|
 
 |
| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 10
| Issue : 2 | Page : 113-123 |
|
Evaluation process of Rasa in the context of nonlyrical nonpercussive Indian pure music for possible application as music therapy
Abirlal Gangopadhyay1, JS R. Prasad1, BR Shamanna2
1 Department of Sanskrit Studies, School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India
2 School of Medical Sciences of University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| Date of Submission | 04-Apr-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 25-Jul-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 10-Nov-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Mr. Abirlal Gangopadhyay
Department of Sanskrit Studies, School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad, Prof. CR Rao Road, Gachibowli, Hyderabad - 500 046, Telangana
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/ijoyppp.ijoyppp_44_22
Background: The famous rasa theory, with its three complete components, has been widely discussed in the doctrines of poetics and dramaturgy but not in the context of pure music. This study tries to find out the application of three rasa components in the context of Nonlyrical Nonpercussive Indian Pure Music (NNIPM). This would help the field of Indian music therapy to explore its application as a rendition according to desirable emotions relevant to needful subjects after customizing it to the individual need. Aim: This pilot study aims to know the pragmatic approach of rasa theory regarding NNIPM, coupled with rasa-centric rendering method to evoke śānta rasa (related to calmness, satisfaction, pleasantness, and other related emotions). Materials and Methods: Five music clips were recorded on Rudra Vīṇā, which are the stimuli to get emotional responses from fifty participants. A questionnaire was developed to elicit psychophysical responses and transitory emotions to get emotional reactions from them. Based on rasa theory, a Rasa-Matrix (RM) was designed. Based on RM, a Rasa Equation formula was further designed to get the rasa values of each response. Results: Fifty people participated from India and Bangladesh (n = 50). There were 210 (84%) rasa responses, and 40 (16%) were null as the rasa outcomes overlapped. According to Cronbach's alpha for reliability and internal consistency, the questionnaire was highly reliable for all five tunes (α was always 0.86-0.89). Accuracy of desirable śāntarasa (0.98, P < 0.001) was satisfactory. Conclusion: This study shows that the application of rasa theory regarding NNIPM is a reliable approach for emotion-centric music therapy. With the help of the rasa-centric rendering method, there is a considerable potential to create tunes that will be more helpful for inclusion as part of Indian music therapy in specific mental health conditions.
Keywords: Jāti, music therapy, Nāṭyaśāstra, Pure music, Rasa theory, Rasa-Sūtra, Rudra Vīṇā
How to cite this article:
Gangopadhyay A, R. Prasad J S, Shamanna B R. Evaluation process of Rasa in the context of nonlyrical nonpercussive Indian pure music for possible application as music therapy. J Appl Conscious Stud 2022;10:113-23 |
How to cite this URL:
Gangopadhyay A, R. Prasad J S, Shamanna B R. Evaluation process of Rasa in the context of nonlyrical nonpercussive Indian pure music for possible application as music therapy. J Appl Conscious Stud [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 May 29];10:113-23. Available from: http://www.jacsonline.in/text.asp?2022/10/2/113/360866 |
| Introduction | |  |
There is a scope of the genuine investigation to understand how the idea of rasa with all its three traditional aspects (vibhāva, anubhāva, and vyabhicāribhāva) could be applicable to “a non-representational art form such as music (Katz, 2016).” Although Prem Lata Sharma made an effort to understand the rasa of modern Indian traditional music, she did not connect the latter with the three components of rasa (Sharma, 1970). Scholars explored the connection of emotions with notes in the context of Hindustani music, but not according to the Indian esthetic theory (Mathur et al., 2015).
However, scholars accepted the view of Pt. V. N. Bhatkhande on the connection of rasas with rāgas, but the discussion is not critical and merely hypothetical (Karuna et al., 2013). After suggesting possible connections of rasas with some rāgas, he says, yadyapi ūparī dṛṣṭī se yaha kalpanā svīkāra nahīṃ kī jāsakatī, tathāpi isa para vicāra pūrvaka prayoga kara ke anubhava karanā cāhiye. (i.e., Although this hypothesis cannot be accepted at the surface level, it should be experienced by thoughtfully using it for practical purposes.) (Bhatkhande, 1957).”
Moreover, this paper tries to find the general ground of Indian music, both Hindustani and Carnatic. This approach may help to pave the way to comprehend possible emotions of any rāga despite traditions – since this study does not focus on the rāgas for valid reasons, as briefly discussed in the first half of this paper.
