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Aesthetics in Indian Art an Inquiry Into the Hows, Whats and Whys of Artistic Tradition

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Aesthetics in Indian Art an Inquiry Into the Hows, Whats and Whys of Artistic Tradition Aesthetics in Indian Art An inquiry into the hows, whats and whys of artistic tradition Lakshmi and Vishnu, Lakshmana Temple outer wall, Khajuraho [Image source: travelpod.com] Urmi Chanda-Vaz Masters Program in Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology Semester II, Paper: Art & Architecture St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, 2014-15 #031 1 INTRODUCTION Because history is not always entirely truthful, art becomes the best kind of mirror in any given society. In art is condensed the essence of a civilization. Its philosophy, religion, culture, social mores, its loftiest ideals and even its lowest vices are reflected in art. Whether tangible or performing, man's higher nature finds expression in artistic work. It, therefore, becomes imperative for a student of humanities to study life through the prism of art. Within the strokes of a canvas, the curves of a sculpture, the folds of a costume or the lines of a poem are found veritable truths about the nature and life of man across cultures. India is no different. India's long and vast artistic heritage stands testimony to its vibrant civilization. Although criticized for her lack of proper historical record, Rajput painting. [Image source: dollsofindia.com] India's art has silently documented all stages of her growth. From Bhimbetka paintings to Chola temples, from Harappan craft to the poetry of Kalidāsa, from Bharatanāṭyam to the Mughal miniatures, there are many faces of Indian art. They are the milestones of the flowering on Indian culture, the reflections of its deep-rooted philosophy. But how was this art made? What were its guidelines? What was its purpose? These answers emerge from the study of Indian philosophy at large and Indian aesthetics in particular. This paper aims to present an overview of aesthetics in the tradition of Indian art, as it has been understood right from the Vedic to this day. With a basis of art theories from ancient treatises this paper hopes to present a brief view of what is considered the best and beautiful in art. 2 VEDIC AND OTHER ANCIENT PRECEPTS The corpus of Vedic literature forms the basis of 'Aryan' thought and culture. Indian aesthetics too derives its fundamentals from the Vedas. Two concept triads form the very foundation of Indian art. The first triad is that of Satyam, Ṣivam, Sundaram, which correspond to truth, purity/goodness and beauty1. These ideals used to describe the Absolute are also used to describe artistic manifestations. An extension of this set is the next triad of Satyam (truth), Ritam (rightness), Brihat (vastness)2 or in some cases, Vāmam (beauty), Satyam (truth) and Bhadram (goodness)3. The four branches of knowledge viz. Dharma, Darṣana, Ṣāstra, and Kalā grew around these ideals. In his book, The Philosophy of India Art, Kireet Joshi says, “... the range of cultural activities of India centered on the quest of spiritual truth but it also promoted quest through science, philosophy, art and several other means. Intense spirituality, robust scientific and philosophical intellectuality and powerful literature, poetry, art and inexhaustible vitality have marked the essential characteristics of Indian Culture.” The quest for truth and union with the divine, then, became the definitive motivations of Indian art. What man saw, he depicted or imitated and these produced works of art. Identification with and imitation of nature were the first obvious steps in this direction. The yakṣi sculptures found in later periods was nothing but nature or nature spirits personified. Kalidāsa's poetry too is an example of the near divine status the Indian artist granted to nature. The earliest cave paintings and artifacts were images of animals and people, but a great many of them seem to have ritual significance. It can thus be deduced that art has had a chiefly religious purpose in Hindu art from the very beginning. With the growth of spiritual thought, the aim of art shifted from mere replication to contemplation. Art became not just a creative exercise but a 1 Amita Valmiki, Philosophy, Religion And Art In The Cultural Context Of India In Comparison To Hegelian Aesthetics, (paper presented at The Summer Colloquium At The Department Of Philosophy, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany, 2013), p 1, retrieved in March 2015 from www.science-of-deduction.com 2 Ibid., p 2 3 M Sivakumara Swamy, Saundaryam Alankarah, (from Indian Aesthetics and Poetics, edited by V N Jah, published by Sri Satguru Publications, 2003), p 8 3 meditative, mystical one. Internalisation and visualisation of perfect spiritual ideals became artistic protocols. That serves to explain the lack of realism – as the West understands it – in Indian art. Another important ancient concept that has determined the nature of Indian art was that of Yoga. Yoga in the sense