Indian Rasa

Welcome to Indian Rasa. A Rasa ('juice' or 'essence', Sanskrit: रस्) denotes an essential mental state and is the dominant emotional theme of a work of art or the primary feeling that is evoked in the person that views, reads or hears such a work.

Although the concept of Rasa is fundamental to many forms of Indian art including dance, music, musical theatre, cinema and literature, the treatment, interpretation, usage and actual performance of a particular Rasa differs greatly between different styles and schools of Abhinaya, and huge regional differences exist even within one style.



Rasa refers not merely to the soul of art, but also, to the soul of all things. By this, one not only means the innate quality of a color or sound, but also the more abstract ambience and mood of a geographical region, person or even season. Every component of the world has a character or Rasa of its own.

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