Before we elaborate on the outcomes of the pilot survey, some theoretical background should be discussed on which the whole research has been based.
| Essential Theoretical Studies | | |
What is Nonlyrical Nonpercussive Indian Pure Music (NNIPM)?
The most fundamental unit of music is its notes. A rendition, generally, is a cluster of musical notes played or sung in a specific manner. The groups of musical notes are called scales. Primarily, there are three scales: Sampūrsi (Heptatonic), Ṣāḍava (Hexatonic), and Auḍava (Pentatonic). These scales with similar (In Hindustani (H): Bhūpālī, Mālsauṃsa etc.; in Carnatic (C): Mohana, Hindola etc.) and combined ascent and descent (in H: Śuddhakalyāṇa, Bṛndāvanī-sāraṅga etc., in C: Bhaul̤i., Kanakasāverī etc) form the basic structure of a rāga. However, despite heptatonic, hexatonic, and pentatonic, the formation of notes could be unusual also. It gives the ascent and descent information of vakra (crooked/curved) rāgas.
The specified method in a rendition usually follows a tradition (Hindustani and Carnatic; within Hindustani – Gwalior school, Patiyala school, Kirana school etc.; within Carnatic – Dikshitar school, Tyagaraja School etc). This specified method is liable to change in practice.
A rāga is not only a scale. If one considers it to be so, the concept of tripuṭa-rāgas in Hindustani, could not have existed. Tripuṭa (threefold) rāgas are Mārvā, Puriyā, and Sohinī. These three rāgas have a similar hexatonic scale, Sa R Ga M Dha Ni. Nevertheless, these three rāgas have their distinct identity. With a particular emphasis on Ni and M, the scale expresses Puriyā. Emphasized R and Dha represent Mārvā. Sa in higher octave with R manifests Sohinī.
The ancient rendering method of Jāti is the solution here to create a general ground of rendition. It is discussed in the forthcoming section. However, the adoption of the jāti method itself clarifies that the rendered scales cannot be called as rāgas, since they do not have a traditional practice of rendition.
Lyrics have a potency to evoke rasas. For instance, “anokhā lāḍalā” expresses the marvelous and “nainasoṁ nain” evokes erotic rasa. Now, there could be an obvious question: What is the expressive rasa of Darbāri?
Further, percussion instruments could also evoke emotions, which could interrupt the understanding of the emotional expression of pure music.
Hence, these are the fundamental causes to focus on NNIPM, which is untouched by any lyrics and percussion. This music could not interfere with the clear rasa understanding. Hence, this contextual sense of music is pure in this sense.
We are not focusing on producing rāga because rasa evocation is not the only intention of a rāga. Furthermore, other ocean-like varieties are there, which are mentioned in the first half of this section.
NNIPM expresses scales in ālāpa (a traditional rendition technique in low tempo) with an adopted rendition technique of the ancient Jāti system from Sanskrit musicological texts. Ālāpa is chosen because it could only help a piece of pure music to become Indian for the sake of cultural implications.
Therefore, music which could be played in ālāpa mode focused on specific svaras as in the ancient Jāti system, and the overall intention is, to be honest, to svaras can be called NNIMP briefly. One of the most critical factors which are excluding NNIMP from rāga music is the unique phrases (pakar̤) of rāgas which make scales as rāgas.
Application of Rasa-Sūtra in NNIPM
The Rasa-Sūtra (the Aphorism of Rasa) (vibhāvānubhāvavyabhicārisaṃyogād rasaniṣpattiḥ) is “the Sentiment (rasa) produced from a combination of Determinants (vibhāvas), Consequents (anubhāvas) and Complementary Psychological States (vyabhicāri- bhāvas/sañcāri-bhāvas) (Bharata, 1956; Ghosh, 1951).” The stable emotions/durable psychological states (sthāyibhāvas), which are inherent in human beings, when expressed through these three components, they become rasa.