of mental concentration has long been associated with the creative process. This mental concentration or dhyāna would enable an artist to realise the true nature of his subject, to transcend the difference between subject and self, and finally become the subject in perfect consciousness. Coomaraswamy4 elaborates upon Ṣukrāchārya's treatise where it is said that, 'the practice of visualisation... is identical in worship and in art'. Coomaraswamy further elaborates upon some meditational rituals developed around dhyāna. Further the idea of Yogakshema5 is associated with art. The term is usually understood to be 'well- being' but its components offer a deeper insight into its meaning. Yoga means to enjoin (and thereby create), and kshema means to preserve. Creation and preservation, therefore, characterize life and art in the Hindu view. Conservation of tradition through rigorous learning and then creativity through non-conformism and improvisation was the path decreed for the Indian artist. Creativity, according ancient aestheticians like Rajashekhara, Anandavardhan, Abhinavagupta, depended on the following factors6: 1. Rasa – Aesthetic sentiment 2. Alamkara – Figures of speech 3. Riti – Style 4. Dhvani – Suggestion 5. Vakrokti – Oblique expression 6. Aucitya – Propriety While these factors applied mostly to poetics, it is well applicable to arts of all kinds. 4 Ananda Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Shiva, (Rupa Publications, 2013), pp 20-21 5 V Raghavan, India: Tradition and Non-Conformism in Creative Arts, (Dr. V Raghavan Centre for Performing Arts, 2002), p 340 6 Valmiki, Op cit., pp 11-12 4 The importance of traditional knowledge is emphasized in one of the Ṣilpa Shāstras7: “The Ṣilpan should understand the Atharva Veda, the thirty-two Ṣilpa Ṣāstras, and the Vedic mantras by which the deities are invoked. He should be one who wears a sacred thread, a necklace of holy beads, and a ring of kuṣa grass on his finger; delighting in the worship of God, faithful to his wife, avoiding strange women, piously acquiring knowledge of various sciences, such a one is indeed a craftsman.” Within the larger context of aesthetics, some of the Hindu views of beauty were also derived from ancient Indian texts. For example, the Samudrikā Ṣāstra gave us the ideals of physical beauty when it spoke about Mahāpuruṣa (the great man) and Mandasmitā (the ideal woman)8. With a background rooted in Vedic scriptures, the idea of aesthetics in India found its grand culmination in Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra. RASA, THE ESSENCE OF ART If there is one text that defined the course of Indian art history, that has to be the Nāṭyaśāstra. Composed by Bharata Muni, around the 3rd century CE9, the treatise is a supposed compilation of the work of masters before him. It deals comprehensively with all aspects of music, dance and drama as also poetics and metre. But as the great art critic, Ananda Coomaraswamy said, the Nāṭyaśāstra is 'immediately applicable to art of all kinds.' The greatest contribution of the text is the concept of rasa. While some scholars have argued that rasa is related only to poetry, most Indian art continues to be viewed in the light of rasa. Rasa is an intangible concept, which hundreds of scholars have tried to define. In recent times, Goswami offers a definition of rasa on three levels. He says: “In its most obvious sense... rasa means the sap or extract of plants. In this sense the word means the same thing to nearly everyone. In its secondary sense, however, rasa signifies the non-material essence of a thing, 'the best or finest part of it', like perfume, which comes from matter but is not so easy to describe or comprehend. In its tertiary sense, rasa denotes taste, flavour; the relish of 7 Coomaraswamy, Op cit. p 24 8 V Raghavan, Op cit. Pp 377-380 9 M A Mehendale, The History and Culture of the India People: The Age of Imperial Unity, (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 7th ed. 2001), p 270 5 pleasure related to consuming or handling either the physical object or taking in its non-physical properties.” The Navarasas or Nine Rasas depicted in a Kerala style mural [Image source: andhraportal.org] Bharatamuni described eight kinds of primary rasas, to which list Abhinavagupta added a ninth. These can be briefly described as follows: 1. Ṣringāra rasa: The rasa dealing with love, attraction and acts pertaining to them. The presiding deity of this rasa is Viṣnū, while the colour attributed to it is green. 2. Hāsya rasa: Laughter, humour and mirth are included in the Hāsya rasa. It is associated with the colour white and the deity Pramatā. 3. Raudra rasa: Anger and fury are encapsulated in the Raudra rasa. Naturally, it is associated with the Lord Rudra and its colour is red. 4. Karuṇa rasa: Compassion, tragedy and pathos fall under the purview of Karuṇa rasa. With grey as its colour, the rasa's deity is Yama. 5. Bibhatsa rasa: The emotions of repulsion and horror comprise the Bibhatsa rasa. Śiva is its presiding deity, while its colour is blue.
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