ABSTRACT
Rasa (Sanskrit रस) and bhāva (भाव) are master terms in a widely shared framework of Indian practice and theory in drama and theatre, dance and music, the verbal and performing arts and performance in general. Both words originated in Sanskrit most probably during the second half of the first millennium bce and have remained interlinked throughout their long histories. Their meanings and applications in modern and contemporary times (in this context, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present) have been and continue to be multifarious, but their usage across a range of artistic and intellectual fields can be explored systematically by starting with their core significations.