Bharata says, “No (poetic) meaning proceeds (from speech) without (any kind of) Sentiment (rasa) (Bharata, 1956; Ghosh, 1951).” Ānandavardhana postulated that this rasa is always sensed by the tertiary meaning, i.e., vyaṅgyārtha (suggested meaning) (Ingalls et al., 1990). Hence, after expressing the primary (vācyārtha) or secondary sense (lakṣyārtha), poetic expressions reveal the suggested sense. Interestingly, Mahimabhaṭṭa points out an essential notion that unlike the speech sound, the primary meaning of a musical sound is feelings and emotions (the suggestive sense of phoneme) (Mukherji, 2005). However, the manifestation of emotions as rasa is a delicate issue.
Emotions hold characters as media to manifest through poetry; similarly, when emotions want to express through music, it holds its media vis-à-vis musical instruments (the human body is also included as it can manifest music). This media is called ālambanavibhāvas (foundational factors/determinants) (See Sāhityadarpaṇa, 3.29). Putatively, the vīṇā may express śānta, vīra, adbhuta, (sambhogaśṛṅgāra) rasas; the violin may express karuṇa, vipralambhaśṛṅgāra, śānta predominantly. An atmosphere which is favorable to express the desired rasa is uddīpanavibhāva (stimulant factor/determinant) (See Sāhityadarpaṇa, 3.131). Bharata states seven musical notes, which are like seven limbs of music (Bharata, 1956). Hence, as in general physical efforts, dialogs, and psychophysical responses (sāttvika-bhāva) become consequent components (See Nāṭyaśāstra, 7.5) (Bharata, 1956; Ghosh, 1951), the expression of notes, gestures, style of rendition become likewise in music. In this context, psychophysical responses perceived in listeners are significant as they cannot be observed in an abstract art form such as music. It is also observable that psychophysical responses, viz., weeping, trembling, are seen in the character and the spectator or in a text reader. The same is with the transitory emotions/complimentary psychological states (vyabhicāribhāvas), which are observable in listeners, and Mahimabhaṭṭa also backs this view (Mukherji, 2005).
Application of rendering method of Jāti
Jāti (not to be confused with the modern concept of jāti, equivalent to 'scale') was an ancient form of ancient Indian classical music (Nānyabhūpāla, 1961; Śārṅgadeva, 1992 Shringy, 1978; Tarlekar, 1991). There were ten common characteristics of a Jāti. Six out of them are chosen to apply as they are the most essentially applicable to the present context (Bharata, 1956; Nānyabhūpāla, 1961; Śār961; Śā, 1992; Shringy, 1978). Of these six, aṃśa/vādin (sonant) note is the most vital, which gives rise to four more characteristics, viz., graha (starting note), nyāsa (ending note), apanyāsa (resting note), and bahutva (abundant note) (Bharata, 1956; Nānyabhūpāla, 1961; Śārṅgadeva, 1992; Shringy, 1978). Therefore, a sonant is the most dominant note in a rendition. According to the theory, a sonant is always coupled with one or two consonant notes if there is a distance of nine or thirteen śrutis on 22 śruti-scale [Figure 1] (Bharata, 1956). Hence for Sa, Ma (distance of 9), and Pa (length of 13) are consonants, respectively [Figure 1]. As discussed, three scales are primary for rendition. Every twelve notes can be considered the dominant note or vādin with logical consonants. The heptatonic scale is the natural or full version of a scale. The omission of either one or two notes would create the other two scales. For instance, with Sa as the consonant and dominant note, there could be two heptatonic scales (Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni) with its two possible consonants — Ma and Pa. In the Sa and Ma consonant relation, various other scales could be generated by omissions of notes. For instance, (i) heptatonic scale – Sa R Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni, Sa Ri G Ma Pa Dha Ni etc., (ii) pentatonic scale – Sa Ma Pa Dha Ni, Sa R Ma Pa Dha etc. Ma could not be changed as M in these combinations, which makes the consonance to perish. With Pa, the same process will be followed. This process generates a total number of 321 scales regarding the Sa as a sonant note.
After fixing sonant and consonant, vivādin (dissonant) notes will be identified. A dissonant note fulfills the sixth characteristic (alpatva) of a rendition as it should be the most infrequent note. Two notes which have a two-śruti distance from each other are mutually called as vivādins (Bharata, 1956). For example, R and Ri are mutually vivādins. Likewise, Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni (where Sa is sonant and Ma is consonant) is a scale to render – Ni and Sa, and Ga and Ma are mutually vivādins. As Sa is here as the most dominant note in such a condition, Ni should be infrequent, and so is Ga; because Ma as a consonant has importance just after Sa. As sonant, consonant, and dissonant notes are fixed, all other notes should be called anuvādins (assonant notes).
