Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) is one of the nine

rasas Rasas ( ar, رساس, also spelled Rsas) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the al-Suwayda Governorate, located south of al-Suwayda. Nearby localities include Ira, Syria, 'Ira to the southwest, Sahwat Bilata to the east, al-Ru ...

, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical

Indian arts Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...

including theatre, music, dance, poetry, and sculpture. Much of the content of traditional Indian arts revolves around the relationship between a man and a woman. The primary emotion thus generated is Sringara. The romantic relationship between lover and beloved is a metaphor for the relationship between the individual and the

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

. Classical theater/dancers (i.e.

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India.Mohiniyattam Mohiniyattam, ( ml, മോഹിനിയാട്ടം), is an Indian classical dance form that developed and remained popular in the state of Kerala. Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. Mohiniyattam dance gets its name fr ...

) refer to Sringara as 'the Mother of all rasas.' Sringara gives scope for a myriad of other emotions including jealousy, fear, anger, compassion, and of course for the expression of physical intimacy. No other Rasa has such a vast scope. The treatment and performance of Sringara varies on a large scale from the grotesque (as in

Koodiyattam Koodiyattam ( ml, കൂടിയാട്ടം; IAST: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; ) is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of ''Koothu'', an ancient perfo ...

) to very refined and subtle (as in some styles of Bharatanatyam, or in Odissi). The attraction between lover and beloved is a metaphor for the relationship between the individual and the

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, the Nara-Narayana relationship.

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...

lists Vishnu as the presiding deity of the Sringara rasa.

External links

Sringara
- a Knol article elaborating on the subject {{Rasa theory, state=expanded Hindu philosophical concepts Indian culture Theatre in India Performing arts in India Hinduism and sexuality

See also

External links