rasa

Hello and welcome to Word of the Week! I’m your host, Liz. This podcast is dedicated to words and phrases that are untranslatable into English. Let’s discover the nuance of the world’s languages, shall we? 

This week’s word is rasa. A Sanskrit word meaning ‘the mood or sentiment evoked by a work of art’. But this word can be best explained with the following example. If you close your eyes, and twist a piece of orange peel under your nose, and inhale deeply… you have experienced the sensation the Hindu inhabitants of India would call the fruit’s rasa, or essence. 

And yes, in a literal sense, rasa refers to the essential oils of a fruit or perfume of a flower. But it’s also used to describe something a little less literal: the thrill of seeing a Jackson Pollack up close, the powerful resonance of emotion the Taj Mahal conjures, or the deep pleasure of hearing your favorite jazz singer live and in person. 

One of the reasons why art is so hard to define is that it’s a matter of subjective judgment. Not everyone likes the same thing. But Sanskrit, the language of the great yogis, is a rich language. It’s full of vocabulary used to describe the inner aspect of experiencing life. For more than 1500 years, Hindus have acknowledged nine distinct rasas, at least one of which would be present in any work of art. The erotic rasa, Shringara, is a frequent theme in Indian art. The comic rasa, Hasya, can epitomize incongruous situations or unexpected juxtapositions. The pathetic rasa, Karuna, would evoke a feeling of despair. The furious rasa, Raudra, is also seen in Indian artworks of wrathful deities and demon hordes. The heroic rasa, Vira, which is there to provide dignified mortals and gods who are selfless and of a higher spirituality. You might experience fear when faced with the terrible Bhayanaka rasa. The odious and vicious Bribhatsa rasa would be abhorrent to a vegetarian Hindu. There is an element of the supernatural with the marvelous rasa, Adbhuta. And finally, the serenity of the sense with the application of the tranquil Shanta rasa.

The full expression of humanity can be solidified into essences of emotion. When you finish watching Oppenheimer, you might say that its rasa was too troubling for you. Or if you wander around the Met, different rasa might appeal to you in its varied exhibits; the Shringara rasa of Greek vases, or perhaps the Shanta rasa of a room filled with Islamic tilework. 

Here’s to this week… May you all endeavor to adopt this Word of the Week and see the world a little bit differently. I’ll be back next week with a new word. Thank you for listening!