Objectives
The main objective of this paper is to evaluate NNIPM tunes rendered as per the ancient jāti rendition method and to observe if they express śānta rasa, i.e., arousal of some specific emotions, viz. calmness, self-possession, pleasantness, affection and related other qualities, predominantly according to the discussed Rasa-Sūtra.
| Materials and Methods | | |
Abhinavagupta states that the śānta is the natural state of all rasas (Bharata, 1956). Hence, in general, any scale can produce that rasa, and the qualified version of such a scale creates other rasas. Rudra Vīṇā is often related to qualities such as calmness, meditation, amazement, and boldness. Hence, it is chosen as a foundational factor (As it was understood in the theoretical part that musical instruments are the foundational factors or ālambana vibhāvas which is the first factor for rasa evocation mentioned by Bharata in rasa-sūtra) to evoke śānta rasa. Because of the ongoing pandemic, it was impossible to get participants' responses in person, so the stimulant factor could not be controlled. The consequent components are the same as the adopted method of rendition. The rest of the rasa evocation factors, i.e., psychophysical responses (sāttvika-bhāva) and transitory emotions (vyabhicāribhāvas), are placed in the questionnaire. It is observable that these emotions could not be placed in the questionnaire as these are mentioned by Bharata (in the context of drama, poetry, and related topics), but modified a little suiting to the music-related context. Hence, four sāttvika-bhāvas are accepted in the context of music. Others do not find a place to be included. For instance, svarabhaṅga (change of voice), which is found in other art forms like in drama, cannot be found in music artistically.
On the other hand, vyabhicāribhāvas are thirty-three in number. Among them, 15 are accepted in the context of music. Reason is being similar to accepting the sāttvika-bhāvas. For instance, maraṇa (death), jaḍatā (numbness), etc., are Vyabhicāribhāvas that could not be produced through music. Among fifteen vyabhicāribhāvas, one glāni is divided into two for a valid reason. Glāni has two shades: (i) “repentance” (manastāpa), and (ii) “peevishness” (in Sanskrit kheda, the synonym of glāni). Hence, the total number of vyabhicāribhāvas becomes 16 and thus, a questionnaire is formed with twenty questions [Table 1]. | Table 1: Questions on psychophysical responses and transitory emotions in nonlyrical nonpercussive Indian pure music context
Click here to view |
According to the adopted rendition method, five different scales are chosen to record five music clips [Table 2]. The Rudra Vīṇā player was instructed to play these scales on per with ascent and descent and inherent with respective vādins, saṃvādins and vivādins. Other playing styles were as applicable as in Rudra Vīṇā. Each music clip was about five minutes in duration.
An online pilot survey was conducted using the Testable interface (www.testable.org). Some general instructions were provided to the participants: (i) to use good headphones and (ii) requested them to ensure that they were in privacy without any interruption. They were also informed to spend an average of 45 min to complete the survey.
In this survey, participants were not controlled. Therefore, there might be a chance that some participants could be musicians. Furthermore, nobody was instructed about any technicality of the music, they were just instructed to listen to the music clips and to give their feedback. As therapeutic music is meant for the masses, their emotional experiences are quite important.
It is true that woman participants during premenstrual and menstrual periods might have mood swings and emotional imbalance. However as this study was online and open to all, we did not have any control over such issues. Moreover, the participation was voluntary; hence, it is presumed that no such participants were there.
Because of the pandemic situation, the survey had been randomized regarding the participants. The survey link (http://tstbl.co/789-51) (This link is offline as the survey is over now) was shared among the participants (n = 50), where two participants were from Bangladesh. This survey gathered information such as gender, age, education, and nationality [Table 3].
The survey is formulated so that participants can listen to music entirely and grade their emotions on a 0–5 emotional scale, i.e., Emotion Scale to Identify Rasa (ESIR) (This kind of scale for a questionnaire is very common and so it is adopted. It is also helpful to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire after data collection), with 10 points [Figure 2]. After finishing one music item, they could go to the next and grade the same. Each participant had to give his/her responses to all five recordings. It is always possible that one may not experience an emotion. For instance, an individual felt good in one music, thrilled and graded it by 3 points. The same individual gave 0 to a parameter “tears” since they did not feel it. | Figure 2: An excerpt of survey screen (questionnaire, scale and instructions for grading emotions)
Click here to view |
The questionnaire was the same with all tunes [Table 1]. Four psychophysical responses and sixteen transitory emotions were selected to formulate the questionnaire (others are not applicable in the NNIPM context) (Bharata, 1956).
