Bhakti in the Vaisnava Rasa-Shastra

About the Book
Vaisnava Aesthetics is the central theme of the Bengal Vaisnavism as patronized by Mahaprabhu Sri Krsna Caitanya as also by his immediate followers. Sri Rupa Gosvamin is the principal architect of the Vaisnva _Rasa-sastra, epitomized in the Haribhakti Rasamrta-sindhu, the Ujjvala-nilamanih, the Natakacandrika and the like.Bhakti in the Vaisnava Rasa-Sastra the book is interesting and important from many counts. It seeks to underline the unity of ultimate goal of religion, philosophy and poetry through a study of the principles of literary criticism evolved on the basis by the Vaisnava school of Sanskrit poetics of Bengal. The evolution of the concept of Bhakti in ancient Indian Religion and Philosophical literature makes an interesting study. This concept is recognised in the Vedas and the Upanisads. The Ramayana,, the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Gitagovinda give a completest personality to it. Treatises on ancient Indian Aesthetics acknowledge it as secondary feeling unable to reach the delectable state of Rasa. The Srimadbhagavata Mahapurana sup-plies sufficient clues to the Vaisnava therotecians for arriving at their new concept of devotion to god. Sri Rupa; Sri Jiva and the other Vrndavana Gosvamins, establish, with meticulous care the supreme excellence of the Bhakti rasa and maintain that all other poetic sentiments are but semblances of this Bhakti Rasa or the Rasa-rat. Mystico-eroticism (ujjvala or madhura) with its stable emotion of all engulfing swelling attachment develops through the right succes-sive stages of Bhava, Pre man etc. to the ultimate point of saturation in the Divine Frenzy of the Mahabhava. Herein Bhakti attains its climax of perfection and its maximum strength. The book, in its five chapters, successfully presents a comprehensive and critical account of Devotion to god, its origin, development and detailed study of the Principal and the minor works of the Vaisnava Rasa-sastra along with their original contributions on a whole range of ensuing literature etc. as also the principles of literary criticism in India.

About the Author
Dr. Raghu Nath Sharma(b. Sep. 23,1938, Kohat) had his initial education under the guidance of his father, Shri Gian Chand Sharma, and uncle, Shri Pandita Nand lal ji Sharma, M.A. LL.B., Ex. M.P. (presently Svami Nandanandanananda Sarasvati .Ti – Varanasi). He studied Oriental Sanskrit in the Dharma Sangh Mahavidyalay in Delhi, and he had the rare privilage of having guidance Dharma-samrat SvarniKarapatri Ji, Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya Jyotiwithadhisvara Svami Sri Krsuabodhagrama ji and the senior Jagadguru Sankaracarya of Puri Svami Sri Niranjana Deva Tirtha ji. Dr. Sharma passed his M.A. Sanskrit in 1963 with distinction from the Universtiy of Delhi. He was awarded his Ph.D. Degree from the same University in the year 1976. He has taught in various institutions of the university since 1964. Dr. Sharma is a distinguished scholar of Indian Culture, Philosophy, Religion and Sanskrit. He has guided and produced several M.Phil and Ph.D. scholars. He has also authored a number of research articles which have appeared in different research journals of repute. A versatile genious Dr. Sharma is currently heading the Department of Sanskrit, School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education, University of Delhi. He is simaltaneously associated with the All India Radio giving talks both in Hindi and English.