The aesthetics of hāsya and raudra in Nāṭyaśāstra: anger as the flip side of the comic sentiment

Abstract

Abstract This study looks into the relation between the comic and anger. Specifically, the paper analyses how anger emerges as the flip side of the comic, by studying the theory of emotions as presented in Bharatamuni’s Nāṭyaśāstra. The performative languages of the comic (hāsya) and anger (raudra) are closely examined. By analysing the features of hāsya and raudra the study attempts to prove the mutative tendency of the comic to anger.