To know the experienced rasa, Rasa-Matrix (RM), i.e., the connection of psychophysical responses and transitory emotions with observable rasas, is applied [Figure 3] as there is no perception of raudra, bhayānaka, bībhatsa, and hāsya rasas from Indian music, śṛṅgāra (where S1 = sambhogaśṛṅgāra and S2 = vipralambhaśṛṅgāra), śānta (=S), vīra (=V), adbhuta (=A), and karuṇa (= K) are accepted for this study (Sharma, 1970). All listeners feel these as it is assumed. | Figure 3: An excerpt of survey screen (questionnaire, scale and instructions for grading emotions)
Click here to view |
From the RM [Figure 3], it is acknowledged that all transitory emotions are related with certain rasas. Hence, when a participant gives a grade to a certain transitory emotion, that grade by default marks point to the rasa/s to which that transitory emotion is related. With this logic which is understood from
RM [Figure 3], the possible evocative rasa could be found with the help of the following summation formula:
here, R = expected rasa, e = the number of rows that contain the values of psychophysical responses and transitory emotions (here, it is 20), r = column related to an exclusive rasa. For instance, if we want to get the value of S from one's responses, the rasa equation should be written as follows:
so, with vīra rasa, in V this equation should be written as:
By way of the above illustration, an individual graded the feelings for a music in this manner: Th = 3, Sp = 3.5, Sh = 2.5, Te = 1, Af = 4, Do = 3, Jo = 4.5, Eu = 3.5, Se = 3.5, Sep = 4.5, Pl = 3.5, and Me = 1. Other emotions are pointed as zero. Based on the RM and the rasa equation, each rasa will get graded like this: S = 27, S1 = 25.5, S2 = 12.5, V = 26.5, A = 29, and K = 5.5. It declares that the individual felt A out of the music (here, the first), which gets the highest number. Now, there could be a valid question: What would be done with such a response if more than one rasa gets the same highest mark? Answer is simple, we exclude that from the criteria.
| Results | | |
It was noted that most of the participants in the age group of 18–34 (64%; 18–24 – 30%, 25–34 – 34%; others 35–44 – 4%, 45–54 – 22%, 55–64 – 4%, above 64 – 6%). Most of them were male participants (70%).
From the gathered data of emotional responses of individuals, the reliability of the questionnaire and the ESIR for all five music is examined with the help of Cronbach's alpha formula. As a result, the questionnaire and the ESIR are found to be highly reliable for all five music renderings in this pilot survey (α = 0.89 in first music, α = 0.86 in second music, α = 0.87 in third music, α = 0.88 in fourth music, and α = 0.89 in fifth music). One-factor ANOVA is done to understand the statistical significance of data from each promisingly significant tune (P < 0.001 for all).
As per the method of the rasa equation according to RM, there are significant responses regarding each rasa (P < 0.001). There is a good pattern of rasa outcomes and overlaps of rasas. One rasa response regarding a tune has no significance statistically [Table 4].
Analysis
From the above results, it is clear that most of the responses for all five music clips are toward S. As a result, the average values of all emotions of each tune, calculated according to RM, show S is the dominant rasa for all five tunes. Applying the two-factor ANOVA, where the first factor is five music (P < 0.04) and the appeared rasa values out of them are as the second factor (P < 0.001), it is found that S is significantly high in all the five tunes, and S2 and K are meaningfully low. S1, V and A are so close to each other, especially in the third music, that it is difficult to claim these rasas have notable appearances [Figure 4]. Since they are not very much larger than S, it cannot be claimed strongly that these five tunes can only produce S.
Logistic regression is done against S by excluding all overlapping rasa responses (n = 210, Ø = 40) to understand the accuracy of its appearance. As a result, the accuracy of the positive outcome of S is intensely significant (P < 0.001, area under the curve = 0.94) to firmly claim that S is the most frequent rasa in these tunes, played by Rudra Vīṇā, with a rasa-centric method of execution [Table 5], [Table 6] and [Figure 5]. For a lay reader – may be simplified a little.
| Discussion | | |
While selecting the five scales, the primary focus was to ensure that people would relate them to the tune. Still, these were also chosen to observe any distinctive differences regarding the non-conventional scales.
