Krishn Shringar: Epitome Of Indic Aesthetic Thought
Gopis’ rati bhav, sensually evocative and ecstatic love for Krishn, is expressed through many lilas and kridas of Krishn in the mythic Vrindavan of Dasham Skand of the Bhagavat Puran . The Dasham Skand transforms the rati bhav into shringar ras , where Krishn’s madhurya and viraha, two opposite ardh satyas, blend into a seamless purna satya. As a result, the sakar becomes nirakar, the particular becomes universal, the temporal becomes timeless, the laukik becomes alaukik, and there is a state of vismaya, wonder.
In Bhagavat, the single and steadfast Purush, through His lilas, becomes the manifold, polychromatic Prakriti and Prakriti, through shringar, returns to Purush. This is the eternal dance of Purush and Prakriti . This is a state of advaita, reached through a two-step process: Kama is replaced by Krishn, kamana by jnan; for gopis, Krishn is sensually evocative, and even though absent, is present everywhere. This is Shuddh Advaita, where sensuality, set in an idyllic landscape, becomes the doorway to knowledge.
Krishn shringar in the Bhagavat is Brahmnjnan; it is not a romantic story but a pathway to higher knowledge. Krishn shringar in the Bhagavat avoids the didactic teaching found in Gita and leads us from joy to greater joy and from sensuality to spirituality. The teaching of the Bhagavat is as if your beloved is whispering sweet words into your ear or holding your hand and walking you through an aromatic garden.
In Gita, Arjun is in a state of vishad, is undecided and confused on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and turns to Krishn for guidance. Gopis,on the other hand, are joyous and want to participate in lilas and kridas of Krishn in Vrindavan so that they can go from joy to greater joy, from ardh satya to purna satya, from kamana to jnan. Aesthetics or the realisation of
satya through engaging with what is satya and sundaram is a late starter in the Indic wisdom tradition.
The Bhagavat was composed between 8th and 10th century. Before that Indic thought was largely dominated by Advaita Vedanta , Buddhist philosophical precepts and ascetic Jain monks’ teachings which promoted abstinence, renunciation and freedom from sensual attachment. Aesthetics, in the Indic tradition, faced an uphill task in becoming a self-standing knowledge system. This was due to several reasons. First, beauty for the Indian mind was intimately tied to divinity. In other words, for mankind, only the Divine can be truly beautiful. Tukaram, when he was referring to Vitthal of Pandharpur in his abhang, says, “sundara te dhyan, vite var...” For him, as for most Indians, true beauty can only reside in our gods and goddesses, in their icons and rites and rituals. Secular beauty can at best be secondary to this. Secondly, the hyper-erotic culture around tantra took the concept of beauty into realms of eroticism.
Rishis such as Bharat with the Natyashastra, Anandavardhan with the Dhvanyalokah, and Abhinavagupt with Abhinavabharati had prepared the way for aesthetics, or knowledge through saundarya, and Krishn bhakti reinterpreted sensuality of shringar, suggesting that without any religious rites or rituals, it could lead to transcendent knowledge, Brahmnjnan .
Krishn bhakti framework transformed the word ‘madhu,’ from the Rig Ved, into ‘madhurya’, an adjective that becomes a contemplative noun.This was a significant development in the field of aesthetics.
While shringar was already an established aesthetic category in India, the portrayal of Krishn’s divine love in the Bhagavat Puran gave it one of its most influential and enduring expressions. Krishn shringar of the Bhagavat is a crowning achievement of Indic aesthetic thought .
Authored by: Harsha V Dehejia
In Bhagavat, the single and steadfast Purush, through His lilas, becomes the manifold, polychromatic Prakriti and Prakriti, through shringar, returns to Purush. This is the eternal dance of Purush and Prakriti . This is a state of advaita, reached through a two-step process: Kama is replaced by Krishn, kamana by jnan; for gopis, Krishn is sensually evocative, and even though absent, is present everywhere. This is Shuddh Advaita, where sensuality, set in an idyllic landscape, becomes the doorway to knowledge.
Krishn shringar in the Bhagavat is Brahmnjnan; it is not a romantic story but a pathway to higher knowledge. Krishn shringar in the Bhagavat avoids the didactic teaching found in Gita and leads us from joy to greater joy and from sensuality to spirituality. The teaching of the Bhagavat is as if your beloved is whispering sweet words into your ear or holding your hand and walking you through an aromatic garden.
In Gita, Arjun is in a state of vishad, is undecided and confused on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and turns to Krishn for guidance. Gopis,on the other hand, are joyous and want to participate in lilas and kridas of Krishn in Vrindavan so that they can go from joy to greater joy, from ardh satya to purna satya, from kamana to jnan. Aesthetics or the realisation of
The Bhagavat was composed between 8th and 10th century. Before that Indic thought was largely dominated by Advaita Vedanta , Buddhist philosophical precepts and ascetic Jain monks’ teachings which promoted abstinence, renunciation and freedom from sensual attachment. Aesthetics, in the Indic tradition, faced an uphill task in becoming a self-standing knowledge system. This was due to several reasons. First, beauty for the Indian mind was intimately tied to divinity. In other words, for mankind, only the Divine can be truly beautiful. Tukaram, when he was referring to Vitthal of Pandharpur in his abhang, says, “sundara te dhyan, vite var...” For him, as for most Indians, true beauty can only reside in our gods and goddesses, in their icons and rites and rituals. Secular beauty can at best be secondary to this. Secondly, the hyper-erotic culture around tantra took the concept of beauty into realms of eroticism.
Rishis such as Bharat with the Natyashastra, Anandavardhan with the Dhvanyalokah, and Abhinavagupt with Abhinavabharati had prepared the way for aesthetics, or knowledge through saundarya, and Krishn bhakti reinterpreted sensuality of shringar, suggesting that without any religious rites or rituals, it could lead to transcendent knowledge, Brahmnjnan .
Krishn bhakti framework transformed the word ‘madhu,’ from the Rig Ved, into ‘madhurya’, an adjective that becomes a contemplative noun.This was a significant development in the field of aesthetics.
While shringar was already an established aesthetic category in India, the portrayal of Krishn’s divine love in the Bhagavat Puran gave it one of its most influential and enduring expressions. Krishn shringar of the Bhagavat is a crowning achievement of Indic aesthetic thought .
Authored by: Harsha V Dehejia
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