Sādhāraṇīkaraṇa : Underlying Process for Experiencing Rasa

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Publication Abstract

This article examines the concept of sādhāraṇīkaraṇa (generalization) as the indispensable condition for the experience of rasa in classical Indian poetics. While rasa is traditionally regarded as the soul of poetry, its realization requires the dissolution of specific spatial, temporal, and personal associations embedded in poetic elements such as vibhāva, anubhāva, vyabhicāribhāva, and sthāyibhāva. Through the process of generalization, these elements are freed from worldly limitations, allowing the sahṛdaya to experience emotions in a purified, universalized form. The study further argues that sādhāraṇīkaraṇa operates through a distinctive mode of aesthetic cognition that cannot be reduced to ordinary forms of knowledge such as illusion, doubt, or resemblance. By temporarily transcending self–other distinctions and worldly dualities, aesthetic experience approaches a Vedāntic state of non-duality and bliss. Thus, sādhāraṇīkaraṇa is shown to function not merely as a poetic mechanism but as a bridge between aesthetic enjoyment and metaphysical insight.