Two heptatonic scales are selected where both have an essential connection with traditional Indian rāga music. The first one is equivalent to Śaṅkarābharaṇa. The fi of Carnatic and Bilāval of Hindustani. The second scale is comparable to Māyāmālavagaul̤a. of Carnatic and Bhairava of Hindustani. Still, as we clarified it, the rendition method differs from the traditional rendition and related information. There is no one-to-one correlation with the said rāgas.
Two hexatonic scales are not much familiar in orthodox traditions. The first of them has an omission of Ga. It is selected to observe if any different response comes from the first heptatonic one (the difference is not significant). The second one of two hexatonic scales has no Hindustani equivalent and a foreign equivalent of Carnatic, Kalika or Madhyamarāvali.
The pentatonic does not have any equivalents in Carnatic and Hindustani. From the Hindustani viewpoint, it has some shades of Mārvā and Puriyā only.
It is observed [Figure 6] that the scales related to major were most influential to the public in the case of NNIPM. Unlike first and third music (associated with the major scale), no other tunes, on average, would cross 3 of ESIR. The fifth scale, which is most unusual, did not appeal to the public on an average. From the above, we can infer that in the traditional renditions, rāgas which are not related to the major scale, might not appeal to the public, as they might appeal only to vigilant conventional listeners.
Apart from the online mode of this survey, we got an opportunity to interact with some participants over the phone. Some points are indeed worth mentioning:
- most of them found that some music clips, like third or fourth made them feel better and relaxed
- Some participants said that they went to sleep by listening to the third one
- It was very unusual to find people who say the fifth one is the best. Interestingly, we found very few who said so. They are the exception here
- one individual wanted to get the music clips online, but when it was said that they were made for only this purpose, he suggested us to share all of them
- Some participants expressed that listening to some music clips made them cry and relax later. However, they could not find the reason, they just exclaimed, “I do not know why.” Such response was quite exciting and indeed an achievement too
- There were very few who did not appreciate at all the music clips.
The research outcome is promising regarding the application of Rasa-Sūtra in NNIPM. It is theoretically shown that Rudra Vīṇā, as a foundational factor, has the characteristics of calmness, meditation, amazement, boldness, etc., Hence, as a medium to manifest most musical scales, there is a high probability of experiencing S, V, and A than other rasas by listening to this instrument. It is also observed in several śāstras that vīra and adbhuta stay together in musical contexts (Bharata, 1956; Nānyabhūpāla, 1961; Śārṅgadeva, 1992). Therefore, the inference has indeed become pragmatic.
In the rasa equation, the highest for more than one rasa means an individual's experience does not reach the state of evocation of rasa. It is acceptable, if there is an interval of different rasas, but out of a gamut of an artistic piece (poetry, epic, sculpture, music, etc.), there should be one rasa holistically. Famous examples are the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. Rhetorics accepted that the rasa of the Rāmāyaṇa is karuṇa and the rasa of the Mahābhārata is śānta, though there are other rasas (Viśvanātha, 1851). In our study too, it was observed that some other rasa/s are very close to the highest marked rasa in many instances. It means they also came close to the predominant rasa, but not in an effective manner.
| Conclusion | | |
These rasa-centric recordings are the first attempt to know the evocation of rasa from NNIPM. Hence, improvement and nuances in renditions have to be developed further to reduce the other possible evocative rasas compared to the current effort. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to understand the process to know the experienced rasa out of the elicited emotional responses implying the famous Rasa-Sūtra with all its aspects. Hence, there are many possibilities to improve the study. It is observed that though S is high in all on an average, there could be more options to control the rendition method critically, giving a more accurate desirable rasa. Furthermore, this was planned and carried out in an actual situation as a pilot experiment in a health care setting after securing the necessary permissions and ethical clearances.
