' with a variety of ''Tala'' (beat or measure) and ''Laya'' (rhythm). ''Rasaka'' was played by female dancers. The number of pairs participating can increase up to 64. There were two types of ''Rasa''s; ''Tala Rasa'' and ''Lakuta Rasa''. In ''Tala Rasa'' the beats of time were matched by claps of hands while in ''Lakuta Rasa'' it was matched by clashing of wooden sticks in the hands of performers. So the ''Rasa'' was a type of literature intended to performed by pairs of females dancing and singing in a circle. ''Tala Rasa''s were mostly played by females while ''Lakuta Rasa''s were mostly played by males. The form is somewhat similar to ''Rasa'' dance played in ''

Rasa lila The rasalila (), also rendered the raslila or the ras dance, is part of the traditional story of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and the gop ...

''. As the early ''Rasa''s were intended to be performed, they were not lengthy. But over the years, they became lengthy and narrative with elements of story. So the performance aspect may have been diminished. It is doubtful that the ''Rasa''s written in 17th and 18th centuries were actually performed. It is most likely that they were only recited. The ''Rasa''s were written in a variety of

metre The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its p ...

s like

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

, Chaupai or Deshi. ''Rasa''s were divided into ''Khanda'' and different parts were called ''Bhasha'', ''Thavani'', ''Kadavaka''. They had historical as well as mythological themes. Due to their basic composition meant to be didactic, the early ''Rasa'' like the ''Buddhi Rasa'' includes only words of advice. In late compositions of 16th to 18th century, they reads heavy and artificial due to incorporation of elements of narration, description, moral instructions and sectarian principles.

References

{{reflist Genres of poetry Gujarati literature Cultural history of Gujarat