Bhatta Nayaka’s Blunder

Summary

T. S. Nandi’s critical essay revisits the aesthetic theory of Bhaṭṭa Nāyaka, a 10th‑century Sanskrit scholar who criticised the dhvani (suggestion) theory of Ānandavardhana and Abhinavagupta. Bhaṭṭa Nāyaka argued that rasa (aesthetic flavour) is neither perceived nor produced in the spectator; rather, it preexists in a potential form and is later manifested through appropriate determinants. Nandi summarises Bhaṭṭa’s position by citing passages where he claims that if rasa were perceived as present in the characters of a drama, the spectator would experience actual pain or pleasure. Instead, Bhaṭṭa posits that rasa arises from a generalised mental state (sādhāraṇīkaraṇa) created by determinants (vibhāvas), consequents (anubhāvas) and transitory emotions (vyabhicāri bhāvas). Nandi critiques this view by pointing out that Bhaṭṭa fails to account for the spectator’s imaginative identification with characters like Rāma and Sītā. He argues that rasa cannot be reduced to mere memory or inference; rather, it is a direct aesthetic experience generated by the interplay of representation and spectator response. The article analyses passages from Bhaṭṭa’s lost work ‘Kāvyālaṃkāra‑saṅgraha’ preserved in the commentaries of later scholars and contrasts them with Ānandavardhana’s dhvani theory, which treats suggestion as the essence of poetry. Nandi contends that Bhaṭṭa’s critique misrepresents the role of dhvani and underestimates the spectator’s capacity to experience emotions without personal involvement. By examining the philosophical underpinnings of Indian aesthetic theory, the essay underscores the importance of dhvani and rasa as experiential categories rather than ontological substances.