The Unbidden Inspiration of the Poet

Ananda Vardana says the poet may choose any primary meaning he likes in his quest to evoke Rasa by means of suggestion. The audience member who experiences Rasa is not having the relevant emotion in its everyday sense, writes Abina Vagupta. By this period, the eight canonical types of Rasa found in Bharata have been joined by a ninth one called Tranquility. This enjoyment of Rasa is like the bliss that comes from realizing one's identity with the highest Brahman, for it consists of repose in the true nature of one's own self.