ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role of disgust in the writings of two ancient Indian thinkers, Sage Bharata and Abhinavagupta. Sage Bharata, a theatrologist said to have lived between 200 BCE and 300 CE is the author of Nāṭyaśāstra, a work on the theory and art of dramaturgy. It is the most influential work on the literary as well as the performing traditions that continue to exist in several forms in various regions of Indian sub-continent. Bharata is primarily known for his contribution of the concept of rasa (aesthetic sentiment or experience), which has captured the creative and intellectual minds of Indian theorists and practitioners for over two millennia. Bharata undisputedly recognises disgust (bībhatsa) as a rasa. For the first time in the history of Indian aesthetic literature, it is Bharata who systematically discusses the role and significance of disgust in a dramatic art. He opines that the power of aesthetic disgust in a drama is experienced when it is related with other aesthetic sentiments such as fear and love. Abhinavagupta (fl. 975-1025 CE), the celebrated philosopher and aesthetician from Kashmir, elaborates a sophisticated philosophical aesthetics in his commentary Abhinavabhāratī on the Nāṭyaśāstra. He further elaborates on the theory of aesthetic disgust and substantiates his theory by citing instances from poems and dramas of his time. Abhinavagupta’s major contribution is his recognition of aesthetic disgust in relation to the sentiment of peace, which is not explicit in Bharata’s work. In this paper, I propose that a study of purpose and method of depicting disgust in works of art is one of the ways to realize “disgust” as an aesthetic sentiment. I intend to demonstrate my proposal by examining eight instances from select Sanskrit plays and poems by applying the aesthetic principles of Bharata and Abhinavagupta. I believe that this approach would widen the horizon of understanding, applying, and challenging the aesthetic principles of both Bharata and Abhinavagupta pertaining to aesthetic disgust in contemporary theatre and poetry.
