In Indian aesthetics, the ‘rasa’ is the juice or sap that pervades through our art, culture, and guide our primal human emotions. The Navarasas first mentioned in the ancient Hindu text the Natya Shastra, have defined the core of Indian aesthetics; our art, dance, theatre, and literature are based on these nine human emotions.

A first of its kind, this collection of verses from the original Sanskrit, moves away from a mere interpretation of the rasas to an actual translation from ancient texts such as the Subhashitavali by Vallabhadeva (15th century Kashmir), the Sharngdharapaddhati by Sharngadhara (14th century Rajasthan), and the Suktimuktavali by Jalhana (13th century Deccan).

Navarasa: The Nine Flavors of Sanskrit Poetry brings to us for the first time, 99 verse translations on the nine rasas of ancient Hindu history.