How does a particular rasānubhava be useful in health care? Achieving homeostasis is considered to be the ultimate purpose of any therapy. A subject who is in need of a music therapy, should be brought back to its natural homeostasis. If a music consisting various emotions, that could not bring in stability in an individual. Such kind of music could be a mood swinger and cannot help to stabilize the health of a subject. Mood-swinging music might be therapeutically used, but it must be in a specific context. Hence, rasa centric approach is the better technique which would gradually stabilize the health of a needy individual to bring back its overall homeostasis. There are some previous researches where scholars tried to emphasize their views regarding rāgas and their particular rasas for therapeutic implementations (Karuna et al., 2013). However, this present research tries to find common ground that could be helpful in understanding rasas from any Indian pure music (northern or southern) in the context of the therapeutic use of Indian pure music.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank a ton to Mr. Sayak Mitra, for his keen cooperation to execute all five music according to the adopted method of rendition for the study. The present research scholar thanks Mr. Aneesh Raghavan, research scholar of the department of Sanskrit, University of Pondicherry, for his valuable comments and discussions regarding the application of rasa theory in NNIPM. We also acknowledge Mr. Sirsha Dey, a bright and young undergraduate student of the ISI, Kolkata, for his keen assistance regarding the data analysis process. The authors are deeply grateful to Mr. Arnab Chakraborty, English mentor of the present research scholar, Barasat, 24 Parganas (N), West Bengal, India, who went through the manuscript and refined the language of the paper.
Financial support and sponsorship
The corresponding author is grateful to the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, India. The present paper is an outcome of their kind support with a full-time doctoral research fellowship.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
| 1. | Bharata. (1956). In Kavi, M. R., and Sastri, K. S. R., editors. Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata Muni (Vol. 1). Baroda: Oriental Institute.  |
| 2. | Bhatkhande V. N. (1957). Hindusthānī Saṅgīta Paddhati (Vol. 4). Hathras: Sangeet Karyalay. |
| 3. | Ghosh, M. (1951). Completely translated for the first time from the original Sanskrit with an introduction and various notes. In The Nāṭyaśāstra: A Treatise on Hindu Dramaturgy and Histrionics Ascribed to Bharatamuni (Vol. 1). Calcutta: The Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. |
| 4. | Ingalls, D. H. H., Masson, J. M., and Patwardhan, M. V. (1990). In Ingalls, D. H. H., editor. The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: Harvard University Press. |
| 5. | Karuna, N., Nagendra, H., and Srinivasan, T. (2013). Review of Rāgās and its Rasās in Indian music and its possible applications in therapy. International Journal of Yoga-Philosophy, Psychology and Parapsychology, 1 (1), 21. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.4103/2347-5633.123288. [Last accessed on 2022 Mar 31]. |
| 6. | Katz, J. B. (2016). Music therapy: Some possibilities in the Indian tradition. In Horden, P., editor. Music as Medicine: The History of Music Therapy since Antiquity (pp. 84-100). London and New York: Routledge. |
| 7. | Mathur, A., Vijayakumar, S. H., Chakrabarti, B., and Singh, N. C. (2015). Emotional responses to Hindustani raga music: The role of musical structure. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. Retrieved from doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00513. [Last accessed on 2022 Mar 31]. |
| 8. | Mukherji, R. (2005). In Banerjee, M., editor. Vyaktiviveka of Rājānaka Mahimabhaṭṭa: Critically Edited with English Translation and Notes. Kolkata: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar. |
| 9. | Nānyabhūpāla. (1961). In Desai, C. P., editor. Bharatabhāṣya (Vol. 2). Khairagarh: Indirā Kalā Sanīt Viśwavidyālaya. |
| 10. | Śārṅgadeva. (1992). In Sastri, S. S., editor. Saṃgītaratnākara of Śārṅgadeva with the Kalānidhi of Kallinātha and the Sudhākara of Siṃhabhūpāla. Madras: The Adyar Library and Research Centre. |
| 11. | Sharma, P. L. (1970). Rasa theory and Indian music. Sangeet Natak, 16, 57-64. |
| 12. | Shringy, R. K. (1978). Saṅgīta-Ratnākara of Śārṅgadeva: Sanskrit Text and English Translation with Comments and Notes (Vol. 1). Varanasi: Motilal Banarasidass. |
| 13. | Tarlekar, G. H. (1991). The distinction between Gāndharva and Gāna. Amrtamahotsava, 72 (1), 689-99. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694931. [Last accessed on 2022 Mar 31]. |
| 14. | |
[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3], [Figure 4], [Figure 5], [Figure 6]
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4], [Table 5], [Table 6]
|
Search Pubmed for