Date of Award
2025-12-01
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
English Rhetoric and Composition
Advisor(s)
Beth Brunk
Abstract
This dissertation advances the field of rhetoric by theorizing rasa, a foundational concept in classical Bharatavarshiya aesthetics, as a rhetorical instrument, and demonstrates its persuasive efficacy through a critical reading of the Bhagavad Gita. While western rhetorical traditions have long privileged logic, dialectic, and argumentation as primary modes of persuasion, this dissertation argues that Bharatavarshiya rhetorical practice, which has its roots in its own cultural and philosophical foundations, is a complementary pathway to persuasion as it engages with the emotional dimensions of human experience.
Through a close textual analysis of the Gita, this study shows how rasa, more than an artistic embellishment, functions as a rhetorical force that shapes cognition, motivates ethical action, and facilitates self-transformation. Bhagavan (Lord) Krishna’s sambada to Arjuna, a Pāṇḍava brother, shows the strategic evocation of rasas, mainly bhayanaka (fear), vira (courage), adbhuta (wonder), and santa (peace), which collectively guide Arjuna from despair and indecision toward spiritual clarity and purposeful action. Krishna, rather than appealing to logic alone, uses a rhetorical strategy that moves through body and emotions, strategic name selection, and audience-centered realization. Moreover, the symbolic force of mara (illusion or obstacle) and the aspirational clarity of kaivalya (liberation) frame the emotional arc of persuasion and establish rasa as a rhetoric tool.
This dissertation thus makes two key contributions. First, it expands the field of rhetorical studies by reimagining rasa as a culturally grounded rhetorical model with cross-disciplinary relevance. Second, it interrogates the implicit hegemony of western rhetorical traditions by proposing a pluralistic understanding of rhetoric as a global phenomenon. In doing so, it resists framing rhetorical traditions in binary opposition and instead suggests the complementarity between reason-based and emotion-centered modes of persuasion. It enriches our understanding of how persuasion operates across diverse cultural and philosophical contexts by positioning rasa as an embodied, affective, and spiritually resonant form of rhetorical logic.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2025-12
File Size
150 p.
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Raj Kumar Baral
Recommended Citation
Baral, Raj Kumar, "Rhetoric of Bharatavarsha Reimagined: Analyzing the Rhetorical Power of Rasa Theory through the Bhagavad Gita" (2025). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 4519.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/4519